#colt grice x y/n

[spiteless-xo]

╰┈➤ marley boys as boyfriends - aot.

ft. colt, porco, reiner, zeke. cw. explicit content - minors do not interact, references to sexual acts, references to toxic/manipulative behaviour, afab!reader.

⋙ reiner braun.

really insecure. like very insecure. lowkey thinks that you are only dating him out of pity because you couldn't date the guy you actually like.

also very eager to please you. definitely remembers every stupid little thing you tell him: your birthday, favourite colour, starbucks order, etc. whatever you've told him, i guarantee he's got it written down in his notes app under "favourite things"

texts you good morning every day and checks in to make sure you've eaten and had some water.

not a pet name guy. will tolerate babe or baby but nothing else. prefers to use names.

loooves eating pussy. worships it. he could cum just from getting you off with his tongue. loves it when you grind into him and cum on his face.

huuuuuge dick, keeps it trimmed but not fully shaved.

really into foreplay because he's so scared of hurting you and wants to get you fully warmed up before taking his dick but also loses himself as soon as he gets the tip in

prefers it when you're on top so you can control the pace. he's so scared of being too rough with you.

doesn't like choking but loves to just hold his hand around your throat.

king of aftercare. will clean you off, run you a bath, give you a massage, anything to relax you. sweetest, kindest boy

loves it when you cuddle on top of him, like a little blanket

⋙ zeke jaeger.

really into younger girls lmao like not underage of course but like, 18/19/early 20's. loves feeling like he's someone you can rely on or the more experienced one due to his daddy issues of being not good enough

will call you kiddo or squirt affectionally but will also weaponize it to make you feel inferior when you're fighting. making you seem like an immature kid

high-key toxic and possessive. doesn't want you hanging out with other guys but will get annoyed with you when you complain about him hanging out with yelena

selfish in bed. will do the bare minimum to get you in the mood but expects you to bend over backwards to please him -- also why he goes for younger girls

doesn't shave or trim at all, full bush of curly blonde hair

likes it when you ride him because he gets to watch and also doesn't have to do any of the work

really into facials

never goes down on you but when you complain about it he says i would if you went down on me more

HIGH-KEY TOXIC

falls asleep immediately after sex

⋙ porco galliard.

pretends he hates you in public. will openly make fun of you and mock you in front of your friends. loves banter -- especially when you fight back.

in private, he's a little baby. loves to cuddle and loves it when you take care of him. will immediately get angry if you point out how cute and sweet he's being. hates admitting he cares because he's so afraid of losing someone he loves.

loooves pet names. baby, babe, or sweetheart when he's feeling nice. stupid, loser, or lil shit when he's feeling bratty.

gets very jealous when you talk with other boys, especially reiner. gets so pissy about it if you like him so much why don't you just date him?

low-key verbally abusive but when he takes things too far he apologizes immediately. kissing you, tickling you, doing whatever he can to make you smile again -- learns from his mistakes.

initiates sex by pulling you into his lap and making out with you. or nibbling on your neck. suuuper high sex drive. sexts you constantly. begs for nudes.

loves dirty talking and fingering. loves to make you beg for him, loves it when you cum on command. loves tasting you on his fingers.

big ass-guy. loves fucking you doggy style so he can watch your ass jiggle. also really into anal.

wants to cuddle immediately after sex. loves to be the big spoon so he can stick his dick between your asscheeks. ready for round 2 after approximately 30 seconds.

⋙ colt grice.

always holding your hand when you're walking together or putting his arm around you when you're sitting together.

relationship moves quick. he asks you out one day, makes you his girlfriend the next, then he's suddenly talking about marriage and kids??? already has your entire life together planned out. you meet his parents on the second date

too logical. when you rant about your day he always gives you solutions instead of just letting you vent. gets confused when you get frustrated with him.

regularly posts pictures of you to instagram with cringy captions, but they're all really good pictures because he religiously watches those tiktok guides on how to take pictures of your girlfriend.

gets along really well with your friends. often comes along to girls-nights so he can dd for you and your friends. very interested in your friend group's gossip.

virgin. or at least very sexually inexperienced. kind of vanilla but open to trying anything. prefers when you take the lead, bottoms from the top-vibes

loves any position that has the two of you facing each other.

very vocal in bed. constantly telling you how pretty you are with his cock in your mouth or hot you look when you cum. likes it when you swallow his cum but never asks for it because he doesn't want to be rude

always reminds you to go pee after sex and falls asleep immediately afterwards. kisses you in his sleep.

sets his alarm 20 mins early so he can cuddle and kiss with you (and maybe a lil quickie) before you have to get up.

