#༊*·˚ FARLAN. CHURCH ◞ ― answered *ೃ༄

[pickalilywrites]

Petra is shopping for Levi's birthday/christmas present at the mall. but has trouble what to get. She runs into her friends and ask for help

thanks!!! have a good holiday :)

gift shopping

rivetra. high school au. 2119 words. read on ao3.

Petra feigns a smile when she finds herself running into her friends at the mall. Somehow, she’s not surprised to see them here. Even though she already knows the answer, she asks, “What are you all doing here?”  

“Holiday shopping,” Eld replies easily without any trace of shame. Behind him, Auruo and Gunther nod their heads a little too vigorously. Eld grins down at Petra. “You’re going gift shopping too, right? Maybe we should shop together. The more the merrier, right?”  

“We could also be helpful if you’re shopping for a guy. It’s good to have a male perspective in these situations,” Gunther says. He’s a little too eager, a little too helpful as he tries to subtly convince Petra to allow them to join her shopping spree.  It would be obvious even to an outsider that they’re not so much helping as they are trying to weasel their way into her business.  

“Especially if you’re shopping for a special guy,” Auruo adds. He wears the same eager smile that Gunther does and it makes Petra stumble backwards in alarm. “As special guys ourselves, we would be more than happy to help you in that department, Petra. Especially if that guy is Levi Ackerman.”  

Her cheeks flush red at the mention of Levi’s name, but Auruo’s words are not untrue. She has come to the mall with the intention of purchasing a gift for Levi’s birthday, although she is admittedly having difficulty finding the perfect gift. Levi isn’t a very materialistic person to begin with, so Petra is afraid he will be less than impressed than whatever she manages to find. She has already been at the mall for two hours scouring the shelves of half the stores in the mall only to come up empty-handed. At this point, Petra should be glad that her friends have turned up and offered to assist her, but she knows they’re only here to meddle rather than offer any goodwill as they so claim.  

“You three are awfully interested in my affairs with Levi Ackerman,” Petra mutters. She moves towards a rack of winter coats and flips through the various peacoats even though she knows she won’t find anything suitable for Levi. Even though she doesn’t turn her head, she can hear her friends shuffling behind her, following her every move. “It’s just a birthday present. It’s not that interesting.”  

“If it has anything to do with Levi Ackerman, it’s automatically interesting. Those are just the rules,” Eld says. Behind him, Auruo and Gunther nod in agreement.  

Despite being rather popular at school, Levi Ackerman is an enigma. He’s in a well-known indie rock band called No Name with two other classmates. While the band has their fans and even holds concerts from time to time, Levi tends to keep to himself and only speaks with a few other classmates. It seems Petra is a part of this precious few, much to her friends’ utter delight. 

In complete contrast, Petra and her friends can fly under the radar at school. They don’t stand out, but they aren’t at the bottom of the social ladder either. They blend in seamlessly with the rest of the crowd at school. If Petra were any more popular, she’s sure that her unexpected friendship with Levi Ackerman would surely turn heads, but she’s so invisible that nobody has noticed aside from her small circle of friends.  

“It’s really not that interesting. I’m sure it’s not that different from buying a present for any other guy,” Petra mutters. 

“Untrue. Would you buy the same present for Levi that you’d buy for me? Or Eld? Or Gunther?” Auruo asks. He doesn’t falter when Petra shoots him a glare. Instead, he grows more confident, standing up taller and puffing out his chest as Petra refuses to answer. His smile widens. “See? You need us.”  

Petra doesn’t agree, but it would be tedious to argue with her friends. If she refuses to accept their help, they would only follow her around the store at what they believed was a discreet distance even though she would easily be able to see them if she turned her head to look over her shoulder. It would be more convenient to just accept their help. At least then she could just buy the first thing they recommend her and return it the next day before continuing her gift shopping by herself. 

“I don’t need you, but I’ll allow you to help me,” Petra says and instantly regrets it when she sees her friends pump their fists in victory.  

“You’ll be so excited once we help you find the perfect gift for Levi,” Eld says. He links his arm around Petra’s and begins to lead down the aisle.  

Auruo links his arm with Petra’s free arm. He’s practically vibrating with happiness. “We’re going to help you find the absolute best gift, Petra. You’re going to wonder why you hadn’t begged for our help earlier,” Auruo grins. He seems to have forgotten the fact that Petra hadn’t begged them for help in the first place. 

As it turns out, shopping with her friends is more distracting than it is helpful. Gunther has a tendency to try every article of clothing of interest, insisting that Petra needs a live model to get a good visual of how the clothes fit rather than relying on mannequins and online models. Never mind that Gunther and Levi are completely different body types, the other boys think that it’s an excellent idea and give their honest opinions of Gunther’s modeling, asking him to turn so that they could see the clothing at every angle. If they are looking at food items, Auruo will snatch whatever Petra is looking at from her hands and inspect the list of ingredients. He nods whenever he comes across ingredients he knows and for those he’s less familiar with he will look up on his phone. When he finally finds the ingredient online, he announces it for everyone to hear. (“Malic acid,” Auruo says at one point with a wrinkle of his nose before furiously typing it into his phone, and everyone waits for him to give them the definition before moving onto the next item.) It can be argued that Auruo and Gunther are at least trying to help in their own way, but the same cannot be said for Eld. With Eld, Petra finds that they’re constantly being pulled towards whatever gimmicky, holiday-themed gift that catches Eld’s attention. He’s dragged them to a rack of ugly Christmas sweaters, Christmas stuffed animals with loud bells or bright lights, and Christmas chocolates that are so sweet that it hurts Petra’s teeth just to look at them. 

At this particular moment, Eld is having them try out different Christmas headbands. The entire afternoon has been wasted and Petra is no closer to find a gift for Levi than she was at the beginning of the day. She would have plucked something off the shelf and bought it for Levi just to rid herself of her friends, but she has already tried that three times before and each time her friends wrestled whatever random object she had out of her hands because they didn’t believe it was the right gift for Levi. At least their hearts are in the right place. 

“Petra, what do you think of this one?” Eld asks, turning around to show her the headband he’s slipped on his head. It looks like an elf hat, bright green with thin red stripes and a large bell dangling at the end. 

“Is that for you or for Levi?” Petra sighs. She’s been trying to steer them all away from the holiday section of the stores they visit. She doesn’t think Levi would particularly enjoy a Christmas themed gift for his birthday even though his birthday’s the same day. Her own birthday falls at the beginning of December and she still gets Christmas themed presents. 

“Come on, Petra. Lighten up. This is all part of the process,” Gunther says. Petra would normally trust Gunther, but the ridiculous Christmas tree hat on his head makes him lose any credibility he previously had.  

“Yeah, all part of the process,” Auruo echoes before placing a headband with a large, sparkly green gift ribbon on Petra’s head. On his own head he wears an enormous pair of reindeer antlers that flicker and light up. “It takes time to find the perfect gift.”  

Petra is about to snap and reply that finding a decent gift shouldn’t take an entire day when a familiar voice squeals, “Gift shopping? Us, too!”  

Petra is horrified when she turns around and finds Isabel bounding towards them. Behind her are Levi and Farlan, shopping bags hanging off their arms. They look amused to see Petra and her friends with holiday headbands on top of their heads. 

Isabel doesn’t seem to notice Petra’s distress. The redhead hooks her arm around Petra’s and smiles widely up at her. “Have you been shopping very long? You guys don’t seem to have very much.”  

“That’s probably because they don’t buy everything they think is cute,” Farlan grumbles, setting the bags down at his feet.  

“Maybe they’re just unsure of what people want!” Isabel says. She gives Petra another dazzling smile. “If you guys are buying Christmas presents for us, I really like holiday gifts. I think they’re so cute!”  

“Oh, is that why you purchased everything with a reindeer or a snowflake on it?” Farlan asks sarcastically as he gestures at the bags he had set on the floor as well as the bags that Levi still carries. 

“I’m just trying to get into the Christmas spirit! It’s better than being a scrouge like you!” Isabel huffs. 

With shopping bags still hanging on his arms, Levi navigates towards the rack of holiday accessories that Petra and his friends had been looking at earlier. He shifts all the bags onto one arm so that he can look through the racks better. As his friends bicker, his gaze passes over the festive hair ties and headbands. He seems more interested in the simpler ones: hair ties that are plain red or green with gold sparkles or silver stripes, little gingerbread men on plastic hair clips, or a clip with a poinsettia. He eventually pulls out a bundle of hair ties with jingle bells attached to them.  

“Hey, Isabel, will these do?” he asks, holding them out to her.  

The redhead’s emerald eyes grow in excitement. “Oh, those are so adorable!” she gushes.  

“Good. Now you can leave me alone about buying you a Christmas present,” Levi says.  

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Isabel cheers. She jumps up and down in her excitement and accidentally jostles Petra in the process. She turns her head to apologize but must notice something in Petra’s expression because she composes herself quickly and asks Levi, “What would you want as a present, Levi? It must be difficult buying presents for you because people have to buy things for Christmas and your birthday.” 

“A present? I don’t really care much for them,” Levi says. His eyes travel from Isabel to Petra and his gaze settles on the green ribbon on Petra’s head. “As long as the person put thought into it, I’d be grateful. Especially if they took the time to wrap it nicely.”  

Something about his gaze is too much for Petra to handle. She has the urge to cover her face with her hands or at least snatch the headband off her head so she looks less like a fool, but all she can do is look down quickly and hope that the flush of her cheeks isn’t too apparent. She’s so lost in her thoughts that she’s startled when she finds Levi gently touching the gift bow on her head. 

“This looks nice on you, Petra,” he tells her. 

“Th-thanks,” she manages to stammer. 

“We need to get going. I need to pick up one of my purchases before the store closes,” Farlan says as he looks down at his watch. He picks up his bag and starts off. Isabel has detached herself from Petra’s side and is skipping behind Farlan. “It was nice bumping into you all. See you later.”  

“See you guys at school!” Eld says back, waving off Farlan, Isabel, and Levi. When they’re far enough away, Eld and the rest of Petra’s friends turn towards her with shit-eating grins. “I guess you know what to get Levi for his birthday this year, Pet.”  

“Shut up,” Petra mutters but she nonetheless pulls off her headband and stomps towards the cash register to buy it as her friends fall over in laughter behind her. 

[worldhell]

Levi, Zeke, Erwin

Send my muse a fuck, marry, kill.

“ What kind of questions are there ... it's way too early for this. ” Wait don't leave, he didn't say he wasn't going to play. Farlan is thoughtful for a moment. Expression twists at a few of the choices. He might be thinking too deeply. People shouldn't know his personal feelings, but hey, it's just a game, so why not lighten up?

“ The most obvious choice is to kill Zeke. ” Easy option. Farlan had little mercy for that man. Funnily enough, that wasn't the issue he was facing right now ... stifling a groan, he puts down his tea and leans his cheek in his palm. “ Erwin Smith. ” Had he thought about it? Not neccassarily. Had he taken note of the charm the man had, enough to get people to risk their lives for this cause? Yes. He pleads disinterest. “ It wouldn't be the first time I got information this way, so sure. If he's asleep, it gives me time to look around. ”

“ Not like much would change if I married Levi, if you think about it logically. ” Oh, he's being SHAMELESS and it's intentional, grin and all.

[worldhell-archiving]

┊ ┊⋆ ┊ . 𝐼𝒻 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝐿𝑜𝓈𝑒, 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒟𝒾𝑒 ◞ 𝖒𝖊𝖒𝖊 . accepting. ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ @ausdauer ⤸ "i almost DIED back there , and yer laughing ?" @ farlan

farlan's true colours always shined vividly around them. he can't deny the grin that twitched at his lips, or the way he snorted at the performance; the initial worry had immediately left when he'd realised she was okay. ❝ don't get so upset; I knew you'd be fine. ❞ he might have sighed heavily at these antics, the fatigue of worry subsiding to a heavy look, and a contemplating stare ━━━ if he had anything to really worry about that is. besides, farlan was in a high spirits. he rests his arm on her head, knowing not to put weight down for the high chance she tried throwing him off balance. ❝ look at it this way, it would be more distressing if I was coddling you, right? you handled it fine. but hey, was your scream always so high pitched? ❞

[naitfall]

@worldhell asked:

[ ARM ]: the sender rests a hand on the receiver's shoulder, their arm draped around them in order to do so. - farlan!

THE SHOULDER TOUCH. ( A PROMPT LIST! )

This shitty world was his enemy, and Levi had chosen to fight a battle he was certain to lose. Still, he wouldn't give up, wouldn't give in to rot, for he had made a promise — to defy, to rebel with all his strength against those trying to take away what was his own — his dignity, his freedom, his right to live underneath the sun. To rebel, just like HER act of rebellion, carrying such warm light in the darkness of the underground.

The entirety of the world was his enemy, until their paths came to cross, and Farlan came into his life to change the foundations he had built himself on. Persistent, as if standing outside sealed doors, he'd search for an opening, use all means trying to get closer — to see what was inside and use what he could to his advantage, any weakness of heart or mind. That was the reason at the beginning, and Levi didn’t mind, for he hadn’t anything he could use. For he could see him clearly for who he was and what his intentions were.

Until those feelings began to change in nature, suspicion turned to trust, their alliance into brotherhood, commitment to their common goal turned into commitment to him. Before he knew it, the hatred to serve as Levi's guide for many years, was eased. The loneliness — the deafening silence of an empty room — he had grown accustomed to, would now bring him unease once again. He wouldn't any longer fight for revenge but for a hopeless dream, Farlan's dream, a delusion. He wouldn’t wander the streets like a rabid dog searching for its next prey, the hunter in him subdued, for he had a family to protect.

He was still being tamed, still learning human contact, and how to control the frantic beat of his heart (a response to all his instincts on alert? or a reaction to something else? another feeling he couldn’t yet explain or understand . . . ). With Farlan draping his arm around him, Levi doesn’t pull away. Stay put. Arms are crossed in front of his chest, his posture not changing. Shoulders tense but only for a moment. He doesn’t meet his gaze, concealing any possible uprising hostility (an instinct he was fighting against), before completely relaxing in his presence, becoming accustomed to his touch. One step at a time. ❝ Right, ❞ he responded, even if he hadn't been listening for a while now — couldn't let him know he momentarily lost his composure, that closeness of any kind (physical, emotional, spiritual connection) was unfamiliar to him. Maybe that shot of bootleg whiskey he had just downed was going to help.

[rivangel]

wdyt furlan's love language is? i can kind of see it being same as levi but idk

THIS is an interesting question omg. (I got a lot of help from @jayteacups with this btw...)

hmmmm based on everything we see in the manga, I think he's like Levi with acts of service, but mostly words of affirmation. mans is always either convincing levi to trust him, arguing, or reassuring him about the plan furlan made up to steal the document. he has a loose tongue but he def uses it in an affection type way too. he reassures isabel after she was attacked in an extra story as an example.

perhaps quality time? a bit? from the way furlan spends time with isabel casually in another extra story and the way he's always around levi, isabel or both, but there's so little info im not sure! he's definitely a words of affirmation guy tho.

acts of service to me comes from the fact that furlan is a huge coward. like hear me out, he schemed with levi and isabel to go above and convinced levi to take the job, but mans was TREMBLING when they first left the walls. he said specifically that if he'd known they were gonna be going outside the walls, he would've stayed in the underground drinking sewer water LMFAO. yet he volunteered for levi to try and find the super secret important documents and steal them from erwin. furlan is conniving and smart but he plays it safe. if he was about to do anything for another person, it'd show his commitment to them.

tldr; words of affirmation, and second to that, acts of service. i wanna say quality of time too.

[luno-doodles]

Anime asks #23

23. Characters that deserved better?

BEWARE SPOILERS AHEAD!

Okay I don’t claim to have watched every anime out there, I actually have seen very little compared to most others. But here are a few anime characters I feel deserved better.

Kaneki Ken (Tokyo Ghoul)

All he wanted to do was go on a nerdy date ya’ll. Literally. Then his date tried to eat him and in doing so changed his life forever.

Isabel and Farlan (Attack on Titan)

They were such sweet souls. They didn’t deserve to die like that.

Actually, screw it, like MOST of the characters in Attack on Titan deserve better!

Izuku Midoriya (My Hero Academia)

I’m telling you, the way this cinnamon roll was bullied in his younger years by Katsuki WAS NOT RIGHT. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some ‘Splodey Boy and I understand his anger, but Izuku didn’t deserve to be bullied like that.

L Lawliet (Death Note)

He shouldn’t have died. ‘Nuff said.

Zuko (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Zuko did not deserve to be banished from the Fire Nation like that. Period. But I understand it was a crucial part of the story so it had to be done. But still.

The Elric Brothers (Fullmetal Alchemist)

They just wanted to see their mother’s smile again.

Seita and Setsuko (Grave of the Fireflies)

War is a horrible thing and these two had the worst of it. THE FEELS MAN.

That’s all i got for now! Thanks for the ask and sorry for the late reply! 

[gvenevera]

Searching for Levi by Blessende

Eren Jaeger has three secrets that no one knows about. A. There is a parallel world to ours, a world better known as 'Titan'. B. He has been a peacekeeper between the two worlds since the age of fifteen. C. He is married to the greatest prick in the history of the two civilizations (both literally and figuratively).

[If you were an SNK fan in the early years of the fandom, you might have stumbled upon a fanfiction titled “Searching for Levi.” Written by Blessende in 2014 and published on FFnet, the story was one of the best of its time - a mix of drama, sci-fi, and romance. However, shortly after the story was concluded, the author decided to take their whole account down for personal reasons. Today, there are only traces of the work left online and the series, once spanning more than a hundred chapters, a dozen one-shot side stories, and playlists, now merely exists in memory, but always, in our hearts.]