[mommypieck]

For kinktober how about 27. Stockings (+ cute lingerie in general) for Colt and his gf ♥

༺ ♱ ༻ kinktober day twenty-seven: stockings

✿ colt grice

✿ colt can't help himself when he sees your halloween costume

your legs swing up and down as you sit on your bed in your collage room, waiting for your boyfriend. it's your first halloween together as a couple and you made sure to dress as best as you could.

colt wanted to wear those cheesy couple costumes that said "queen" and "king" but you talked him into a priest and nun.

"hi baby." voice suddenly awakes you from your thought and your eyes meet with your boyfriend stumbling into your room. his priest gown is too long but it's obvious he tried. his movements stop when his eyes lay at your costumes. his eyes slowly checking you out until his eyes land on your legs clad in black stockings. you can see little starts jump in his eyes at the sight.

you jump off the bed to hug your boyfriend who is still very starstruck by you.

"colty, what do you think?" you ask, jumping in front of him to show off your outfit.

"it's pretty." he says as he looks at the ground and you can feel red envelop his cheeks. colt things he's gonna melt when you jump up and down in front of him, trying to gain his attention to compliment you more.

"can i see them closely?" he asks, gesturing to your stocking. you mod, grabbing his hand and leading him to the bed. you sit down, colt getting onto his knees in front of you.

his hands caress your thighs before he leans down to kiss your thigh.

the roughness of the stocking rubs against his face as he kisses his way to your core. his fingers still for a moment and you can see that he's thinking about it.

"you look so good in them," he mumbles against your skin, "but i need them off your body right now."

his hands grip the stockings and you see a large hole the next second. he rips the crotch, grabbing your ass to pull you closer to him. colts eyes meet the lacy panties you are wearing and he can't help but to let out a quiet whine.

"here we go, baby." he smiles up at you, pulling your underwear to the sight and diving into your core.

his tongue explores you in the best way possible. he focuses on your clit before licking a stripe down to your hole and back up. you can feel him mumbling things such as how tasty your pussy is or how wet you are.

"need inside." he whispers and pulls back from your core. you whine at the loss but you are silenced by colts reassuring words of love.

he quickly pulls his pants down, shuffling on the bed so he can sink into your core. you have done this only few times before so the stretch is still here but he feels so good. his movements are frantic and you can see how needy he is for you. he is way rougher than the times before and he is way local too. you moan out at the noises he makes, sounding so angelic to your ears.

"gonna cum, baby. gonna cum." he whines when he feels your walls squeeze him tight. you cum at his works, unable to control yourself. you shake and trash against the bed, your orgasm seeming to be not stopping.

colt thrusts for the last time, filling you up to the brim. he pulls out as you can see the panicked expression on his face before you coo at him, "don't worry, colt. i wanted you to cum inside."

you watch as his cock jumps again at your words you you're always late and your friends are waiting.

colt presses you against his body, adjusting your skirt, "i am sorry for the stockings, y/n, but i would get jealous if you went out in them."

[lostinwildflowers]

Summary: A young, naïve princess and a scrappy kid off the streets find themselves at odds, only to form a close connection that could cost the princess's future.