[bbygrgu]

clocks on the wall

a/n: first Levi fic. blame/thank @vennilavee​. don’t come for my neck. enjoy. 

warnings: swearing, violence, softness, slight ooc Levi at the end, no spoilers for season four (everything written takes place from the ova - season three). 

word count: 7.1k

You had never been Underground before.

It was beautiful, in its own way. The city had its own glow to it, made up from yellows, blues, and greens. It was known that without lights, the city and its people would be covered in darkness. Something about the greens and blues hinted at that being a lie. That it wouldn’t have been completely dark below the surface.

You were snapped out of your thoughts when Erwin turned his head at the sound of cables slicing through the air, gas hissing, and the sound of an excited voice cheering, the echoes bouncing off the dirt and sentiment walls.

Erwin looked back at the three of you and the Military Police, the look on his face reading “that’s them.” It was after that moment, you began to understand the kind of reform Erwin was looking for and why Erwin had chosen these random Underground criminals as the example.

Well, maybe it wasn’t so random, knowing Erwin.

You carefully set aside the ODM gear retrieved from their beings, stepping to stand behind Erwin, yet in front of the three criminals. The light haired one locked his eyes on Erwin, though his face was thoughtful. The young woman’s eyes were wide with curiosity, but locked onto Erwin as well; only occasionally did she spare a glance at you.

The third one, who you assumed was the leader from his quietness, refused to move his gaze from the ground. Until Erwin stepped up to him, waiting for a response; was he trained in the military?

He gave Erwin a cold look, keeping to himself.

When his head was slammed into the dirty water, you watched the way the others reacted. They seemed… worried. But not in the sense that they were worried about the physical harm on him, but his head was pressed into a puddle of dirty water, jumping to answer Erwin’s questions.

You watched the way Erwin got close to the quiet man, so close that Erwin kneeled in the same puddle of dirty water that the man had his face in just moments ago. You paid attention to the surprise evident in the man’s face when Erwin offered for them to join the Survey Corps. The deathly cold, yet fiery look in his eyes when he finally looked up at Erwin.

“I’ll join the Survey Corps.”

It was the way he held himself up, dirty water dripping from the ends of his hair and raced off his chin, onto his white shirt; hair clinging to his skin, thin brows furrowed as he never broke eye contact with Erwin. It excited you.

“Introduce yourselves!”

Curiosity evident in your eyes, you watched as Levi’s gaze moved from your left to your right; from Erwin to Flagon. His gaze moved to the top of your head as he subtly shrugged, finally speaking up in a cool, nonchalant voice.

“The name’s Levi.”

Gasps. Murmurs followed. They’d never seen someone so confident, so sure of himself, so… not caring about what others said or thought of him. You couldn’t help the little twinge of the corner of your mouth.

Levi’s face remained stoic as the Commander chastised him for not having discipline, before Isabel Magnolia and Farlan Church introduced themselves. Stoic while it was Flagon’s squad that they would belong to. Stoic, with the exception of his piercing eyes focused on Flagon, disinterested yet scheming eyes, when Flagon glared at Levi; he was pissed off that he had to do the work that should’ve gone to pretty boy Erwin.

You smiled, huffing in amusement the moment Erwin made eye contact with you after the formation was dismissed. You were in Erwin’s squad, tasked with overlooking the trio’s training and making sure one of them, specifically Levi, didn’t kill Flagon.

You followed closely, hands behind your back, listening to Isabel excitedly guess where they were going. Farlan took in his surroundings, barely acknowledging Isabel, just looking around with wide eyes. For some reason, you thought they’d still be adjusting to the brightness on the surface or marveling at the sky, but you reminded yourself that maybe it was their first time up on the surface. Who were you to assume anything.

Flagon moved to the barracks, pushing the doors open, announcing that this was their sleeping quarters. It almost broke your heart when Flagon explained that women slept in a different section of the barracks, almost. With Isabel demanding to stay in the same room as her friends, Levi walked up to one of the bunks and what he did surprised you.

Levi reached his hand under the top bunk, dirt immediately falling from the surface he touched. You noticed the way Isabel and Farlan quickly closed in on themselves, worry etching itself across their faces. Their eyes frantically moved from the back of Levi’s head to his fingers, rubbing them together in an attempt to remove all the grime from his skin.

It clicked.

The worry etched on their faces as Levi inspected the cleanliness of the bunks. The worry that had been etched across their faces when Levi’s face was pressed into the puddle of dirty water.

It didn’t click for Flagon. You forget that he wasn’t there, that night at the Underground.

“You lot have been living in the dumps of the underground, but do try to keep it clean.”

“Huh?” Levi sneered, turning to glare up at Flagon.

You raised your eyebrows in amusement, deciding to step in when it got a little far over the line.

Levi took a step closer to Flagon, invading his personal space. Isabel and Farlan unsure of what to do in that moment. Do they protect their leader or do they show loyalty to their new commanding officer?

Flagon stuttered as he attempted to reign his authority over Levi. You bit back a smile, looking to the ground, squeezing your fingers behind your back. Farlan quickly stepped in, speaking up for Levi, apologizing, promising to keep the barracks clean.

With a scoff, Flagon walked away from the trio. You spared a glance back at the trio. Levi glaring at Farlan, his disbelief barely masked; Isabel was in complete shock in the back.

“Isabel, I’ll be outside to show you to the women’s section. Try not to take too long. I’ll see you two at training tomorrow,” you finally said. Levi’s eyes immediately rested on you, the scowl never leaving his face. You just smiled, offering a quick nod before twirling to make your way out of the room.

You smiled at the feeling of three pairs of eyes not leaving the back of your head.

“You say that they already know how to use the ODM gear?” Hange beamed, rubbing their hands together excitedly. You offered a simple nod, not helping the smile on your face as Hange nudged you a little too roughly on the way to the forest just outside of the castle.

You glanced over to see Isabel on a horse, riding around in ease. You tilted your head; were there horses in the Underground?

You didn’t see Farlan, but Levi was in the process of attaching the ODM gear to his being. You nodded Hange in his direction, telling them to give him his space. You noticed he wasn’t too fond of strangers, so who knew how’d he react to Hange’s… disregard to personal space.

Both of you stepped up next to Flagon, eager to watch Levi’s skills with the gear; you a little more than Hange, having already had a taste during the chase in the Underground that night.

You tucked your hands into the pockets of your jacket, left foot back and the toes of your boots pressed into the ground. You watched with fascination, sucking your bottom lip in and raking your teeth over the skin.

You nearly bit the skin when Levi pulled the blade with his right hand from its place with ease and elegance, holding the handle so that the blade protected his forearm, so that it mimicked his movement. The same way he held the knife to defend himself against Erwin’s attack. It made the hairs on the back of your neck stand at attention.

How did -

“That just might happen to you. All I have to do is slice the titan’s neck, right?” Quiet. “I’ll do it my way.”

You quickly stepped up, putting an arm across Flagon’s chest. He was fuming, but you knew that if Erwin wanted them for a reform, that they were to be trusted, that everyone needed to trust the trio’s doings.

“Give him a chance. You haven’t seen what he can do,” you warned quietly.

Levi stopped, throwing a glance over his shoulder, locking eyes with you for a brief moment just before he went off into the forest, flipping and twirling with ease.

Your eyes never left Levi’s form, even as he became smaller and smaller, completely disappearing into the training course. Not even when Hange began to babble and squeal in excitement over Levi’s movements, regardless of the lack of formal training.

“Why do you continue to defend him?” Flagon glowered.

“Why do you continue to hold a grudge towards him? Has he done anything to you personally, Flagon? Or are you just someone who doesn’t take well to someone that is better skilled? Someone with natural talent?” You simply asked, rubbing your thumb against Akiko’s, your horse, muzzle. Your other hand carefully brushed through her mane, playfully twirling it at the end.

Eyes moving to Flagon, you arched a brow, urging him to speak his truth. Instead, Flagon scoffed, rolling his eyes and crossed his arms across his chest. You rolled your eyes, turning back your attention back to Akiko, except -

“You don’t think that it’s a problem that criminals were recruited into the Scout Regiment? Into the Survey Corps? People look up to us. Now they’re going to look up to them?” Flagon fumed, disgust evident when he spat out the last word.

With that, you quietly apologized to Akiko before moving your body towards Flagon, rushing him until he was pressed against the stone wall, eyes wide in bewilderment. Finger pressed to his chest, jabbing into his sternum.

“You wanna know what I think, Flagon? I think that people like you are a fucking problem. You think the whole world knows they’re criminals? You think it matters to the people who aren’t in the regiment? Hmm?,” you growled, “you think that the people that look up to us know what we’ve done to survive? That they’ll ever know?”

Flagon was growing red in the face and you only pushed harder, your face only centimeters from his.

“Who gives a shit if they’re criminals? Are they criminals because they did what they could to survive? Or are they criminals because you and every other fucking person who thinks they’re God almighty for living on the surface assume that anyone from the Underground is just that, a criminal?”

The sound of hooves clicking against the ground, followed by feet landing on the ground snapped you out of your rage. You backed off Flagon, your face burning hot, your eyes narrowed in anger.

Flagon held your gaze before scoffing, brushing past you and out of the stable.

With a deep exhale, you shut your eyes and leaned your head back, hands clenched at your sides. You rolled your head to side, eyes growing slightly wide at Levi giving you a stoic look. No glare, no scowl, no furrowed brows or narrowed eyes.

You cleared your throat, straightened yourself out, moving to grab your things and bid Akiko a good afternoon, promising to visit her after dinner. With a gentle kiss to her muzzle, you rubbed the side of her face and left for the exit.

“You’re an idiot if you think defending us will get you on our good side.”

You stopped in your tracks, looking over your shoulder. Levi was facing his own horse, not bothering to spare you a glance. His hands gentle on his horse’s muzzle, reassuring, despite his cold demeanor towards you.

“And you’re a dumbass if you think I give shit about being on your good side, Levi.”  

You walked out.

Levi was quick to discover that cloudless nights were his favorite. They didn’t remind him of the Underground.

The emeralds stuck to the surface’s dirt were nothing compared to the stars shining brilliantly in the night sky. The rich shade of blue, almost black, brought a sort of peacefulness over Levi.

Making his way to the top of the castle, Levi quietly moved to stand outside. With a cup of tea in his hand, he leaned over the edge, elbows resting on the bricks. He felt relaxed, until he glanced to the side and saw a figure. Sitting with their back against the castle, but on the raised lookover, knees pulled to their chest.

Levi allowed an annoyed sound to leave his body, rolling his eyes when he realized it was you. He refused to move from his spot, head turned towards the crescent shape in the sky. He was surprised that your presence didn’t… bother him.

Levi was also surprised that you didn’t say anything to him, didn’t even bother acknowledging him.

Levi arched a brow, sparing another glance towards you, memories from today running through his mind.

A Military Police officer called you Erwin’s bitch, taunting you, sneering that you would never be anything more than Erwin’s bitch.

Levi scoffed at the memory of you grabbing the man by the neck, slamming him down to the ground and beating the shit out of him.

Erwin just stared, watching you beat the shit out of the officer until his blood staining your shirt, splattered on your face. You finally had enough, simply wiping your face with the sleeve of your jacket, excusing yourself before walking off as nothing happened.

Levi almost smiled, taking a sip of tea.

“I enjoy the cloudless nights, too,” your voice pulled Levi out of his minitrance.

He turned to look at you with disinterest, but out of respect, after seeing what you were capable of today.

Your eyes never left the sky. The moon reflected in your irises, soft white glow accenting your features, making you… surreal.

“Seems like you do, too,” you continued, “Not to be a total creep. I just noticed that when the skies are clear and the heavens are on full display, the three of you sneak away.”

Levi’s eyes widened, a small gasp leaving him. You finally looked over offering a shy, apologetic smile.

“I don’t blame you. It’s a beautiful sight.”

You finally moved from your spot, carefully stepping down and stretching. With a tight lipped smile, you made your way to the door.

“They remind me of all the shit we went through, to be grateful,” Levi bullshitted, making you stop in your tracks.

For a moment, the silence was back, only to be broken by your short laugh.

“I don’t believe that for a second,” and you left, leaving Levi on his own before Isabel and Farlan joined him.

It had been two weeks since the return from the twenty-third expedition beyond the walls. Training resumed, research on titans continued. Erwin asked for your thoughts on the revised works of his new formation for the next expedition. This last one worked well, but Erwin strived for the best.

After confessing that he only joined the Corps to get close to Erwin for a job, that would’ve resulted in the death of Erwin and Erwin confessing that he knew all along, Levi was quieter than usual;  especially after the death of Isabel and Farlan, leaving Levi alone.

You managed to pull some strings with the help of Erwin.

Isabel and Farlan’s bodies were cremated separately from the rest of the fallen scouts. Hidden underneath your green cloak, rested the urn.

It was early morning. The sky was still dark, with the exception of the light purples and blues that cleared the path for the sun’s journey across the heavens. They were your favorite shades of blues, even pinks. The quietness, the stillness that came with it was also your favorite.

Birds beginning their daily songs, the coolness in the hair and the smell of dew covered grass. The softness of the ground beneath your feet as you made your way to the edge of the cliff.

You knew Levi would be there. He’d been waking up early in the mornings for the past four days, since your squad (as you were taking temporary command for Erwin) and Flagan’s squad provided backup for Hange’s squad for the next week, due to some research and intel.

Just as you predicted, Levi sat on the cliff, feet dangling off the edge. His cloak draped over his shoulders, but you could tell he wasn’t in uniform.

You knew that he could tell you were behind him. That didn’t stop you from getting nervous. Your steps slowed, your heartbeat picked up, cheeks burning. You paused, inhaling slowly, doing your best to push the nerves aside.

“What could possibly be so important that you had to bother me first thing in the morning?”

You carefully walked closer, stopping right next to him but never sitting. The urn still hidden under your cloak, eyes softening at the sight of the first birds taking flight this early in the morning. Somehow, the urn was colder than the early morning.

“I never get tired of waking up to see the sunrise, or to see the sun hide behind the horizons and letting the moon paint the heavens in brilliant whites,” you implored softly. A little smile found its way onto your face for just a brief moment.

You inhaled, the smell of dew waking your senses, reminding you of the urn sitting in your hands. With the most care, you carefully unveiled the urn from underneath your cloak, catching Levi’s attention.

“I pulled some strings. All the fallen scouts are cremated, but their ashes are usually buried together. Doesn’t make much sense, but then again… you can’t bury all those bodies,” you rambled mindlessly, “They spent their entire life underground and I just… why spend eternity below the surface as well?”

Nervously, your eyes shifted from daybreak, past the urn and down to Levi. Lips parted in surprise that Levi was looking up at you. Furrowed brows, eyes wide in complete shock; his gaze locked onto the urn. The veins in his fingers visible from the way he was gripping his teacup.

You cleared your throat, eyes immediately moving to the ground. His reaction… it was too intimate for you to witness.

You inhaled deeply, quietly, taking a step back to set the urn beside him. You offered a small smile, never turning to look at him directly. Another few steps back before you fully turned, moving away from Levi’s spot.

Your heart pounded against your chest, threatening to break a couple ribs. You couldn’t explain to yourself why you were feeling this way after leaving the urn with -

You made your way back to the cottage, despite the quiet “thank you” you heard, tempting you to look back, to reassure that it wasn’t some figment of your imagination.

Wall Maria fell.

You watched in horror as the Colossal Titan disappeared, titans pouring in front the opening and spreading throughout Shiganshina. The screams and cries of the people embedding itself into your brain. Haunting you.

Move. Do something. Do anything

You stood there, frozen. Titans were inside the city. People were dead. People were going to keep dying unless they evacuated… or they didn’t get eaten by titans.

It was at the sound of one of the Garrison’s Captains calling out for the gate to be closed that brought you back to your senses.

“Do not close those fucking gates,” you snapped, pulling out the hand grips of your ODM gear from your jacket pockets, hidden underneath your cloak, “You are not going to leave these people to die. You are not going to abandon humanity!”

You couldn’t kill all those titans yourself. You were only to deliver paperwork to Pixis, but you found Rico instead.

You didn’t deliver the paperwork. You watched innocent people die; people who never imagined that they would live to see the walls breached by the titans. You watched the Garrisons shoot cannons at a new type of mutant titan. You screamed at the Garrisons to keep the gate open, zipping around to help whoever you could, to save those that you could. You cleared the gate of as many people as you could when the mutant titan ran towards the inner wall, the only escape.

The sound of Garrison Scouts taunting children pulled you out of your trance. He said something about the titans eating more citizens of Shiganshina, that it would’ve helped with the food situation. It made your blood boil.

You growled, reaching for your hand-grip, mind set on pulling out a blade and holding it to his neck. Until a small boy kicked him in the shin, screaming that they didn’t see the way the titans came into Shiganshina; they didn’t see family members, neighbors and friends get their bodies ripped in half.

You stopped when another small boy, a blond, came rushing to his friend’s aide. Passing the brunette’s outburst as a side effect of hunger, of trauma. People turned, their attention drawn to the dispute.

You could tell the scout was flustered, not wanting the rest of the people to think badly of him. To know his truth.

The officer walked back to his group. Just as he clicked his tongue, ready to rant, you quickly joined them. His eyes narrowed at the sight of you, but immediately widened when he noticed the symbol on your jacket.

With ease, you pulled him behind the corner of the building into the alley, making sure his friends witnessed everything. A groan left his lips when you slammed him against the wall, hand wrapped around the collar of his shirt.

“Such a shame to have such shitty people in the Garrison branch. Have you no humanity in you? Or are you a titan in disguise?” you sneered, “Would be a great reason as to why you’re in this branch of the military. Easy access, right?”

You watched the fear in his eyes.

“No, it’s not a disguise. It’s the fact that you truly are the shittiest of all people. You’re disgusting,” you growled, pushing him harder against the wall and letting go, watching him fall to the ground before walking away.

There was a soft knock on the door before you peeked in, offering Levi a shy smile. You quickly gave a small wave, pushing yourself in through the opening in the door. You closed the door behind you, leaning back onto it.

“Why are you trying to be cute?” Levi rolled his eyes, pulling down the bandana wrapped around his face like a mask.

“I don’t need to try, bug. I just am,” you replied quietly, pushing off the door to make your way to his desk.

Levi gave you a look the moment you tried to sit on his desk, swatting your thigh before you touched the desk. You offered a bashful smile, holding your hands in surrender and standing to your full height.

“Well. I just wanted to see if you were in the mood to go to the market. Mike mentioned new teas and how the smells were damn near intoxicating. I’ve been meaning to restock on some chamomile,” you trailed off, mindlessly dusting off the front of his shirt with one hand.

“Mmm. Give me twenty minutes. Maybe I’ll get extra black tea since I seem to have finished it quicker than usual,” Levi simply stated, arching an eyebrow at you.

You didn’t bother fighting the smile creeping across your face, eyes glued to where your hand rested on Levi’s chest. You finally spared a glance when Levi’s hand wrapped around your wrist, thumb rubbing back and forth against the back of your hand.

“You have good taste,” you shrugged, locking eyes with him.

Levi rolled his eyes, moving his hand from your wrist to hold your fingers, pressing a kiss to your knuckles. You couldn’t help the heat in your cheeks, shyly breaking away from his gaze and settling to your skin against his lips.

Twenty minutes later, you found yourself walking beside Levi. His hands tucked into the pockets of his black suit jacket. Levi’s hand-woven basket laid in the crook of your elbow, your other hand constantly checking your skirt pocket to reassure yourself that your money hadn’t fallen out.

“Would you stop being stupid and just put your money in the basket?”

“Levi, you and I both know you would have my head if I even thought about placing dirty money in the same basket as the goods.”

“Not if you had your money in that shitty excuse of a coin purse.”

“It is not a shitty excuse. I happen to really like it.”

“Which is why you forgot it.”

You shot Levi a side glance, pursing your lips. Levi huffed in amusement, holding his hand out. You sighed, slowing down and carefully placing your money in Levi’s hand.

Levi’s fingers closed around yours, but not all the way. Instead, his fingers easily maneuvered to slip between your fingers, but stopping at the tips. His fingers gently brushed against the middle joints of your fingers, giving your hand a slow squeeze before letting go, tucking your money into his pocket, walking off and leaving you stunned at such an assertive form of pda.

“Are you just going to stand there all day with your mouth open for the flies or are you going to buy some new tea leaves?” Levi called over his shoulder.

You made your way to the marketplace with a smile never leaving your face, the warmth of Levi’s hand lingered on yours.

At the stall that Mike mentioned, you and Levi immediately parted to opposite sides for specific interests. You sorted through the various types of herbal teas. You reached for the mint chamomile tea when a tin of loose black tea leaves was held up to you.

Leaning towards the tin, you sniffed, picking out the prepackaged peppermint tea for your own sniff test. Until Levi’s disapproving tongue click grabbed your attention.

“What?”

“Are you too good for loose leaves, brat?” Levi grumbled, moving the tin of black tea leaves from you. Your hand shot out to grab his wrist, pulling the tin back under your nose.

“You’re the brat” you sniffed, narrowing your eyes at him. Levi rolled his eyes and moved his tin again.

“Here,” Levi gave you an empty tin.

“What’s this for?”

“For your tea, dumbass.”

“Why does your face look like that?” Levi deadpanned quietly, shooting a glare Hange’s way after a particularly ear shattering squeal.

You held Akiko’s rein in one hand, the other rubbing and tugging at your fingers. The smallest of frowns painted on your lips, brows slightly furrowed. Your eyes observant as ever, yet there was sadness to them. A look so rare, Levi’s only seen it once or twice in all the years he’s known you.

“Bad feeling,” you muttered.

Everyone around you cheered, sending the best of wishes on behalf of all of humanity. Eyes bright and hopeful, children in complete awe at the sight of the Survey Corps. It did nothing to hide the fear burning bright in your eyes.

“About the expedition?” Petra piped up from your left.

Still tugging at your fingers, your gaze moved from the worn rein up to Levi. He stared back from the side of his eye, his brow arched in feign interest, but you knew that look in his eyes. That gleam of concern, the way he softened by focusing on you, the way only you knew he would.

“I just feel like… there’s something not right… about today.”  

The bad feeling deep in your gut turned out to be another Colossal Titan kicking the wall, titans making their way in and hundreds of rookies losing their lives, their first times coming face to face with titans after the last evaluations were taken.

You were in Trost District, skimming for Titans, sending your squad to check around Hange and Levi’s respective squads.

You spotted three titans. Two to the right, one to the left. You decided for the two on the right.

Flipping through the air, pulling blades from their slots, opposite of yours, you heard Hange’s cheerful yelps. You heard the sound of something through zipping around, cutting through air. You could hear him inhale deeply, preparing for the impact of cutting through titan skin.

Quickly, you changed direction, aiming for the titan that was still standing, going for the kill when the sound of Levi’s boots hitting the metal roof rang through the air.

Just as you got closer, one hand twisted the handgrip. The blade was no longer upright, but held downwards, down the length of your arm; as if protecting your forearm.

You furrowed your brows, shooting the grapple hook into the titan’s neck and shooting yourself through the air, forcing your own momentum to twirl your body, cutting off a perfectly clean slice off the nape.

You landed beside Levi, eyes on his bloody hands. His handkerchief already working at his fingers, the gaps between the finger slots. He grumbled about how gross it was.

You both looked up, eyes locking. Levi’s eyes quickly scanned your body, checking for any visible signs of injuries before settling on your face. With a click of his tongue, his gaze moved back down to his bloody hands.

“You have blood on your disgusting face,” Levi pointed out quietly.

“So wipe it off.”

Levi shot you a look of warning, clicking his tongue. You grinned softly, jumping off the building, making your way down to check on your squad members, who turned their heads in the direction of Erwin.

“Pull back.”

Levi glared at Erwin, demanding to know what the change was for, to know if his men died in vain.

“Titans are traveling in groups and they’re heading north. It’s like five years ago.”

Memories of Shiganshina came flooding back. You couldn’t help the way your eyes widened, full of disbelief, of bewilderment. You couldn’t help the slight part of your lips, breathy exhales causing your body to tremble. Your eyes shot up to Erwin, then to Levi.

Levi’s eyes were trained on you. Watching every move, from the smallest twitch in your face to the way your hands shook and rubbing against each other, from trying to ground yourself. He simply agreed, telling his squad to start moving, telling your squad to start their move, too.

Blinking rapidly, you shook head and shoulders. You cleared your throat, regaining your composure. With a deep inhale, you looked over at Levi, waiting for you with narrowed eyes, lips parted.

“I’m fine. It’s fine,” you reassured quietly, sliding your blades back into place.

You walked past Levi, only to be grabbed by your bicep and twirled around, facing Levi. His facial features were soft, regardless of that damn stoic look. His eyes scanned over your face before locking with yours, his hand never leaving your arm.

“Focus on your squad.”

You furrowed your brows, preparing to counter when Levi continued, giving your arm a squeeze.

“Promise you’ll focus on your squad.”

“Levi, I always -”

“No. My duty is humanity, to my fallen men, to prevent anymore from dying in vain. I can’t fulfill my duty if you aren’t focused on your squad.”

Oh. 

Oh.

“I… promise.”

The old Scout Regiment headquarters was as beautiful as you remembered, at least from the outside. With the exception of weeds, vines, and grime on the once pristine white bricks.

The sun shone brightly, casting a glow that reminded you of moonlight. The route to the castle was just as breathtaking with its path through the forest. You loved the way the sun peeked through openings of the trees’ canopy.

You rode alongside Levi, the hood of your cloak pulled over your head. You listened to Oluo explain the history of the old headquarters, why it stopped being of use by the Scouts. A giggle erupted from both you and Petra when Oluo bit his tongue.

Once arrived at the entrance of the castle, you called out to your own squad members to check the perimeter. Levi scoffed, eyes looking up at the sky.

You softened when you noticed Levi looking at one specific spot, at the tallest point of the castle. There was an opening there, where Levi broke the windows. Where the urn rested.

Akiko nudged against Levi’s horse, Ryu, before moving towards the outdoor stables. You shot him a small smile, turning around to join Eld and Gunther. You could feel Levi’s eyes boring into your back, your smile never fading.

You pulled out a simple white bandana, tying it loosely around your neck, but enough for it to cover your nose and mouth when you entered the castle. You grabbed another white bandana, holding it out for Levi as he walked up to stand beside you.

“Let’s get to work,” Levi called out, grabbing the bandana from your hand and easily untying the one around your neck. You glared at him, reaching to take it back from him, however he already made his way inside.

“Jackass,” you muttered, whistling loudly to get your squad’s attention.

Your squad and you handled cleaning the headquarters from the outside. Picking up debris, cutting the weeds, cleaning the horse stables and providing fresh water and hay, and scrubbing the castle’s exterior. The soft chatter and singing of birds filled the silence, never disrupting the peacefulness to it all.

With the use of the ODM gear, your squad and you were able to clean the windows and scrub the grime the best you could. You reached for one of the wooden excuses of a window, but beaten when Levi pushed it open, doors slamming against the brick.

Levi’s eyes bored into yours, leaning further outside of the window, closer towards you. You rolled your eyes, leaning in, too.

“Of course you’d be in this room,” you murmured, pulling down the bandana from your face.

Levi scoffed, reaching out to grab you by the lapel of your jacket, pulling you so that your legs came through the window, ass on the window sill. Your hand quickly shot out to grab him by the juncture of his shoulder and neck, fingers dancing over the knotted cloth.

“All work, but no play?” Levi arched an eyebrow, eyes scanning over your face. There was a hint of playfulness that only you would ever catch.

“Oh, there’s some play,” you grinned, fingers working quickly to untie the bandana around his neck. Your other hand hits the trigger of your handgrip, gas turning the turbines of your ODM’s main housing, pulling you out of the window and into the sky.

You winked at Levi, waving the white bandana before disappearing to another area of the castle.  

Later in the night, after Hange got Levi’s permission for Eren to join her the next day and Eren being dumb enough to ask about the kinds of experiments that Hange would preforming on the two captured titans, you found yourself in the stables.

It was a cloudless night, the moon outshining the stars that scattered across the heavens. You smiled to yourself, hearing footsteps approaching.

You kept your back to the entrance, a cup of chamomile tea in one hand and the other hand held an apple out to Akiko. Ryu moved, head turned towards Akiko, as if to snatch the apple from her mouth.

“Ryu, of course I brought you one, too,” you chuckled quietly, pulling another apple and holding it out to him.

Ryu eagerly took the apple into his mouth, closing his eyes. You simply smiled, rubbing his muzzle, taking a small sip from your teacup.

“I didn’t forget about you,” you cooed, looking at Levi over your shoulder. Your eyes moved to the small table beside the entrance, gesturing to the hot cup of black tea.

Levi grunted approvingly, making a grab for his tea before walking up to you. His free hand reached up to pet Ryu’s muzzle, hand slowly settling over yours. You couldn’t help the heat in your cheeks, turning your head to look at Levi.

Levi’s face remained turned towards Ryu, yet his hand intertwined with yours. Elegantly, Levi managed to twist his fingers to cup yours, slowly tucking his thumb into your palm and fingers splayed over the back of your hand. He turned his face carefully to look at you, the same usual bored look on his face, but his eyes were soft.

The space between Levi’s eyebrows was flat, his overall facial features relaxed. He looked at you with such adoration, the corners of his mouth slightly turned upwards, bringing your hand to his chest as your fingers curled about his thumb.

“Thank you, sweet girl.”

“Come on,” you muttered to Akiko, moving the reign to get her to go faster, “come on, Akiko.”

The cottage that Levi’s squad resided in came into view, only encouraging you to push Akiko to move faster.

The sun was low, no longer the harsh heat beating down on you. The sky was blue, but littered with beautiful orange highlights against swirls of clouds. The breeze felt so good against your neck, your forehead.

You jumped off the moment you were close enough, trusting Akiko to move closer to the house as you ran to the door, not bothering to knock. You stood at the threshold of the dining room kitchen.

“Captain Levi,” you called out, stopping at the sight of everyone gathered at the table. Hange visibly shaken at the seat next to the window, Levi looking at you with furrowed brows; you never called him by his title.

There was a gleam in his eyes as you approached him, his body tensing.

“I have a message from Erwin. Nifa went to tell him about Pastor Nick,” eyes sparing a glance at Hange, “but she gave me this when she returned.”

You handed Levi a carefully folded note, your fingers brushing against his. Levi broke his gaze from yours, quickly looking over the note. He shot you a grim look, telling everyone to grab their things and move out; make it look like they were never there.

You watched everyone move around quietly, catching soft murmurs about what the note must have said. You moved your gaze back to Levi, never moving from your spot whilst he walked up to you, tucking the note back into your jacket, underneath your cloak.

You shot your hand out to cup his neck, fingers dancing along the nape of his neck, barely brushing against the shaved hair. Levi’s own hand moved from your pocket to the hem of your jacket, pulling you closer.

“I have to go back. I’ll meet you back in Trost District. Just… please be careful,” you whispered, eyes worriedly searching his face.

“Take the opposite path you came,” Levi commanded quietly, his eyes serious as they stared into yours, “outsmart those shitheads.”

“Levi,” you whispered, the worry seeping through, into your voice.

What Levi did next caught you off guard. He leaned in, placing a kiss on your forehead then on the crown of your head. His hand moved to your hips, giving you a reassuring squeeze.

“I’ll see you in Trost District,” Levi murmured, pushing you back to the door.

You couldn’t help the fucking stinging behind your eyes, not wanting to take your eyes from Levi.

“Go. I promise I’ll see you in Trost District. I need to focus on the kids,” Levi warned you softly, cupping your cheek, “We’ll see you soon.”

You nodded, running back out, jumping on Akiko and commanding Akiko back the way you came. You spared one glance back, watching the kids pile out in brown cloaks. It was the last thing you saw before directing Akiko down a different path.

You watched in horror at the sight of the titan crawling through the fields, mouth wide open and eyes watering. It was… it had to be bigger than the Colossal Titan. There was no way that it wasn’t.

Everything it touched burned, everything it was in close proximity went up in flames. It’s trails created a new valley in the ground, fires jumping off its body and onto the surrounding trees.

Your hands went limp, your eyes never leaving the creature, and for a brief moment, doubt spread throughout your body. 

How the fuck were you going to take it down?

“Commander Erwin! It’s Squad Levi! They have Eren and Historia!”

Your head snapped in the direction that the Scout came from, watching as Squad Levi came right from behind.

Your eyes watered at the sight of Levi, your body shuddering in relief. You couldn’t help the soft sob that raked through your body, turning your head down, hand clamped over your mouth and eyes squeeze shut.

Slow inhale, deep exhale.

“Oi,” Levi muttered, nudging your foot with his.

You shook your head, damning the tears that wouldn’t stop trickling down your face.

“Oi,” Levi breathed, reaching over to pull your hand away from your mouth, “look at me.”

You sniffled, eyes narrowed, finally looking at him. Your vision was blurry, but you knew you weren’t imagining the soft look he was giving you, not giving a shit of who saw.

Levi’s eyebrows were furrowed, his eyes looking you over before locking with yours. His hand wrapped around yours, pulling you closer until you were centimeters away.

“I made a promise. I would have expected you, of all people, to know I keep my promises,” Levi mocked.

“You’re such an ass,” you sniffled, wiping your tears. You tried to pull away, to no avail.

The corner of Levi’s mouth quirked upwards, his hand pulling you closer while leaning in, capturing your lips against his for a brief moment. Your face burned hot, pulling away and looking around in bewilderment.

No one was around. A moment of privacy.

You allowed yourself a moment to be selfish, looking back at Levi and stealing another kiss.

This one was different. You poured everything you had, everything you felt; fear, relief, shock, sadness, hope, love. Levi reprociated the kiss. His own feelings poured into it; his own hopes, his own relief, his own moment to be selfish, just for a moment. Even the strong had their weaknesses, had to recharge.

Erwin called out that it was time to move.

Levi pulled away, but you pulled back in for one more quick kiss.

Levi hummed lowly, pulling away, shooting you a look of warning.

“Let’s go. They’re not going to wait on your ass forever,” Levi scoffed, moving Ryu away and ahead of you.

“Yeah, but you will,” you murmured, following him.

[lrissa]

I’m right here

summary: levi and you have grown close in the underground, but when you’re forced to join the Survey Corps and attend your first expedition it all goes south

warnings: vomiting, angst, fluff, all of levi’s ova

this one is long, apologies.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩

Levi, Isabel, Farlan and you flew through the air with the Military Police hot on your tail. Recently you were given information on a secret mission, to kill Erwin Smith.

Happiness tingled in every bone of your body, it was close to the time for you to go to the surface with Levi, to experience the sun together.

“The military police again? Haven’t learnt their lesson have they?” Isabel remarked with a cocky tone, peering back at our pursuers.

“Levi-bro! What I just said was cool, right?” She grinned widely and you smiled at her, already knowing Levi’s answer.

“Are you an idiot?” The raven head answered, Isabels face turned into a frown and she rolled her eyes.

Levi took off with his ODM and spun around before latching his grapples onto a wall, perched there for a moment while the attackers followed him as he jumped off, spinning backwards and joining us again.

“Show off.” You retorted as Levi stayed silent.

“Those movements, they’re not Military Police!” Farlan commented as he stared back at the enemies

“No mistake, its them,” Levi broke through, keeping his eyesight strained forwards “That Wings of Freedom crest.. It’s the Survey Corps.”

You stared wide eyed then looked past your shoulder at them.

“Heh, as people who battle titans they’re as different as expected.” Farlan lightly joked

“You guys... You know, right?” Levi inquired.

“It’s the job, right” You answered, hair whipping behind you as you flew forwards.

Instantly you all released your ODM’s and shot them off in separate directions, splitting up.

Gazing back you examined as one followed you, narrowing your eyes you fixated your eyes straight.

‘Show me how good you really are’ You thought.

Nearing a tunnel you shot your ODM inside, spinning into a ball to gain quicker on it, flattening out once inside.

Exiting the tunnel you noticed someone above you, eyes widening you shot forwards, releasing your gas excessively. Letting one grapple go you swung around on the one, watching as your pursuer anticipatied this they unsheathed their blades and went to strike you, dodging barely you fell back into a crate full of food.

Tumbling backwards you grunted, glaring as he ran after your fleeting figure. Finally gaining ground you straighten up until being thrown onto the floor again by a man.

You yelled and flipped eachother over, throwing punches at the mans face while another hooded figure came from the side. Throwing you off the man as you slid across the floor

Jumping up you gained your ground and pulled out a small dagger whilst they wielded their long blades.

One threw their blade at your knife, unsuspecting this it succeeded and they ran at you. Eyes widening as they kicked down one of your legs, landing painfully onto the hard stone.

Placing your hands behind your back they cuffed you and hoisted you up, struggling against their grip.

“You think you’re so strong.. Well fuck off” You sneered as they smacked the back of your head, furrowing your brows at the surprise.

Levi soon came into view with a blonde man holding a blade to him, anger spiked through every nerve in your body. With your futile attempts to get out the grasp of the handcuffs your wrists began to become red with irritation.

Levi’s eyes locked with yours and his eyes narrowed, the blonde man muttering things to Levi before he opened his palm to release his dagger.

“Levi!” You yelled and tried to break free of your captor.

Levi took steps back as a new Survey Corps came up behind him and placed the handcuffs on him.

Bringing us over they lined us up and made us go on our knees, staring at the ground your hair hung over your eyes.

Levi was to the left of you, turning your head you peered at him, there was a distant look in his eyes as he hyper fixated on the ground beneath him. You frowned and returned your gaze back to the floor.

“I’ll ask a few questions.” The blonde one asserted infront of you all “Where did you get this?”

There was silence as we all kept our mouth shut, why would we fucking tell you, idiot.

“You guys are skilled with 3D Maneuver Gear. Who taught you all that?” The man questioned again.

He walked towards Levi, stopping infront of him. “You’re their leader, right?” he persists “Were you in the Military?”

Suddenly a man grabs the back of Levi’s head, his fists knotting in his hair as he slammed his head into a puddle of mud.

Your head shot up immediately “Let him go!” You yelled and struggled against your cuffs, your gaze deathly as you glared at the man holding Levi.

“I’ll ask one more time. Where did you learn to use 3D Maneuver Gear?”

Your face was in a large scowl as your eyes were trained on the man restraining Levi, if looks could kill he’d be doubled over.

“We learned it by ourselves!” Farlan shouted

“Self taught you say? No.”

“It’s just so we can rise even a bit in this dirty garbage place!” Farlan persisted, shouting “People who’re used to sunlight wouldn’t understand!”

“That’s enough! Let bro go.” Isabel shouted at the blonde giant, “Dont be cocky just because you’re soilders!”

“Take your filthy hands off him.” You seethed at the one gripping Levi’s hair, paying no mind to you.

Eventually he lifted Levi’s head from the dirty mud whilst the man squatted infront of him.

“My name is Erwin Smith. Yours is?”

“Levi.”

“Levi, why don’t we make a deal.”

“A deal?”

“I will let your crimes go unpunished. In return lend me your strength, join the Survey Corps.”

Your eyes widened and you gasped lightly “Levi, no...” You called, the Survey Corps were extremely dangerous and you didn’t want Levi to risk his life by himself.

“And if I refuse?”

“The Military Police will have you, considering all your crimes, you and your friends won’t be treated very nicely.” The man stood and returned to his original placement, “Choose whichever you prefer.”

There was a long pause as Levi considered this, thoughts of you flashed through his mind vaguely. He didn’t want you beaten for his choice, but neither did he want Farlan and Isabel to either.

“Fine.”

You looked down at the floor, a frown evident on your face as you shook your head.

“I’ll join the Survey Corps.”

You were going with him no matter what.

──────────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────────

“Introduce yourselves!” Bellowed a voice as you stood, leaning your weight against one hip as you crossed your arms over your chest.

You all ended up joining the Survey Corps and stood wearing the outfit, atleast it wasn’t uncomfortable.

“The names Levi.”

“Levi.. The first thing you’ll need is some goddamn discipline,” argued the commander “Next.”

“I’m Isabel Magnolia! Nice to meetcha!”

“My name is... Farlan Church.”

With your arms crossed you studied the crowd as they waited for you,

“My name is Y/N.”

“Flagon, these four will be assigned to your squad.” Ordered the Commander.

The introductions ended and Flagon brought them to the barracks, they began to converse amongst eachother as you walked behind Levi.

His hand lifted and rubbed behind the wood, dust falling and sticking to his fingertips. Farlan, Isabel, and your eyes all widened in fear as you quickly noticed what it was.

“I know you all lived in the underground, but try to keep this place paper clean.” Stated the man.

“..Huh?” Levi remarked as he walked towards Flagon, his gaze icy with a glare.

“Why are you looking at me like that? How dare you.”

Farlan rushed forwards and placed a hand between the two, “Sorry! We will keep this place clean.”

Flagon nodded and headed for the door “Training begins to tomorrow,” and left.

You looked back at Levi, walking towards him and placing a hand on his shoulder, gingerly squeezing it.

“Don’t pull anymore tricks like that Levi.” Commented Farlan as he watched him clean the filth off his fingers.

Levi frowned angrily and looked past you to Farlan “Did you not hear what that piece of shit had spouting out of his piece of shit mouth?”

You grinned a bit at that and stepped away from Levi, sitting down on the bed as you let the two argue. Resting your head in your hands whilst you shut your eyes.

You felt the bed dip and removed your hands, looking to see Levi. A disgusted look present on his face as he couldn’t believe he was sitting in such filth.

“Levi, are you worried?” You asked softly. You and Levi’s sides were pressed together as he stared straight on.

“Yes, but we have training tomorrow. Then we can finally see how real this is.” He remarked as you nodded, taking his hand in both of yours. He allowed you to, his gaze staring at your hands.

“I wish you hadn’t come.” Levi added, your eyes snapped to his as you held eye contact.

“What, and let you come here by yourself and get potentially killed. Fuck no.” You snapped at him whilst your grip on his hand tightening.

Levi’s gaze softened at you, he knew these titans were dangerous and he was terrified. Terrified for your safety, but he’d never show it.

Suddenly you released your grip on his hand and instead wrapped them around his neck, pulling him close to you as you put your head in the crook of his neck. He smelt of soap and artificial flowers from a cleaning product.

Levi had stiffened under your touch, his heart beat quickly. His mouth only a fraction open as he registered the human contact. A warm feeling bloomed in his chest and clenched his heart, warmth spreading throughout his body. It lasted mere seconds until his face went back to emotionless. His arms slowly wrapped around your waist and he breathed in your scent momentarily. You smelt of light flowers and vanilla. He loved it almost instantly.

Despite his wishes, his eyes shut and his grip on you tightened. Taking in this moment for he was fearful it’d be the first and last. Pulling back slowly, his hands traced along your waist to your cheeks as he cupped them gently.

Your hand gingerly hovered over his as you two stared at eachother, the tension so strong it gripped your heart and squeezed. His eyes flickered to your lips, his thumb extended from your soft skin to your plump lips, rubbing it tenderly.

Running your hand along his arm you traced it to his hair, your nails going through his silky raven locks until your hand reached the back of his neck where his hair began.

Inching him closer, “Levi..” you whispered delicately. Your noses nearly touching as your eyes fluttered shut, Levi took this as acceptance as his lips neared yours.

BANG

“Levi, Y/N,” Farlan.

──────────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────────

It was the morning after and you stood, unsheathing the blades from your gear, turning and flipping them as you inspected the sharp objects.

“Eh, what do you think your doing?”

Holding the blades you turned to gaze at one of the captains, flipping the blades you gripped them correctly.

“Don’t worry, if I wanted to kill you, I would’ve.” You remarked with a small grin as the captain’s mouth gaped open until his face contoured into one of anger.

“Do not talk to your superior like that—“ Bellowed the captain before you took off into the trees, a laugh following you as it left your lips.

Soaring through the tall trees you kept your eyes honed on any fast approaching objects, gripping your blades tighter as you steadied your breathing.

A large cardboard cutout rose from the trees infront of you, it was bigger than an average human but small when maneuvering above it.

You gasped lightly and faltered momentarily. Leaving your trance you scowled and sent off an ODM on the tree above.

Grappled to the tree you were perched on the tree bark, readying your blades you sent off the ODM on its nape and sliced it through successfully. Grappling away instantly to look for more.

Adrenaline flowed through you, your eyes crazed more as you came across another. Using the nearby trees to swing above and behind the cardboard titan, spinning around you glided above the nape. Grappling the nape and slicing through it perfectly.

The one controlling the cardboard titan stared up at you in shock, how was she so fast?

Continuing this until you made it back to the rest, landing smoothly your eyes scanned the crowd. Spotting Levi you rushed over, grabbing his arm whilst his cold glare turned to look at his grabber.

Levi’s gaze softened realizing it was you and planted a hand on your head, his fingers tangling in your hair before they trailed down your locks and let go.

──────────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────────

“I’ll be going alone.”

Levi’s words echoed in your mind as you stared at him, eyes wide. Tch, who does Levi think he is. A scowl formed on your face and your hands clenched into a fist.

“What?” Isabel and Farlan spoke in unison with shocked expressions.

“You three must make up and excuse to stay behind.”

“But bro, why!?” Isabel exclaimed loudly.

“We haven’t seen a real titan yet and it will be our first time outside the walls. It may take all we have to make it back alive. But if i’m by myself, i’ll manage somehow.”

“But..” You got up off the crate and stood, crossing your arms, “So you’re saying is that we can’t handle it?” You questioned briskly.

“That’s right, or atleast, how I feel.” Levi spoke coldly.

Isabel frowned deeply and walked towards Levi, her hands in fist as she shook slightly, “How can you say that? You won’t know till we tried!” She defended “What’s wrong? This isn’t like you,” She’d add.

Levi frowned and clenched his fist, glaring at you three “If you won’t stay behind, then we’re done talking!” he finalized and walked past you, his painful words attacking your heart as you hung your head.

They yelled for him to stop but you stayed silent, Isabel and Farlan began to argue. Looking up you gazed to where he’d gone, the roof.

Walking towards it, it brought the attention of Isabel and Farlan “Y/N” they began as you gestured your hand to follow.

Reaching the roof you noticed Levi sitting, the door opening had caught his attention, he stared at your nearing figure.

“Levi.” You spoke and walked forwards.

“Bro,” “Levi,” spoke Isabel and Farlan simultaneously.

“I can’t let you go alone.” Farlan demanded, standing confidently.

“You said we’d all go at once, have you forgotten?” Isabel added coldly.

You stopped almost infront of him, crossing your arms “We still have to see the beyond the wall.” Levi’s eyes widened and he lost air for a moment, turning back to the view of the roof.

“It’s the same. When you can’t see the moon or stars, the sky up here is just the same as down below.” Levi said dully, staring straight on.

You three looked up into the dark sky, clouds were clogging the beautiful sky from the stars and the planets beyond.

“The color sure, but..” Farlan began, “But it’s different” Isabel concluded as Levi turned his head to Isabel, “We know there’s no ceiling! It’s completely different.”

“Look,” you pointed into the sky, the gloomy clouds moved to reveal a bright moon. “The moon is so bright!” Isabel exclaimed loudly in an awe tone.

Farlan and Isabel took seats on the edge with Levi, staring up. You walked forwards and took a seat next to Levi, your knees touching as you yourself gazed up at the moon and stars.

“We’ll never go back down there.”

“She’s right bro. The four of us always pulled through, right? It’ll be the same with the titans. Let’s do this together.” Isabel grinned widely as she turned to look at her friends.

“Levi, believe in us.” Farlan spoke and looked to his friend, Levi’s eyes dilated when he heard this. His emotions were powerful but so were his friends determination.

Levi looked to the starry sky and pondered this, memories of his friends passed through his mind. Looking back down a smile had taken his lips “Alright. I’ll believe in you.”

“Yay!” Isabel yelled as she put her arms in the air whooping with joy, “Bro sure is a stubborn one isn’t he?”

Farlan began to chuckle whilst you placed your hand on Levi’s, interlacing eachothers fingers as you looked up to the sky. Levi stared at you with determination and most importantly love, the smile he held never ceased to falter from his face.

──────────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────────

“We will now begin the 23rd Expedition Beyond the Walls!” Bellowed the Commander of the Survey Corps, “Forward, Everyone!”

He whipped the reigns on his horse and took off, yelling loudly. Everyone followed his command and started off behind him. To the right of you was Levi, Farlan, then Isabel.

As you galloped under the wall it opened to reveal the great plains with some strips of trees. Tilting your head up you found the sun belting down on you, it was gorgeous, better than you could’ve imagined. The sunlight stretched as far as you could see, it’s bright rays lighting the beauty of the land.

Along with you, Farlan and Isabel seemed awestruck while they stared at the bright blue sky, “Wow!” Isabel spoke in awe.

“Yeah. Not bad at all.” Levi said from beside you, staring up he saw the sun. He had fulfilled his promise to Y/N, to go beyond the wall together. A faint smile on his usual bored lips.

“Levi, thank you.” You spoke from beside him, turning to look at the girl who grinned broadly, “Thank you for showing me.”

Levi stared at you, impossible to mutter the words he so badly wanted to say ‘I love you’.

He could only muster a nod at you and turn his head straight on, his heart beating wildly in his chest but his face a stoic one.

A girl scolded the four of you for losing focus, exclaiming we’d die before we know it.

“Titan spotted!”

Your gaze cut to look ahead of you, a 15 meter was running straight at your squad. Air hitched in your throat as you stared at it ‘So this is what a titan looks like’ you thought.

“Two 10-meter class titans are heading for us from behind!”

Snapping your head back you saw the other two titans, eyebrows furrowing.

“Prepare to attack! Equip your 3D Maneuver Gear!”

One man went to attack the titan, shooting his gear at it head on. Before the titans mouth gaped open and crunched down on the man.

Flagon quickly shot his ODM at a nearby tree, flying up off his horse and escalating on the titan, flying behind it and turning back to advance on it he striked at the nape, killing it as it tumbled to the ground.

You were shocked but felt the heavy footsteps of the titans behind you gaining, turning you looked to see the two titans.

“You three! Stay in your course!” Flagon shouted from ahead.

Suddenly a green cape flew by, fluttering in the wind as it headed straight for the two titans behind us.

“Levi!” You yelled and spun your horse around, whipping the reigns roughly as you leaned forwards on the horse, gaining speed by the second.

“Y/N! C’mon Isabel we can do this” Farlan called as they both turned their horses around, chasing after you and Levi.

You watched as Levi jumped off his horse and grappling to a tree behind them before grappling the titan and swinging around it until finally slicing its nape clean off. The surface rumbled as the titan fell to the ground, grass and soil flying into the air.

Taking a deep breath you stood on your horse, grappling to a tree. Unsheathing your blades you released the ODM on its leg, striking behind his knees. From above you saw Isabel get grabbed by the titan, fear striking your heart as you shot your ODM to save her.

Luckily, she cut off the fingers holding her and whooped loudly before swinging away. Farlan came from behind and swung at the nape, ending the titan. You were just infront the titan as you saw it begin to fall forwards, eyes widening as you grappled away hastily.

You landed on the ground and felt a gust of wind and dirt hit you heavily, protecting your eyes with your arm.

Dropping your arm you stood infront of the head of the titan, hot steam exiting into the air.

Levi came from behind you on his horse as he held the reigns of your stead, staring at your figure as you stood, nonmoving.

Despite your best efforts your hands shook from post shock, the blades shuddering in your grip as you still held them.

Levi got off his horse and came up from behind you, his arms snaking around your waist while he pulled your back to his chest.

“Levi..” You whispered softly as you felt your hands steady, sheathing your blades and placing your hands on his.

“Thank you..” Taking his hands off your stomach you held one and turned around, he only nodded at you and squeezed your hand before dropping it.

Isabel and Farlan came from ahead whilst you and Levi mounted your horses silently, “Levi! We took down a titan all by ourselves!” “We did it bro! We did it!” Isabel and Farlan said excitedly, huge grins on their faces.

“Yeah... You guys did well.” Levi agreed while you pet the mane of your horse gingerly.

“Indeed,” The sudden voice made you turn to see Erwin Smith, eyes widening a fraction “that was impressive, considering it was your first time. But you used too much gas. You need to be especially conservative out here.”

Farlan scowled and readied to argue before Levi put his hand out to stop him, speaking cooly, “You’re expecting me to take priority of my equipment over the lives of my friends?”

“You’re performing a lot of unnecessary movements. Are you beginning to have doubts?” Erwin challenged as Levi grimaced, “If you are, that’ll be the death of you very soon.”

You stared at Erwins retreating figure while Isabel and Farlan bickered amongst themselves.

Following after him soon after, the clouds beginning to turn a dark gray from above.

Small bullets of water began to rain down on the land, soaking everything it touched and fast.

Pulling your hood up you noticed fog cloud the area around you, your eyes darting to the areas of open land, fearful for a titan to appear.

“I didn’t know rain could be this heavy!” Isabel called

“We can’t even see any titans!” You exclaimed

“This is our chance.” Levi calmly spoke from ahead of you, “We’ll use the rain as cover and get close to Erwin.”

Small gasps left their mouths, they have totally forgotten their mission.

“Levi!” “Are we gonna do it bro?”

“Yeah. But it’d be suspicious if all three of us were to break away at once. I’ll go alone.”

You tsked and turned your head away from him, shaking it. He is so persistent to be independent all the damn time.

“True, it’s best not to carelessly move around.” Farlan stated.

“Alright fine, we’re counting on you bro! Go and secure our citizenship.” Isabel grinned widely, her teeth shining.

A terrible feeling was inside your chest, it was unexpected and hurt terribly. Something was bound to go wrong and you could feel it pierce your soul.

“If anyone asks, tell them I went to survey the terrain.” Levi gazed at you when he ended, noting the discomfort in your face.

“Y/N” The cool tone caught your attention as you looked to Levi, his eyes narrowing as he looked to you.

“Be safe.” Time slowed as he said this, this answered all your fears. Levi himself was terrified and he emitted it from his eyes, his eyes, they were so scared and vulnerable.

Time came back as he whipped the reigns of his horse and rode forwards, no..

“Levi!” You screamed as he turned his head to you.

“I love you!” You yelled as confidently as you could, his eyes and mouth visibly opening wide, his heart clenched with an igniting warmth. He snapped his head back forwards, he’d say those words when he returned, he had faith in your survival.

Levi’s figure disappeared into the fog as Isabel and Farlan gaped at you, a blush rushing to your cheeks when he never reciprocated it.

“Y/N..” You looked to them, they smiled at you “I’m sure bro loves you! How could he not?” Isabel exclaimed happily as you gave her a faint smile.

Minutes later from riding your hands shook lightly, gazing at your friends you sighed.

Then, Isabel was in the air, why was she in the air? But your eyes hadn’t registered the huge fleshy fingers gripping your close friend. Your eyes widened in fear as your mouth opened to scream for her, Farlan was beginning to unsheath his blades as he rose from his horse.

The titan brought your red headed friend to its mouth, why her? She was always so kind and optimistic. Her happiness always giving her hope in the darkness of this shitty world.

Tears pricked at your eyes as you watched it, watched the titan eat her small, fragile body. Blood, her blood, splattering yours and Farlans face.

“Isabel!” Your screams finally broke the trance you were in, unsheathing your blades and jumping off your horse. Tears streamed down your soft cheeks as you saw Isabels head fall to the floor and roll.

You screamed as you went behind the titan, slicing down its nape, slicing its arms, knees, hands, anything that was connected to the titan was gone or bloody.

Farlan fell to his knees with tears flowing down his face, looking down to Isabels mutilated head. Sobs wracked his bodily heavily as he moved the red hair from her bloody face.

A new titan came from where the other titan had come from, running at you. “Farlan!” You shouted madly as you crouched down quickly, shaking his shoulders violently as he sobbed.

“Farlan! We have to survive, for Levi!!” You screamed at him and kept shaking him, removing the hands from his eyes he stared at your confident look, slowly, he’d nod and shakily stand.

You shot your ODM at a tree and stared to the incoming titan, a hard scowl overcoming your features as you jumped up, grappling its arm.

The titan looked to you and his hand stuck out, you gasped and attempted to move out its way. But it’s hand had caught one of your legs, your eyes dilated as you watched your leg get crushed by the hands of a titan.

A scream left and echoed around you, your terrified and fearful screams.

Farlan came from behind the titan and sliced at its nape, stopping any further damage.

Grappling away quickly, fell to the ground as soon as you landed, your face was coated in filth. Mud and blood covered your body.

Sitting up, you groaned in pain as you looked ahead. Farlan was running to you, shouting for you to stay awake.

But, as there always is, was another titan, it was an abnormal as it ran over on its four limbs. Your eyesight was blurry, looking at Farlan infront of you. His worried gray orbs roaming over yours as you saw his mouth shout words at you.

“Titan..” you mustered out as Farlan spun around to see the abnormal, he was scared, upset, but mostly angry. Angry for the death of Isabel and Y/N’s injury, but more furious at his short life. Farlan was smart he knew he wouldn’t survive this one and it pained him but he’d fight for atleast Y/N to survive this.

He grappled off towards the titan, you watched with zero control. Pain sizzled up your leg and ignited your body in a fury of agony.

“Farlan!” You attempted to shout, reaching your hand out towards his retreating figure. He looked back at you and gave a smile, a smile at a time like this. You wailed loudly and slammed your fist into the dirt sobbing.

From the distance you heard the loud sobs and screams of Farlans last moments as the abnormal bit down on his abdomen, ending his suffering. There was silence but for the titan feasting on Farlan.

Your head hung downwards as wind blew through your hair, shutting your eyes as tears streamed down your face.

Clutching the grass around you, you went against your pain and pushed yourself up off the ground, resting your weight in your good leg.

Levi was in the distance, crouched infront of Isabels head. He hadn’t looked up as he stared at his red headed friend. ‘Y/N, Farlan. Where are they?” he thought painfully as he forced himself to look up.

He caught your standing figure staring at the abnormal, Farlans body dangling from its teethy grin. Levi’s eyes dilated and he immediately stood, unsheathing his blades he ran towards you and the titan.

The abnormal began to reach its hand out to you, it’s fingers unclenching and expanding to grab you.

Blood splattered your face, along with the ground thumping. The raven head stood infront of you with mutilated fingers behind him, his glossy eyes looked back at you and he shoved you.

Levi shoved you to the ground as you landed flat on your ass, you stared at him with an awestruck expression.

“Do not stand! I’ll kill it!” Levi yelled at you, your eyes darting to his hands. They shook violently before he ran towards the abnormal and grappled it.

You sat there like he had insisted you do, hair blew over your eyes as you surveyed the battlefield. Blood streaks littered the area and Isabel, oh Isabel. Farlans body was spit from the titans mouth as he thudded against the dirt, his eyes rolled to the back of his head and an intestine hung out his stomach.

Vomit come up your throat as you leaned over and hurled your morning breakfast, your body heaving as you fell onto your back, staring up at the gray sky. ‘Maybe it was like the undergound’ you pondered.

Far away were Levi’s shouts and screams as he sliced the titans whole body, so much so that the titans head flew off and rolled onto the ground, sputtering blood everywhere.

Blood poured out of every slice Levi had inflicted on the titan, he held no remorse for the monster as he sliced its hands clean off. Until finally, slicing its nape.

Levi landed and kneeled down, his black hair covering his eyes as he shook. He felt knees fall to the ground ahead of him and a hand touch his bloodied cheek.

His head snapped up and he was met with Y/N’s eyes, she rubbed his cheek tenderly. Staring at his dull gray eyes with love and vulnerability. Levi’s eyes glossed over as he was flushed with a wave of gratefulness, his true love lived through this hell.

“Levi... I’m here, I’m right here.”

Levi’s hands cupped your face and pulled you in quickly, your lips fusing together as your eyes fluttered shut. Tears leaked down your eyes as you moved your hands to the collar of his shirt, gripping it tightly.

Slowly he pulled back, your lips softly breaking apart as he rubbed away your tears with his thumbs.

“I love you too.”

don’t forget to follow :)

[lobakmerahs]

One: Painting and Its Secrets

Summary: This series is about Levi’s slow burn relationship with the reader who is not only a squad leader but a spy who works under Scouts Regiment.

Warning: mentions of death

A/n: I hope you, whoever you are that will read my series will enjoy it as much as I do when I wrote it. Thanks and have a pleasant reading! :)

~ 🎨

3 weeks before...

A blond platinum wig in a pixie cut, button down shirt in beige, a dark brown suspenders, a pair of pants in olive green with a jacket in the same colour. Last but not least a black fedora on top of the head. You stared at your reflection in the mirror, making sure that you looked completely different from the real you at the same time not wanting the disguise you were wearing would catch unnecessary attention. After you were fully satisfied with your look, you took your steps outside your little home.

It was supposedly your off day and you were strolling at the Stohess District and went to buy a newspaper before taking your seat at an empty bench while facing the river. After a few moments had passed, you glanced at your watch and stood up to head to your destination. 

Hans Art Gallery. You were on time when you stood in front of the art shop as the business was just begun and you were the first one to enter. 

“Good morning and welcome to Hans Art Gallery. Is there anything that I can help you, Mrs?,” the gentleman asked. 

“A bouquet of tulips for the man with the black shoes.” You answered to the gentleman who was not wearing a pair of black shoes but upon hearing your sentence and clearly understood your code, he went to the back of the gallery before returned to you and handed the canvas piece that was neatly wrapped with an oil paper. 

You calmly walked to your home and naturally looked around you to make sure no one was tailing before you entered your house and produced a soft click sound as you locked the wooden door behind you. You didn’t go straight to your room, instead you climbed to the attic and yet again locked the door. Slowly you unwrapped the frame and brought out your forceps as well as your scalpels, no need to ask how did you get those. The canvas held a drawing of an evening sky which was rich with every shades of orange colour capturing the beauty of the sunset, it seemed like it could bring calmness to whoever that laid their eyes on it, but what people didn’t know, didn’t have to know as well as didn’t have the right to know was what lied beneath the drawing. Yes, the drawing was undeniably beautiful, it was made by none other than one of your assets in the Wall Sina that disguised as an art dealer among the nobles. The said asset had planted a few layers of documents under his drawing which was the main reason you were about to form a surgery on the work of art. Meticulously, you ran your scalpel on the border of the drawing, next you brushed your thumb along the already cut borders to make the edges curled upwards then you used your forceps to peal the drawing away, revealing layers of papers which were believed to be the documents that were hidden beneath it. 

“Hmmh.. hmmm~ yare yare, found ya’.” You whispered to yourself and smiled in relief, taking out the pieces of papers and gave it a read. 

The documents contained the Military Police reports of Nicholas Lovof’s crimes that included bribery, kidnapping, murders and any other atrocities that were enough to put someone under justified punishments. Not only that, the documents also included a detailed descriptions as well as names of the people that were in charge to kill Erwin Smith, a good colleague of yours, thanks to Nicholos’s manipulations. The said people were; a young red-haired girl styled in pigtails, another young man with a light-brown hair and persumably the oldest one of the pack,a sharp dull blue eyes man with a black hair styled in an uppercut. 

Then, you made a copy of the documents and kept them in a scroll so you could send them to Erwin, where the original copy of them were properly sealed in an envelope for you to send them to none other than Dhalis Zachary.

~🎨

You took a deep breath, inhaling the morning’s crisp while staring at the blue sky. It was always your favorite thing to do, starring at the sky, focusing on the colours that it held. From the wide ranges of blues, to the variety tones of the white from the clouds and sometimes the contrast colours of orange or pink that appears during dusk or dawn. 

After you had enough of your morning pill from the sky, you stepped out of your chamber and was greeted by your best friend, Hange with a raised of both your eyebrows. Both of you did not need much words to greet each other most of the times. You were best friends since your Training Corps years. Morning wasn’t the time for you guys to start acting real with each other. So, both of you walked by each other to the mess hall to get your breakfast then attended the assembly Scout Regiment’s concourse. 

During the morning assembly, you lined up beside Erwin as you were also a Section Commander and had your comrades under your unit to stand in a line behind you. As you were standing, you could see there were 3 people standing beside Commander Keith Sadis, and were introduced to the whole Scout Regiment as the new Scouts. One of them was a girl with red-brown hair tied into two pigtails, named Isabel Magnolia, the other was a man with dark blond hair named Furlan Church and the last one named Levi, a shorter man with black hair styled in an uppercut. All three of them were assigned into Flagon's unit much to his dismay. You glanced at Erwin by your side and he gave you a knowing look. While others found those new Scouts’ names foreign, both of you were exceptional and for a good reason. 

They were surprisingly good during their training, for some people who never had a formal training using the ODM gear, they performed fantastically well but they still needed some polishing for their Titans killing skills, except for Levi. You were always up to offer help to them but they often misunderstood since you usually looked cold and always a bit brutal during your trainings which were a famous fact among the Scout Regiment. Farlan and Isabel often thought that you hated them since they received resentments from severel other Scout cadets and thinking that you were also in the same boat as the other Scouts. Levi was always with his bored expression, you could barely read his expressions let alone his thoughts, unlike the other two. There was a time where Isabel blurted about why you insisted to help training them when you seemed to dislike them.

“It doesn’t matter if I like you guys or not, people train to kill the Titans and to survive. You guys seemed to rush things and hiding something, as if you wanted you to get done with killing Titans then move on to do something else that isn’t Titans related and I’m here trying to help you not to get killed by Titans”, you answered. There was a short silence followed after your answer. You could tell their breaths hitched for a moment but you remained stolid nevertheless.

“Well, we have to move on to do something else as in to focus on the formation right?”, Furlan replied with a hint of nervous. 

“Yeah, let’s hope so.” You answered. 

~🎨

In life, there were a lot of moments where the air would be tense and the night before expedition was one of them. The night was calm and quiet but you couldn’t ignore the heavy feeling in your heart. Tonight was just another night inside the wall but to some in the Scout Regiment, it would be their last. Tomorrow’s expedition would surely cost some of your comrades’ lives and might even yours, for the sake of humanity. 

You took a deep breath. But it still didn’t help to calm your nerves. You had been pacing in your room since dinner. You couldn’t stay still, palms were sweaty and heart was beating unsually fast tonight. Something bad was going to happen tomorrow. You could feel it in your guts. You recognized these telltale because whenever you felt like this, you’ll end up receiving death news be it your favorite neighbour from your hometown, your beloved pets or even the Scouts that you had helped in training. Deciding that sitting in your room wouldn’t help lessen the nerves, you grabbed your pencils and sketch papers then headed outside to gaze at the starry night sky to do some sketches in hope of easing your mind. 

As you arrived at you usual spot at tower of the Scout Regiment barracks, you slumped down and took a glance at the sky. The moon hadn’t shown itself yet, and there were thick clouds hanging everywhere. Then, you stared at your paper and pencil. Blank. No idea. No inspiration. Stuck. You sighed, and continued to stare at the night sky hoping to relax your mind for awhile. Then, you heard the sound of clicking boots which meant that there were people not far from you. It was Furlan and Isabel whom just arrived, they walked to a figure that you assumed to be Levi. You remained quiet and peeped them from your location. You could heard Isabel and Furlan trying to convince Levi about them joining tomorrow’s expedition. As you were eavesdropping not that you planned to in the first place, suddenly your hand started to sketch the paper, starting with the clouds and adding the diamonds in the sky, slowly without you realizing it, you were sketching the trio starring at the starry night sky under the moonlight that shone magnificiently. 

When you were done with the sketching, you returned to your room as quietly as possible and continued to add colours to your drawing before you got sleepy and finally free from your anxious feeling earlier. Before you headed to your bed, you jotted down the date behind your work which now known as painting, no longer just a sketch.

_

During the expedition, you and your squad were put around the right flank of the long range formation. There were few Titans appeared throughout the journey, none that your squad could handle. You were beyond grateful that all of your squad were still well and alive at the moment. Then, you received a signal to tighten the formation since the sky started to show sign that it would rain soon and a heavy one at that. You commanded your squad to pull on the hood of their capes and stayed as close as possible with you and each other so that no one would go unnoticed and it would be easier to assist if anything happen.

Despite the heavy downpour, your squad kept moving forward and you efficiently assisted your squad in killing any Titan that came in the way, it was always your promise to make sure everyone under you would return to the wall safe and alive. Then, suddenly you heard a weird noise coming from in front of you, not the usual strange noise that a Titan would make.A load, short but multiple groan as if a Titan was in pain. So, you rushed to the direction of the sound assuming that there might a cadet or a squad that needed your assistance. 

You arrived at the same time as Erwin’s and some other squad leaders, surrounded by an Abnormal Titan’s and plenty of your other comrades’ corpses. Then, you noticed Levi standing next to the Titan’s dead body with blood all over him and Isabel’s head in front of him with half of Furlan’s body not far from him as well. Levi seemed to be the only one survived from his squad. His head hanging slightly low, with his hair covering his eyes but the tears streaming down his cheeks didn’t go unnoticed by you. So, this explained the sweaty palm and racing heart you had another night- to see two cadets that you helped with training days ago, only now left with just just head and half of a body. You felt your shoulder fell and knees slightly shaking. You felt like your breath had been taken away.

As the rain started to stop slowly as the sunshine gently peeking from the clouds, you watched how Levi was about to kill Erwin which was stopped by Mike then Erwin explained about the Nicholos Lovof's situation causing Levi to stop his actions and stood silently, digesting the fact that he was caught up in Erwin’s plans. 

You did feel bad for Levi, Erwin wasn’t the only who knew about him and his friends’ true intention of joining the Scout Regiment. You knew about it too. It was your assignment to obtain the information about Nicholos Lofov’s crimes and sent it to Erwin as well as finding out the person who was assigned to supposedly kill Erwin. It was just a simple guess as to why those three didn’t refuse so much on joining he Scout Regiment when Erwin offered them to.

You were assigned with that task since you were not only a Section Commander but also a spy under the Scout Regiment as well as the cadets under your wings and some were also assets scattered across the town in disguise as an art dealer in Wall Sina, a commoner who opened a bakery shop or could be anyone in the town that simply invisible to the world but not to you. You needed to sniff around to obtain crucial informations that could contribute to the Scout Regiment strategies, formation and as well as humanity. 

~🎨

The barracks became quieter after the expedition ended which was normal due to the lost of lives. You were at your room that night, just checking your report before you could submit them to Erwin the next morning and decided to write some notes in your book. You opened your drawer and saw the painting that you made before the expedition took place. Levi, Isabel and Furlan staring at the sky. Two of the were smiling in admiration to the sky while Levi just being Levi, stoic as ever except his eyes where they were packed with ......hope. 

You suddenly felt drenched and decided to go for a glass of water at the kitchen before you headed to sleep. You inserted the sketching into your notebook and brought them with you to the kitchen, it just came across your mind to let Levi had it since you remembered how shattered he looked when he was kneeling in front of Isabel's head. The kitchen was empty when you arrived so you went to grab a cup and filled it with water.

As you took a sip of water from your glass, you saw Levi entering the same room as yours. Both of you were startled for a second yet no words left your mouths before he proceeded to make himself a tea and you with your drink. The room was filled with silence but not an uncomfortable one, at least for you. That was when it slipped your mind that you wanted to give the drawing to Levi. Only if he would accept your drawing. You thought he might wanted it since that drawing was an evidence of a sweet memory that his two friends left him during their short time in the Scout Regiment. Probably something for him to look at when he felt lonely. He was stirring his teaspoon with his back facing you when you called his name. Probably the first time having you calling his name. Probably the first time you would ever interact with him ever since he joined the regiment.

“.....um..Levi,” you called. That’s when your heart skipped a beat. And you felt a bit....just a bit nervous to see him reacting to you. Then, he turned around and faced you, intense dull blue eyes focusing on your eyes, expecting you to continue. You gulped. Man, was his gaze always this tense? You never noticed that before for sure.

“I was at the tower the night before the exhibition, with my sketching utensils because I needed to calm my nerves. Then suddenly you guys came and I made something. I didn’t plan doing it, I just went with the ideas flowing in my head,” you stopped and brought out your painting to his attention. He stayed focus listening to you and eyes never left your face before he took the drawing and examined it. You couldn’t say he was amused but his gaze did soften a little. 

“I’m sorry I draw the three of you without your permission.I know I should have asked your consent. And um, you could keep that...... If you want though,” you continued. You felt quite nervous not because you were scared of him, shy probably but not scared. You were nervous because one, you wished your drawing didn’t remind him of his late friends in a bad way and caused him more sadness, two, you didn’t want him to get mad at you for drawing him without his permission and three, um...what if your drawing looked like a toddler’s work? That would suck.

“It’s nice,” Levi finally spoke. His deep monotone voice comforted your ears. You breathed out a relief. 

“I want to keep it,” Levi said, hand still holding your drawing, eyes travelling back to yours with a softer gaze and as if asking for your permission. 

You nodded, “sure, make it yours, I do hope it’ll help you feel better, if that's even possible”, you replied with a soft chuckle as you slowly stood and got ready to head back to your room.

You saw Levi took a glance at the drawing then looked at you again before he replied you with, “thanks, I’ll treasure it.”

You flashed a small smile before yawning and took off to your room to get your sleep. Feeling light and at ease, knowing your drawing could help lift up someone’s mood.

Little did you know that, back in his chamber, Levi stared at your painting. He indulged himself into the painting that you made, every drop of colour as well as every line and traces left on the paper by you, realized how he missed watching his lost friends’ smiles and thanks to you, he could see his friends’ smiles once again eventhough it was just on a piece of a paper. Not to mention, he finally got to interact with you. You striked a mysterious aura when you first appeared before his eyes which intrigued him to get to know you, yet he never had a chance or a reason to talk to you but you were always there somewhere in the back of his mind. He was utterly grateful with the drawing you made, at least he could carve the smiles of his friends into his mind, their smiles might no longer exist in this world but it would always be in his heart and mind. 

                                              Next chapter

[pickalilywrites]

Levi and Petra's son arrives two weeks early, born on Valentines day. Modern AU

thanks :)

two weeks more

rivetra. modern au. 1072 words.

“I’m going in there,” Levi says for the tenth time that hour. It’s the twelfth hour, and he’s said the same thing at least ten times each hour. He must have repeated it over a hundred times by now, but he clings to it like a mantra even though he’s been barred from entering after the first time he had caused a scene. 

“You can’t go in there,” Farlan says, something he’s also repeated as many times as Levi has repeated his own words. He grips Levi’s arm with one hand, ready to restrain his friend like he’s done so many times before today. Like Levi, there are dark circles under his eyes after being up for the past twelve hours. “The doctor kicked you out after you made a fuss bringing Petra here.”   

“How does anyone expect me to sit still when there’s a whole child coming out of my wife?” Levi asks. He lurches forward, but Farlan pushes him back down against the chair. He snarls at Farlan, “Let me go!”  

“Do you want to be kicked out of the hospital?” Farlan hisses, glancing at Petra’s hospital room. A cry comes from the room and Farlan grunts as he pushes Levi back against the chair once more. “Levi, sit the fuck down! Isabel is with her. It’s going to be fine!”  

“Why is it taking so long? It shouldn’t be taking this long,” Levi protests. He tries to lunge out of his chair once more, but Farlan holds him down firmly. Levi glares at Hanji who is calmly flipping through a magazine beside him. “Hanji, help me!”  

“Help you what?” Hanji asks. They turn another page, not bothering to look up at Levi’s outraged face. They only look up every once and a while when hearing Petra’s pained cries, but otherwise they seem unbothered. “Do you really think it’ll help if you’re in there screaming at the doctor and nurses? They’re professionals, Levi. Just leave them to their jobs. It’s natural for the first labor to be the hardest.”  

“See? Listen to Hanji,” Farlan says through gritted teeth, still firmly holding Levi back against the chair because he doesn’t trust Levi not to escape at the earliest opportunity.  

“Two weeks early? The baby is two weeks early,” Levi reminds them. He’s been constantly reminding of this fact the entire time they’ve been at the hospital. He had memorized the exact date that their baby should have been born: February 28. It was a complete surprise when Petra’s contractions had started two weeks prior to the date their obstetrician had given them. They had planned to celebrate their last childless Valentine’s Day together when the contractions started late last night only a little after they had gone to bed. 

“Yes, the baby is two weeks early. We know, we know,” Hanji says with a nod. They fling an arm around Levi’s shoulders. “Shouldn’t this be, you know, the best day of your life? You’re going to be a father, you know.”  

“This is the worst fucking day I’ve ever had,” Levi replies. He turns his head so quickly at the sound of Petra’s cry that his neck nearly snaps.  

“I’d say Petra’s day is infinitely worse. She’s the one being ripped in half, after all,” Hanji comments.  

At Hanji’s words, Levi makes another attempt to escape from Farlan’s grasp but his friend tackles him back into the chair. 

“Hanji, you’re not helping,” Farlan hisses. It’s taking all of his strength to hold Levi against the chair, but he’s not sure how long he can keep holding Levi back after restraining him for several hours. 

“If you don’t let me go right now, I will kill you,” Levi growls, but Farlan continues to hold him back. Levi feels his panic rise when he hears Petra cry again behind the delivery room doors. He struggles against Farlan’s hold, trying his best to break free. It takes him a while to realize that Hanji is shushing him. 

“Do you hear that?” Hanji asks. They place a finger to their lips, finally abandoning their magazine on a side table. It’s the first time they’ve expressed any interest in what was happening in the delivery room. They lean forward, a smile on their face as they hear the sound of a baby crying replacing Petra’s earlier cries.  

Isabel bursts through the doors just then, two nurses following closely behind her. “Levi!” she says, but she hardly finishes calling his name when Levi pushes past her, unable to stand being away from his wife any longer. 

When he enters the delivery room, Petra is laying in the hospital bed exhausted. She’s damp with sweat, but she’s as radiant as ever. In her arms is a babe wrapped in a bundle of blankets, red-faced and crying even as he’s being comforted by his mother. When Petra sees Levi, she gives him a tired smile. 

“Are you okay?” she asks. 

“I should be the one asking you that,” Levi laughs weakly, unable to take his eyes off their newborn son. The baby is so small, but somehow the his presence has shifted his entire world.  

Petra shushes the baby, but it continues to fuss and cry despite her best efforts. She smiles a little sheepishly at Levi. “He was so impatient that he came two weeks early, but it seems he’s still upset even after being born.”  

Levi can only watch wordlessly as Petra comforts the babe, speaking to him lowly as he cries and cries and the nurses fuss around them. Eventually, he asks, “Can I hold him?”  

“Of course,” Petra laughs and gently hands the newborn to her husband.  

Levi cradles his son in his arms, holding him as if he were made of glass. He doesn’t even dare to breathe as he holds their son. As he takes the baby in his arms, the baby begins to quiet down, comforted by his father’s touch.  

“All this time, we were wondering why he came so early,” Petra says with a smile. She reaches out to touch their son’s forehead, stroking the little wisp of black hair. “It looks like he wanted to meet us as soon as possible.”  

“Lucky us,” Levi says as he gazes down lovingly at their son. Only a few minutes ago he had been in complete agony, but now he feels nothing but blessed as he holds his newborn with his wife beside him.  

[worldhell]

⋆ ┊ . 𝐼𝒻 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝐿𝑜𝓈𝑒, 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒟𝒾𝑒 ◞ 𝖒𝖊𝖒𝖊 . accepting. ˚ @naitfall ⤸ ❛  please don't leave me alone. i cannot do this without you.  ❜ ( post thunder-spear explosion, he asks help to kill the beast. @ farlan 💕 )

In every way he's against it. From the beginning, ever since the battle in shiganshina, Farlan has witnessed the obsession inflicted to that final promise / kill the beast titan. Kill Zeke. It should be a simple case, they'd managed to kill their enemies before; he has no qualms in that. He hated people like Zeke the most. Over confident, arrogant killers, toying with their soldier's and murdering them in cold blood without batting an eye; it was all too similar, all too real to the life he'd been stuck in ever since he was a child. There's no sympathy towards that man ... for what he did, and what he'd done since.

Zeke's fate was never the problem. It was Levi. There wasn't much that could blindsight him / all but Erwin Smith. He hadn't been the same since his death. No, maybe even before that, since he met with Kenny a final time ... he was battling something inside him, confliction and a loss in himself. Farlan had watched him ever since that day. Whatever it was, it was devouring him.

Levi rarely made mistakes, or rather, he wasn't the type to let his emotions get in the way to leave him vulnerable to a counter attack / yet Zeke had managed this twice. The state Farlan had found him in ... at least he was still alive. Too stubborn to quit, when any normal man would know his limits. But he exceeded that limit time and time again, to the point it seemed natural for him to do so. He'd give more then his own life to fulfil this promise.

❝ Levi ... ❞ Instead of explaining that to Levi again, to proclaim how unreasonable it was right now / that even Farlan was at his own limit with the crisis ahead, how he knows only death awaited them in this suicide mission ... and that regardless [to hell with it] he was seeing it through to the end, there's something that stops him. Forces lips to tighten instead. His gaze, which is otherwise unsteady, is fixated to Levi. If Levi was insane for this, then he was no better.

i cannot do this without you. 

Farlan is loyal to the end. His past self, the one before Levi, would never hope to understand. To never dream he'd find hope in someone else. To also give his body and soul to what he wanted in life. What was worth protecting to the very end. He could laugh at himself for being so sentimental, shake his head at the path he'd chosen -- of course he's here. There's no where else he'd want to be. There's a plea in those determined eyes of his, weakened by injury, exhausted from countless battles, and Levi is finally saying the words he'd wished he'd said a long time ago. Finally putting trust in him.

❝ You're impossible, you know that? ❞ And still, he can't stop the grin from forming. Both tired and withered, lost but not defeated. The irony it was, that this reminded him of old times. Farlan's laughter is quiet, weakened, it's a crazy request. ❝ Let's do it. Just don't go dying on me. ❞ I'm by your side, Levi.

[worldhell-archiving]

┊ ┊⋆ ┊ . 𝐼𝒻 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝐿𝑜𝓈𝑒, 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒟𝒾𝑒 ◞ 𝖒𝖊𝖒𝖊 . accepting. ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ @naitfall ⤸ let me handle it ,  just go ! (at a muse of your choice)

❝ hey (...) levi you can't be-! ❞ he bites those words closed, teeth clenching together with hardened brutality; he feels it in the way his throat grumbles, tongue rooted and pressing hard. farlan knows why, deep down, (...) he isn't stupid, nor blind to what levi was doing. what he was always doing, right from the start. isn't that right? from the moment he got pulled out from that titan's stomach, just what did levi see, exactly, when he looked at farlan now?

it wasn't exactly the time to be bringing it up. fists clench deeply against the hilts of his blades. ❝ you're being irrational! I get that you're strong, but if we both take them down, it'll be a more efficient sweep up- ❞ because abnormal titans were just that. abnormal. unpredictable. there's no telling what might happen. is that why? what ... do you see now levi, just what-

let me handle it, just go!

eyes widen, and he takes a step back. despite the appearance of more titans incoming from the near distance, his focus is kept on levi. in that same comparison, levi hadn't met his gaze. Haha (...) he doesn't know if he wants to laugh, or punch him. but he feels his rising frustration is nothing to the sinking feeling in his chest.

they've been here before. ❝ are those your orders, levi? ❞ and still, so much had changed. just when had levi stopped trusting him? since farlan almost died? since levi marched forward with those wings on his back?

❝ you really have no faith left in me, do you? ❞ words are muttered, quietly, pitifully- so, instead, he snorts. it's empty and void, a bit spiteful, but it's enough for him to regain composure. he sheathes his blades in defeat, whistling for his horse.

❝ I'll rendezvous with the supply team. not that you need me to tell you this, but just don't die. ❞

[naitfall]

@worldhell asked:

[ hips ]   your muse pulling mine in close by the hips. - farlan c:

❥     𝐍𝐒𝐅𝐖  𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐄   𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍   𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐒   .

A game for two. One where their life could be on the line as well — life as they knew it, as they had found comfort in being. In every challenge, they were together, working as a team, relying on one another, fighting as equals, filling up where the other couldn’t. Farlan, with his devious perception and cool head, and Levi with his instincts and raw strength. Farlan may not realize the countless times Levi had surrendered completely to his will, make the decisions for him, take the lead — ask him to jump and he would, for he trusted him with his entire being. This moment, was one of these times. 

Surprised, his breath caught for a moment, his effort to mask his reaction a failed one. Only Farlan would get to see him without his defenses, share such closeness of both body and mind. If it was anyone else, he would have pushed them away at best, if he could have held himself back from taking out his blade, an instinctual response. There were no restraints between them, granted each other the freedom to do as they desired.

Intimacy was foreign to him, a part not dared to trigger, another weakness of his, a part he had to leave behind in order to keep moving forward. His touch was gentle, comforting, unexpectedly. Was it part of him had been craving to be held, for his hold, to soothe his tense nerves? 

He remained silent. Waiting. Staring. Demanding for action. What kind of action, though? Hell if he knew. In light gray eyes he got lost, focused, frozen before him, like surrendering prey. ❝ What’s on that devious mind of yours? ❞ His lips kept a breath away from touching. Was Levi playing the same kind of game, pretending to be the one at loss? Or was there a different kind of gravity between them, keeping them close, bound to one another? None could escape gravity, not even Levi.

[artbyrivaille]

Lesson ☕

=============================

words: 2,7k

warning's: none

paring: levi x reader

=============================

She was always close to Erwin. She was in the corps longer than he was. From the beginning, he saw the strong bond that existed between her and the tall blonde. As he, too, became friends with Erwin after Farlan and Izabel died, he would necessarily spend time with her as well.

She was strong, really fucking strong. She never showed weakness, Erwin's perfect right hand. And it was obvious that they knew each other perfectly. They constantly accosted, joked and bitten. He could bet they were secretly dating.

And it irritated him terribly. Because he was starting to fucking care. Although he was the one who wanted to kill Smith, it was she who gave him comfort after the deaths of Church and Magnolia. It was she who helped him deal with the loss. It was because of her that he was who he was now.

And she never expected anything in return.

When he wanted to repay her one day for spending the whole night with him on the paper work that Eyebrows had commissioned him, despite the fact that she had the same amount in her office, she only smiled and said that the ideal payment for helping him would be if he would finally sleep.

It was eating him up inside.

That feeling for a woman who couldn't be his. l Why was he always so unlucky? Why did everyone whom he fell in love with, to whom he gave at least a bit of his already wounded heart, only took this piece and ran away with it irretrievably?

***

The woman was just finishing changing the bandage on his ankle. There was a slight nervousness on her face. But inside it was really a tumult. She wanted to really lock up young Ackermann in the dungeon for her lack of discipline. Because of her, the strongest soldier of mankind was unable to fight at such an important moment for them.

- Finished. - She announced and gave the man a slight smile and got to her feet. - Try not to step on that leg, do not exert yourself.  She added after a moment, wagging her finger at him like a mother who had just scolded her child for disobedience.

- Okay, where are you going now? - He asked, trying to hide the hope in his voice that she would stay with him to keep him company. Maybe they would have a tea together, which she loved almost as much as he did?

- I have to teach one of these brats a decent lesson. I'll come to you when I'm finished.  She replied and braided her hand through his black hair, combing it delicately. Then she left the man's office without a word.

What the hell lesson?

***

Woman was walking quickly towards the quarters where members of the one hundred and fourth training corps were imprisoned. She had to find Yeager. It was the only way to control Mikasa.

While walking down the corridor, I noticed blonde hair, bingo.

- Arlert!  - She called the boy quite loudly, which made him jump slightly in place, he was a bit fearful, but very intelligent. He turned to face her and saluted, after all she was one of the more important figures in the body. - Relax, you don't need to salute, do you know where Yeager is? - She asked the boy, and he relaxed a bit.

- Yes, I'm on my way to him. - He replied quickly.

- Okay, then drive, I need to talk to him.

- This is! - The boy began to head back down the corridor where he was going earlier, all the way neither of them said a word.  Despite the fact that the blond man had a lot of questions why the colonel l/n wants to talk to his friend.

When they finally reached their quarters, they saw a group of young cadets sitting at the table. They were quite loud, actually Kirstein and Yeager were arguing about a little bit as usual. The woman just sighed and shook her head disapprovingly.

- Silence!  - She screamed, and all conversations suddenly ceased, and the gazes of the cadets turned to her.  Almost all looks. - Stop arguing like kids, Yeager come to me, we need to talk. - She said and then turned on her heel, heading for the exit from the room without looking at the brunet, she knew that he would follow her.

When they got out into the fresh air, they walked a bit further away, she didn't want anyone listening to them, finally she looked at the boy and sighed.

- I have a request for you. - She said, and the brunet's eyes widened slightly.

- What is going on? - He asked a little stressed.

- As you well know, because of your friend Ackermann's incompetence, Captain Levi is unable to fight. You know very well that she has problems with discipline, if she goes on like this, someone will eventually get on his nerves and send her to resign. So I have a request, could I slash you a bit to make her obey? I know it's quite bizarre, but you are the only thing that affects her in any way. - The woman explained and waited for the boy's answer. She was pretty sure he would agree, after all, his friends were very important to him, but he also took great care of the corps command, fortunately for him.

- I agreed, I know what Mikasa is like and that she can be problematic. It's the same as in court, with the rest, you have nothing to worry about commander, I'll recover quickly. - The green eyed responded and smiled at her extremely broadly, he was really positive.

- Okay, go get her, and be in the courtyard in ten minutes. - She announced and headed towards the courtyard where she was going to conduct a lesson that young Ackermann would not forget for the rest of her life.

***

Two cadets came to the courtyard where the woman was waiting for them, she didn't even realize that Levi and Erwin were watching the whole situation closely from the window. May the two men not know you are up to the woman, and they were really curious about it, so they waited impatiently for the development of events.

Mikasa had a bored face as usual, she had no idea why the hell l/n had brought them there, but she didn't like it very much.

But Eren looked determined, he knew what awaited him, he knew it would not be pleasant, because he had heard more than once that the inconspicuous woman was considered the second, after captain kurduplu, the strongest soldier of humanity. But he was doing it for the sake of Mikasa.

- You are probably wondering why I brought you here, so. I want to finally make you realize how weak, not disciplined and too self-confident you are. Eren come over here. - She asked Yeager with a move of her hand to come closer to her, he took a deep breath and not worried about his friend's surprised look, he approached the woman. It swung and knocked him down with a right hook without much problem. The boy landed on the ground and got a kick in the face and another kick in the stomach. Mikasa jumped up to help the brunette, but / n stopped her with a move of her hand. - We'll go to a deal.  If you win a hand-to-hand fight with me, I'll let it go, if you don't, you will eventually obey orders, otherwise your friend will end up worse than you think and I will hand you over to my resignation. - The woman announced h/c and waited for the teenager's reaction.

She had a murder in her eyes, it was evident, the same gaze was directed at Levi when he abused Yeager in the courtroom. However, y/n didn't care, just threw her scout jacket off her shoulders. She rolled up the sleeves of her white shirt and smiled slyly at the black-haired girl.

She moved on her without thinking, made the first blow, but the woman avoided it without any problems and then cut her legs, and she fell to the ground. However, she got up quickly and delivered more blows, some of them were blocked by / n, and the other part was avoided. This fight was fun for her, she did everything to irritate the girl as much as possible.

She made another dodge and then delivered an accurate blow to the younger's liver. She hit it. She crumpled slightly under the impact, which the older one obviously used and knocked her to the ground once again. She kicked her one last time, another time in the liver, and the girl didn't have the strength to get up. She lost.

L/n knelt beside her, ignoring Yeager's surprised and fascinated gaze, and snorted slightly disappointed.

- From now on, you must obey. Go to the infirmary, I still have a business with your friend. - She announced and helped the girl to get up. Surprisingly, she accepted her help and, with her head bowed, moved towards the hospital, as ordered by the commander. - Thanks for your help, Eren, I hope I'm not hitting you too much. - Y/n laughed slightly, and the boy echoed her.

- I'm all right Commander, I'll regenerate. I think Mikasa will take this failure hard. But I didn't think you were so amazing! - He said a bit excited which amused the woman a bit.

- Thank you, years of practice, you too, go to the infirmary, I have a few things to do, thank you again for your cooperation. - She replied, gave him a grateful smile and lightly tousled his dark hair as it left. The boy, under the influence of her delicate touch, blushed slightly, but fortunately for him she was not able to see it. He turned in the direction she was headed, and for a moment he stared at the graceful movement of her hips.

***

Erwin was amused by the whole situation, and Levia was very surprised. However, he could not disagree with l/n that young Ackermann was a mere brat who had no discipline.

And at the same time he was delighted with the way y/n moved. Damn what that woman was doing with him. I think she needs to make Erwin realize that if he ever hurts her, nothing can save him from him.

- She was really angry when she found out you were hurt by some girl. She was worried.  - The blonde who was sitting on the couch in the black-haired's office finally said smiling mysteriously.

He knew.

Of course he knew about the feelings the shorter man felt for a woman. What's more, he knew perfectly well that she reciprocated them, but she didn't want to impose herself on him. She knew his story, and as a person who came from Pozdziemy just like Levi, she knew that he had a hard time. Nobody has it easy there.

Back-haired man gave him a surprised look, could it be another of his games? Was he trying to provoke him to say how he felt about HIS woman, so that he could punish him for it? It was very blonde. A fucking Eyebrows.

- What do you mean, Erwin? - He asked irritated and gave his friend an unfavorable look.

- That you both are idiots. You have feelings for each other, but you won't show it, goddamn it, me and Hanji have been trying to get you together for over three years, and you guys like those stubborn donkeys you go for a long time. - Confessed the general, and the lower one gasped. But how? He and fucked up four-eyes are trying to bind them together? And they also think that y/n has something for him too? It sounded so unreal in his head.

Erwin snorted at the sight of his puzzled face, suddenly realizing why the black-haired man did not make any movement towards the h/c-haired woman.

- Did you think me and y/n had something in common?  - He asked him, and he only nodded his head slightly, but not looking up at him. - We are just friends, together we belonged to the training corps, hence our strong bond, we treat each other like siblings. There was only one time we went further, but that was before we put you in the Corps, plus we were both drunk. - He explained, and the black-haired one just nodded his head as a sign that he understood. Goddamn it, all he had to do was talk to her and everything would be so much simpler.

Suddenly, the door from the brunet's office opened, and y/n just entered. Both men fell silent, and the shorter of them shifted uneasily in his chair. The h/c-haired woman looked at them a bit surprised, but was the first to break the silence in the room.

- From the fact that you are here both of you guess that you watched the whole show? - She laughed and then sat on the couch next to Erwin and tousled his perfectly styled hair.  The latter huffed at her something incomprehensible and lightly brushed her hand away.

- Yes, it was quite enjoyable to watch, and from your smug expression I conclude that you achieved your goal? - The blonde answered seeing that his friend is a bit anxious.

- That's right, there should be no more problems with Ackermann. - She said and smiled victoriously at which the man next to her only smiled slightly and got up from the couch heading to the exit, then left without a word, leaving the two of them alone. - How are you? - The woman's voice woke the black-haired man from his trance, blinked his eyes quickly and finally looked at l/n staring at him.

- Fine. - He replied casually wondering what he should do. His heart was beating as fast as it was about to burst from his chest, and that didn't help at all. - I would like to talk. - He added after a moment.

- Okay, so what would you like to talk about Levi? - She asked and then got up from the couch and walked towards the man. After a while she sat down with one thigh on his desk staring at him as if she knew perfectly well how it affects him. She was so damn perfect, and the straps of the gear for the ODM maneuver didn't help him contain his body's excitement.

He sighed heavily and looked away from her, feeling that he would be able to come just from looking at her, and yet they must have had a fairly serious conversation. He knew that if he didn't tell her now, he would never.

- I want to tell you something. I would have told you this a long time ago if it weren't for the fact that I'm an asshole. I..I ..- It was the first time in his life that he had stuttered, he felt so bloody insecure and the erection in his pants was not helping him focus.

- I love you too, Levi. - Y/n finished for him and with a smile she joined their lips in a long kiss.

- Ugh.. - That kiss wasn't even very erotic, but knowing that it could only be his in the end increased the tension in his body.

L/n broke the kiss and looked into her lover's eyes, into those cobbled eyes she adored so much. Then out of the corner of her eye she noticed what problem her partner is struggling with, she smiled slyly and then got up from his desk and extended her hand to him. Levi looked at her slightly confused but grabbed her small, delicate hand in his, large and rough.

Once again their lips joined in a kiss, this one because it is much more erotic, hot. After a moment, the man realized that the woman was leading him carefully to his bedroom. So she wanted it too, wanted him too.

- I think it's time for you to take a lesson too. She whispered straight into his ear, and a strong thrill of excitement ran down his path. He intended to use this lesson in depth and enroll in another one.

[fanmoose12]

Dancing our dance

Summary: Sina was a city of wretched and helpless. A place governed by misery, terror and ruthless, cold-hearted criminals. 

As horrible as it was, however, there were quite a few things that made Levi’s life in this city almost enjoyable.  

A ganster!AU and Levihan Secret Santa gift for collapsability! Happy New Year <33

Sina. The greatest city on Earth. The place of flourish and success. A metropolis of wretched and damned. A place, where rich and elite could only prosper, multiplying their wealth and increasing their status, while hungry and poor were fighting each other for the smallest scraps of food.

Levi had experienced the worst of both worlds. He knew the desperation, the hunger that gnawed at him while he lived in the slumbers with rats as his company. And he was familiar with comfort and luxuries of life as a rich man. He also knew the danger, the constant fear that one mistake, a single wrong move could cost him not only his carefully cumulated wealth, but his life as well.

Considering his lifestyle, Levi was sure he wouldn't have lived for long. And he wouldn't have, if he hadn't stuck to the winning team.

Erwin Smith was sharp, calculating and ruthless. His biggest talent, though, was his exceptional ability to surround himself with the best of the best and inspire undying loyalty in them. Levi was good, excellent with guns and even better with knifes, but he wasn't the only member of Erwin's gang. There was Mike - an expert brawler and a man of few words, which made him even more valuable, Nanaba - an elite sniper and doctor, and, of course, Hange Zoe – a genius scientist and a massive pain in Levi's ass. She was loud, messy and had an uncanny ability to attract all sorts of trouble. Which made Levi's life just that much harder, since most of the times, Erwin made them work side by side.

Hange was smart, unbelievably so, but she was also so, so careless that Levi had to watch her every move, afraid that if he so much as looks away, Hange would instantly get swept in some trouble.

Even now, as he was sitting inside the overcrowded, bustling with people Wings of Freedom - a popular night club, owned by Erwin, - Levi couldn't take his eyes off Hange. 

Wings of Freedom was the place for the richest, most famous citizens of Sina. No one could get in, if they weren't approved by Erwin and his gang first. Despite the harsh restrictions and the overpriced alcohol that was served there, it was always full of customers. The success of the club was well-deserved, though. The alcohol, as expensive as it was, was also good. It wasn’t watered down like in the rest of speakeasies. And Levi couldn’t deny it, the interior of the club was breathtaking. As a former street rat, Wings of Freedom was a definition of wealth and prestige for him. It was a grand, spectacular thing with high glass ceilings, large, bright candelabras, red carpets on the floor and big, bright stage. Only the best musicians were allowed to perform in there, and Levi had no doubts about the vast talent that the current artists possessed. However, he was too preoccupied with boring holes into a certain four-eyed idiot to appreciate their efforts.

The dance floor, situated right beneath the stage, was as overflowing with people as the rest of the speakeasy. But Levi could recognize that mop of brown messy hair everywhere, and he watched it move around intently. Hange was in the middle of dance floor, spinning some unknown woman in a frilly yellow dress. Despite the uncomfortable feeling and overprotective instinct that appeared upon watching someone else touch Hange, Levi couldn't help but admire her movements. As clumsy as she could be, in a fight or a dance, Hange was as graceful as they come. Levi lost himself in following every move of her body, the way she spun, jumped and waved her hands. She was doing all of it so effortlessly, wearing an excited grin on her face.

Suddenly Hange looked away from her dance partner. Their eyes met, that little spark inside her gaze evident even from great distance. She winked at him, and Levi felt his face flush. He lifted his glass, gulping the contents down in one go. The whiskey burned his throat and he winced, turning away from Hange. He looked around, desperate to find something else to preoccupy himself with. Distraction came fairly quickly in the form of big oak door that opened at the other way of the room.

Looks like the big man is here, Levi sighed, getting to his feet and starting to descend down the stairs to the dance floor. It was time to retrieve Hange.

It was time for work.

 ***

Hange jumped, when Levi pulled her closer by the back of her suspenders. She whirled around, wide eyed and surprised.

"Levi!" she raised her voice, panting slightly. Even met with his scowl, the grin didn't leave her face. On the contrary, it only grew wider. "Finally came down to join me?"

Levi glanced at Hange's partner, who was awkwardly stomping behind, unsure of what to do. "You know I don't dance," he shook his head. "So say goodbye to your girlfriend and let's go. Erwin is here."

"Already?" Hange whined. "But I was having so much fun!"

"Tough shit," Levi answered, glaring at the girl Hange was having so much fun with.

"You owe me a dance then," she pointed a finger at Levi. "And I don't take no for an answer," she added, shutting down any possible protest.

"Let's finish the work first," Levi grunted. He didn't say yes to Hange's demand.

He didn't say no either.

"Hurry up then!" Hange exclaimed, linking her arm with Levi's and dragging him up the stairs. She didn't say goodbye, didn't even glance at the girl she was dancing with.

Levi hid a satisfied smirk.

*** 

Erwin, when they approached him, looked as immaculate as always. Not a hair out of place, not a wrinkle on his pristinely white shirt. It was always so hot in Wings of Freedom and Levi wondered how much Erwin must be sweating in his grey three-piece suit. Levi himself, as meticulous as he was about his appearance, had taken off his jacket, wearing a dark blue vest with the sleeves of his white shirt rolled up to his elbows. And Hange wasn't even wearing a vest, but only a stripped light colored shirt.

"Hi, Erwin," Hange slide in a booth from the left side and pecked him on a cheek.

"Good evening, Hange," Erwin smiled. "I saw you were having a lot of fun."

"That I did," she grinned. “Unfortunately, it was cut off so abruptly,” she noted, glaring at Levi.

"What do you need us to do?" ignoring Hange’s petulance, Levi sat down as well, taking a seat at Erwin’s right side.

Erwin's smile turned into a serious frown.

"I have found an informant. He knows something, I'm sure, but he refused to talk with Mike. Maybe, you'll have more luck with him.

"Informant?" Hange asked, surprised. "Does he know something about—"

"Yes," Erwin answered, clenching his jaw. "He knows about Titans."

Levi's eyes darkened as soon as he heard that name. Titans were a rival gang, who terrorized the city every night. As powerful as Erwin was, he couldn't get rid of them. They lurked in the shadows, hidden from everyone. As ferocious as they were, no one even knew who their leader was. Levi didn't care. Whoever that bastard was, he was going to kill them, along with every member. He swore to do it years ago. On his friend's graves. Sweet, innocent Isabel and wise, reliable Farlan - his first true friends. Levi would never forget them. And he would make sure that those who had taken them from him would pay for their mistake.

A warm, comforting touch interrupted his dark thoughts. Levi looked up, meeting Hange's gaze. She smiled at him, worry swirling in her warm brown eyes.

Levi turned away from her, directing his stare at Erwin. Before Hange took away her hand, however, Levi patted it softly, silently thanking for the concern.

"So we need to find that informant and make him spill the info?" Hange clarified.

"Basically, yes. Here," he handed Hange a small file. She opened it instantly, pushing the glasses up her nose and quickly scanning over the pages. "Your target is the man named Nick. He lives in downtown and works in the nearby church as a pastor—"

"Pastor?" Hange looked up, wearing a mischievous grin. "That's intriguing."

Erwin turned his stern gaze at her. "Don't overdo it, Hange We need him alive. And, preferably, mentally stable."

Hange scoffed, crossing hands on her chest. "Don't know what you're talking about. I've never—"

"Really, four-eyes? Remember that guy who—"

"That was one time!" Hange cut him off, before Levi could finish. Erwin didn't need to know about that time. "And he was an asshole and totally deserved it."

"And what about that other guy—"

"It was an accident!" Hange gritted through her teeth, her fists clutched tightly together.

"Calm down," Erwin scolded them, covering his eyes with a hand and letting out an exhausted sigh. "I swear to god, sometimes you both act like you're still children."

"I'm nothing like her—"

“Considering his height, he’s still—"

"Enough!" Erwin barked, exasperated. "Just go already. Before I develop a migraine."

"He started it first," Hange pouted. As soon, as Erwin looked away, she stuck her tongue out.

Levi didn't retaliate. He was going to behave. At least, while Erwin is watching.

"Let's go, four-eyes," he got to his feet, waiting for Hange to join him.

"Oh, right!" she exclaimed, smacking her forehead in frustration. "I totally forgot, we should hurry!"

Erwin arched an eyebrow. "Are you late for something?"

"Oh, you don't know it yet," with a sly smile, Hange leaned closer to Erwin's ear, although, she didn't bother to lower her voice. "Levi asked me for a dance afterward."

"I didn't not," Levi grunted, trying (and failing) to keep a straight, calm face under Erwin's amused gaze.

"I've never seen Levi dance," he commented, scratching his chin. "You should truly hurry, Hange. I want to see him dance too. It's once in a lifetime occurrence after all."

"Roger that, boss!" Hange did a mocking salute and then grabbed Levi's hand, dragging him out of the club.

Levi surrendered with a heavy sigh. Now there was no way he could avoid this dancing stuff.

"How do I look?" she asked, turning to Levi with a lopsided grin.

***

The first thing Hange did as she walked out of the car that Levi parked near the pastor's house was putting on her hat. She made sure that the accessory sat comfortably and then ran a hand over the brim.

"Awful," he replied dryly. "What is our plan?"

"The usual," Hange shrugged. She didn't bat an eye at Levi's jab, continuing to casually stroll through the street. "I do the talking, you do your scary face thing."

"Alright," Levi agreed easily. The plan suited him well. Never failed them before too.

"Huh," Hange whistled, putting hands on her hips and staring up at the building in front of her. "That's quite a nice house. Do you think all pastors earn that much?"

"Do I look like a pastor to you? How the fuck should I know?"

"You could pull off pastor's look, though," Hange continued, cheerful, despite his harsh words. "If you ever need to go undercover..."

Ignoring her blubbering and pushing past her, Levi stepped on a venue leading up to the front door. His eyes narrowed, as he stared at the house in front of him. He glanced to his wrist watch. He frowned.

"It's almost midnight..."

"And yet our pastor is still awake," Hange threw an arm over his shoulder, watching the house as well. "Maybe, he's insomniac?"

"Only one way to find out," Levi pointed his chin towards the door and made another step towards the house.

"Wait," Hange's hand caught his wrist. Levi turned back, alarmed by the sudden seriousness of her tone. 

"Before we go inside... I need to know what you prefer the most - Charleston, Fox-Trot or Texas Tommy?"

Levi needed a few seconds to realize what the fuck Hange was on about. He blinked a few times, staring at her with a dumbfounded face. And when it finally hit him, he snatched his hand out of her grasp. Hange was such an idiot, why he even bothered to listen to her?

"I didn't agree to dance with you, four-eyes," he scowled at her. Under the weight of his gaze, anyone else would have shrined in fear. Hange just smirked. Levi resisted the urge to lash out on her or leave her to deal with the shitty pastor alone. Would have served her right for being such a jerk. He took a deep breath, calming himself down. There was a job they needed to finish. He wouldn't let Hange's idiocy distract him from that.

"Focus on a task on hand please," he told her, trying to keep his voice steady.

"And when we finish?"

Levi sent her another sizzling gaze. It produced no effect whatsoever.

He took another breath. "And then we'll see. The club could be closed by the time we're done here."

"It closes at dawn," Hange stated matter-of-fact.

Levi muttered a few curses. She was doing this on purpose. Riling him up just to make him lose it. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction.

Turning away from her and ignoring Hange’s annoyed mumbling, Levi reached the front door and knocked.

It was quiet for the first few seconds. Then the sound of shuffling could be heard. A moment later, the door opened, revealing a balding middle-aged man.

Hange took a step forward, waving her hand gleefully.

The man's eyes widened. He tried to slam the door closed. Levi's leg didn't give him a chance to.

"Pastor Nick, right? We just came here to talk!" Hange grinned. "There is no need to be afraid! We're—"

"I know who you are," pastor's lip was trembling. Levi absentmindedly wondered if he would start crying. He hoped not. He hated when people cry. "You... You're Erwin Smith's devil duo."

Hange nudged Levi in the side, almost glowing with happiness. "They have a nickname for us, Levi. We're getting famous!"

"We're criminals, Hange," Levi coughed, trying to mask the affection in his voice. As annoying as Hange could be, she was also so fucking endearing. "We shouldn't be famous."

“Still,” Hange flipped the hat on her head, still grinning from ear to ear. “It’s nice to know we have a reputation.”

"And you," Hange said to pastor, her eyes turning sharp. "If you know so much about us, you should know that we don't harm innocent, so if you got nothing to hide, you've got nothing to be afraid of," she spread her arms, putting on a friendly, sweet smile. Beside her, Levi rolled his eyes. Hange's theatrics were over the top sometimes. Almost no one bought her act anyway.

Pastor Nick wasn't an exception.

"I wouldn't recommend it," Levi warned, when pastor reached with his hand to the side of the door.

"I know nothing!" pastor Nick threw hands in the air. "Your boss just got some false data."

Levi cocked his eyebrow, giving pastor a look full of disbelief. Erwin sending them on a mission before checking his information as thorough as possible and making sure it wasn’t just a dumb rumor? Highly unlikely.

"Maybe, you could just allow us to come inside? We'll have a nice little chat and then we'll decide if what you know is worthy for us or no," Hange's smile grew wider and Levi's scowl grew darker and pastor's resolve crumbled.

With a deep, shaky sigh, he took a step back, allowing them to enter.

"And we did it!" Hange whispered, clasping Levi on a back.

"We're not done yet," he reminded her, eyeing the pastor with suspicion. The way he acted... so desperate to make them leave... Levi couldn't help but wonder what pastor was trying to hide. What he was afraid of? Was he simply frightened by the fact that they're gangsters? Possibly, but if he had the info on Titans, he must have been quite familiar with the criminal underworld. Besides, they weren't asking to join their ranks, just spill some intel. And it wasn't like Hange was lying, they never harmed innocents. Even more, Erwin always offered protection to the ones who aided him.

Could it be that pastor wasn't afraid of them? Then who was it? Titans?

"Levi?" Hange interrupted his thoughts by patting his shoulder. Levi met her eyes, turning away from pastor. She held his gaze, nodding ever so slightly. So he wasn't seeing things. Hange was suspecting something too. "Would you make us some tea, please? While me and pastor talk?"

"Of course," he agreed. This too was the part of their routine. According to Hange, it was easier to win the target's trust if Levi wasn't in the room with them and his cold steely eyes weren't boring holes into them. This tactic always worked and Levi had no reason to doubt it this time too. Still he was reluctant to leave Hange alone with pastor. That look in his eyes, Levi didn't like it.

"I'll be fine," Hange smiled faintly, noticing Levi's unwillingness. "Besides, you're just a room away."

“Of course, you’re right. Just don’t lose your focus, Hange.”

With one last look at pastor, Levi turned away, heading in the direction that he hoped would lead him to the kitchen.

Levi's guess was corrected.

When he entered the dark room and turned on a switch, he saw a spacious and neat room with fridge, cupboards, oven and sink. He went straight to the oven, meaning to heat up the cattle. His eyebrows furrowed when he touched the cattle. It was hot as though it was recently heated up. Was their pastor a fan of midnight tea? Or was he expecting someone?

Instinctively, Levi glanced behind his back, at the wall that separated kitchen from the living room. A hushed voice could be heard from inside the room. It was calm and persuading and it belonged to Hange. Some tension left his body, as Levi listened to it. The voice was too soft to hear what Hange was actually talking about, but, nevertheless, it calmed him down. Levi turned around, intent to finish his job. The water was already boiled. Now he needed to find some tea. And cups, where he could pour it.

He lifted his eyes. There were six cupboards hanging on the wall. Levi chose the closest to him and opened it. Seasonings and eggs. He sighed and opened the next one. It held napkins and towels. He moved further. This cupboard was used for storing pans, the next one - cots. Levi cursed and slammed it shut with more force than necessary. The tableware inside rattled dangerously. He ignored it, opening the fifth cupboard, this one with plates. Levi’s expression relaxed a bit, he was getting closer. He looked inside the last one, and finally, this one held cups. Standing on his tiptoes, he took three cups out and put them on a table. Then he returned to the first cupboard, the one with seasonings and rummaged through it, looking for any kind of tea. Surprisingly, pastor's collection was quite large. Levi's respect for the man grew, as he found his favorite kind of tea – lapsang souchong.

As he waited for the tea to brew, Levi studied the kitchen. Hange was right, the house looked too good to belong to a simple pastor. How an old man who lived alone could afford it? And how could he afford so many kinds of tea? Even Levi's collection wasn't so vast, and he frequently used his connections to get the best kinds, since some of them weren't even distributed in their city. But how could pastor get his hands on them? And was it connected to the fact that he knew something about Titans? Too many unknowns in this seemingly simple equation. Levi didn't like it. However, it wasn't his job to think about it. Hange was the brain of their duo after all.

His job right now involved brewing a tea. He poured it into the cups and put them on a tray. Then be added three spoons of sugar into Hange's cup. He stirred it carefully and then picked up the tray, heading to the living room.

Hopefully, Hange was done with pestering their target.

***

"Here you are," Hange spoke warmly. She rose to her feet and helped Levi set the tray onto a coffee table. Sitting down next to her on the sofa, Levi handed Hange and pastor, who was sitting in a big armchair, their teacups. Hange accepted hers with a grateful smile. Pastor scoffed with a disgruntled expression.

"Do you really think I'm dumb enough to drink whatever you put in your so called tea?”

"If I wanted to kill you," Levi said in a dark, low voice. "I wouldn't have used poison, you dipshit."

"We've already established the fact that we very much need you alive, pastor. And besides," Hange grinned, a bright contrast to Levi's gloomy look. "Levi takes great pride in his tea making abilities. As he should," she noted, lifting the cup to her lips, taking the first sip. "Mm," she closed her eyes, a blissful expression on her face. "The best tea in the city."

"Don't exaggerate, Hange," Levi scolded harshly, ignoring the warm sensation that spread through his veins at her praise. “Just because I can actually brew something better than that piss you called tea, doesn’t mean it’s the best tea.”

Hange started laughing – as always loudly and unabashedly, with her head thrown back and her hair flying everywhere. She spilled some of her tea in the process and Levi tsked, taking a handkerchief out of his pants and throwing it at Hange.

“Erwin Smith’s devil duo, huh?” pastor Nick mumbled, too quiet for either of them to hear. “They’re quite a pair.”

Everything that happened next, happened way too quickly.

Pastor took the cup into his hands, intending to take a taste of the tea Hange was praising so much. Levi turned to stare at him, curious for his reaction. Hange followed the suit, the hand that wasn’t holding her own cup, thrown over Levi’s shoulders. The cup almost touched pastor’s lips, when the front door of the house was thrown open. The man appeared – dressed in a long coat, his face obscured by shadows. He ran into the living room, and took out a gun. Levi jumped to his feet, ready to attack, but before he could do anything, two gunshots rang. With wide eyes, Levi stared at the pastor’s now dead body with a hole in the center of his forehead.

He was frozen for merely a second, a second too long. By the time he snapped out of it, the shooter was already gone. Levi rushed after him, running through the front door and onto the porch. It was empty, no sight of the culprit. He looked around the empty, silent and lamp-lit street. Nothing. He gritted his teeth, kicking the curb in frustration. 

Titans, for he was sure it was their work, had killed another innocent right in front of him. And just like the first time, just like with Farlan and Isabel, there was nothing he could do to stop them. At the memory of his late friends, Levi was overcome with frustration. He promised to protect them, and failed. He promised to avenge them, and failed again.

Useless. He was fucking useless. What good his skills did, if he couldn’t protect the ones closest to him?

The silence of the street around him was deafening, pressing onto Levi from all sides. Quiet, it was too quiet. Why was it so quiet here? It shouldn’t be, Levi realized with a start. Hange was with him, it shouldn’t be so goddamn quiet.

And then it hit him. Hange. Where the fuck was she? Why wasn’t she by his side, searching for the killer with him? Another revelation almost knocked the air out of Levi. There were two gunshots. What if the other one wasn’t meant for pastor?

With heart in his throat, Levi dashed back inside. Something close to a prayer was going through his head, as he tried to push the image of Hange’s bloodied, lifeless body out of his mind.

No, he won’t let that happen. He won’t lose another friend.

"Hange?" Levi called, stumbling inside. "Hange, where are you?"

There was no answer. Why was there no answer?

The seconds it took for him to reach the living room felt like years. More than anything, Levi was afraid to arrive too late. He couldn't repeat the same mistake. Not with Hange.

As he entered the living room, Levi's knees nearly gave out and a wave of relief washed over him. Hange— she was alive.

He hastily approached her, grabbing her elbows and turning her around to face him. His eyes skimmed along her body, searching for any sight of the injury. Despite her labored breathing, Hange seemed to be unharmed. Levi looked her over more carefully and his heart skipped a beat, when he saw a small dark spot on her otherwise clean shirt. His fingers touched that place gingerly.

"It's not mine," Hange said, and the hollowness of her voice took Levi's breath away. He lifted his gaze, staring at her face. Only now he noticed the blood on her cheek. She must have stood next to pastor, when he was shot, he realized. What frightened Levi more, however, was the faraway look in her eyes. She was in shock, Levi guessed. He needed to calm her down and then get her out of here.

"They killed him..." Hange whispered. She turned around, staring at the pastor's body so intently, it made a shiver run down Levi's spine.

He curled his fingers around her wrist, his every move slow and careful.

"Hange, we need to go," he pulled at her hand, tugging her closer. "The cops are going to be there soon, we should leave."

"Yeah," Hange nodded. She wasn't completely with him yet, and Levi wrapped an arm around her shoulders, leading her outside and then into the car. Opening the passenger door, he pushed her inside. He grabbed his jacket from the back seat and draped it over Hange. Kneeling in front of her, he rubbed her arms soothingly, looking into her eyes. The spark in her eyes wasn't there yet, but— Hange was slowly coming back. Levi lifted his hand, taking off her glasses and folding them carefully in the front pocket of his shirt. Gently, he whipped the blood from her cheek and after that, proceeded to clean the glasses too.

Putting them back on her face, Levi forced a smile. "Are you feeling better?"

"Did you get them? The shooter?"

Levi looked away, not wanting to see the disappointment inside those eyes. "No," he said, clenching his jaw.

"Fuck," Hange breathed out. "We let them get away once again."

"I was the one who fucked up.”

"Shut up," Hange pushed him away, strong enough to make Levi lose his balance and fell on his ass. He didn't get up, though, instead staring at Hange in surprise. That spark in her eyes - it was finally back. It was even more intense than usual, as Hange glared at him.

"I hate when you do that - blame yourself for everything. Not everything is your fault! We fucked up this time, yes. You didn't catch the guy, but I should have noticed that something was wrong. And I did, but decided to ignore it. We both made a mistake, and it’s up to us to make everything right. Together as we always do." A ghost of a smile appeared on her lips, as she extended a hand to him. "Don't you agree?"

Levi accepted her hand with a grunt. "Erwin's rubbed off on you," he complained, getting to his feet. "You sound just like him."

Hange chucked, her eyes sparking, and Levi let himself relax. She was still shaken, but that hollowness was gone.

"Thanks," Hange muttered, when Levi got inside the car. "I was a little out of it."

Levi nodded, starting the car. His mind was still reeling from tonight's events. While Hange was a little out of it, he was scared shitless. He was afraid that he made another mistake, he was afraid that he lost her.

It terrified him more than Levi was ready to admit. Hange, that little shit, managed to worm her way into his heart. He wasn't strong enough to stop her then, and he isn’t strong enough to push her away now.

Levi sighed, opening the window and letting the cold wind clear his head.

"Charleston, Texas Tommy or Fox-Trot?" he kept his eyes straight on the road, his voice as bored and emotionless as ever.

"Levi?" Hange frowned. "What are you—"

"What do you prefer, four-eyes?" he glowered, his cheeks turning red.

"Oh," for a moment, Hange was silent. She sat with her hands on her knees, her lips slowly curling into a grin.

"Since it's our first dance," she met his eyes in the rear window, winking. "I'll let you chose."

Levi grunted, gripping the steering wheel tighter and pushing down the gas pedal, speeding up. Hange didn't need to know it, of course, but he was pretty excited. He was also more than a little bit nervous. He had never really learnt how to dance. There was never a suitable partner. But now... Levi glanced at Hange, subtly admiring her profile. With her, maybe, it could all work out.

***

Just when they almost reached Wings of Freedom, Levi took a sharp turn, going into the opposite direction.

"Um, Levi? It's the wrong turn. The club is up ahead."

"I hate this place. It's too hot and there are too many people. Since it's our first dance," he showed Hange a small smirk. "I want to take you somewhere special."

 ***

Levi’s special place turned out to be a small park on the edge of Sina. Away from flashing city’s lights, it was dark, but cozy small place with only a few benches and a lonely swing, standing in a corner. It was situated on a precipice, and the whole city could be seen from up there.

“It’s beautiful,” Hange breathed out, her eyes full of childish wonder. She was standing at the very edge of precipice, gripping the metal railing with her hands. Logically, Levi knew that it was highly unlikely that Hange would fall over. Still, he stood a little closer to her, hovering just in case.

“Amongst all the horrors this city hides, it’s easy to forget how many wondrous things are there as well.” She bumped his shoulder with a grin. “You’re one of those wondrous things, Levi.”

“Shut up,” he grunted, feeling warmth spread through him at her words. Hange’s affection never failed in making him feel embarrassed. It also never failed in making him feel good. Levi craved her warmth more than he was comfortable admitting. That’s why he tried not to think about it too much.

“C’mon, four-eyes,” he tugged at her wrist, dragging away from the edge. “We came here to dance, did we not?”

"Someone's impatient, huh?" Hange teased. She stood in front of him, her arms hovering above his. "So... How do you want to do this?"

It didn't take Levi much time to decide. He did think about it. He put his left hand on her shoulder, and with his right one he grasped her palm. He took a step closer, their feet almost touching.

"Like this," he whispered.

"Alright," Hange nodded, a little shakily. "Alright, let's do it then."

She started to slowly move them around. Levi had never really understood the common obsession with dancing. People just spinned around while holding hands. There was nothing seemingly pleasant about this.

Now, though, he was inclined to change to his mind. Dancing with Hange was... fun. He liked the feeling of her hand in his, enjoyed the way she firmly held his waist. And looking up at her, with her eyes sparkling brightly even in the dark, Levi felt like he could keep dancing with her for hours. With Hange beside him, he was slowly forgetting about everything else. He felt like Hange and he were the only people in the world, nothing else mattered but Hange's bright eyes and soft smile. Nothing else was more important than this one small moment.

Hange sighed, putting her chin on Levi’s head. "I really needed this tonight. Thank you for indulging me, shorty."

"It's not that bad."

Hange stopped abruptly, her eyes going wide.

"Levi..." she began carefully. "Are you saying.... that you are enjoying this?"

"I said what I said," Levi retorted harshly. Maybe, he did enjoy the dance. What was wrong about it?

"Well, if you like it so much," Hange drew with a smirk on her lips. "We can do it more often."

"I will never dance in Erwin's shitty club."

"You didn't say no," Hange noted.

"I didn't," he agreed softly.

Hange beamed, and in the darkness, her smile was shining more brightly than the whole city below.