Word Count: 27.5K(...I am so sorry)

Warnings: Slowburn, Enemies to Lovers, Angst, Pining(and a lot of it), Violence, Fighting, Illness(Not Pregnancy), Graphic Description of Death, Blood and Gore, Harsh Language/Swearing, Royalty AU, Happy Ending

A/N: Guys. I have finally finished this fic after it sitting in my drafts for OVER A YEAR! I hope the wait was worth it, please enjoy. Also this isn't beta-ed so if there are any mistakes I apologize😭 -Birch<3

Some Inspirations(full credit to the artists!!!):

Knight Levi (1)

Knight Levi (2)

Knight Levi (3)

It was close to the break of a cool, brisk dawn, and an 18-year-old boy with raven hair was being escorted by the king’s guard. The men of the guard hurriedly ushered him toward the castle gates, hoping to keep the situation quiet.

The boy had just been scooped up from the streets of the small town outside the castle where he had fought against a robbery in the town’s bank. Two large men had been knocked unconscious and tied up outside the front door while he returned the coins to the banker, who was crying uncontrollably, thanking him.

The boy’s name?

Levi Ackerman. He was skimpy, short, and looked like the butt of a joke. Yet from the tallest hill to the deepest valley across the kingdom, he was known as one of the best crime fighters in the nation.

Levi was known for his cunning, stoic nature, as well as his ability to fight with an unnatural quickness on his feet. Never once had he had a run-in with the law, he would send for the guard as soon as he started fighting the criminals. The poor guards men and women would show up to take the criminals away, only getting a quick glance at the small boy saving their town.

That’s why when the royal guard came to find him after the banking skirmish, Levi didn’t resist. He knew he wasn’t in trouble.

As they rode back toward the castle and away from the small village, Levi listened to the guard’s oblivious chatter. They wanted to recruit him to be a part of the royal guard… at the king's request? The thought surprised him, but he didn’t let that show. He knew that if he agreed to be a part of the king’s military force, he would be well taken care of and still be able to serve justice to those who needed it.

The sound of steel horseshoes clicking against the grey and black tiled rocks in the road was barely audible in comparison to the bustle of the town just outside of the castle. Levi was mounted on the back of one of the king's horses, his silver eyes narrow and cautious as he watched everyone hustle around the entourage.

Before he knew it, he was walking away from the life he was accustomed to, and as soon as he made it through the palace gates, his life changed forever. You could say it was almost difficult to keep up, but Levi knew how to quickly adapt.

He's shown the barracks and his sleeping quarters, where he was lucky enough to get a small cot in the corner away from many of the other soldiers. He caught sight of some of the soldiers and their trainees, donning stripes on their armor to show off their rank.

Levi doesn’t quite know what to make of everyone, they are all so happy, so clueless to the outside world, it almost disgusts him. But, he keeps his mouth shut and listens as he gets his tour and settles into his new life.

Bright and early the next morning, he goes to train in the sparring lot with his group of roommates. Several of them had tried to talk to him and learn about his past, but he wasn’t interested in making friends.

He watched several pairs spar without weapons before it was his turn to go. The thing about Levi that surprised all of his opponents was his strength. Despite his smaller size, he could easily surpass and beat his fellow trainees in combat. Between his different styles of movement and his speed, he was untouchable. 

Levi spent the first while at the castle doing what seemed like pointless activities to him. He knew how to unsheath a sword. He knew how to ride a horse. All of the basics were skills he inherently knew from his life on the streets fighting crime.

That's why no one was surprised when he advanced to the group of other guard trainees, who had been at the castle, learning the trade for over a year. It was strange at first, with everyone unsure of the quiet, small boy, but they eventually came to make small chat and he began to fit in.

Time seemed to slide by as fall weather started to set in. Leaves changed from dark, rich greens to playful yellows and tasteful oranges. It’s on one of these fall days, that Levi meets you for the first time. 

You were elegant, graceful, and naive at only 17, out for a walk in one of your many private courtyards. You were out strolling by yourself, as you often did. There were guards littered throughout the palace, so you weren’t too concerned about danger.

You loft around one of your favorite courtyards, the Josephina Garden Hall, blinking through the falling leaves and sighing in happiness at the breeze that floats through, carrying the last of summer’s warmth. In your lackadaisical wandering, you catch sight of a dark-haired boy around the corner.

You stay quiet and you blink in surprise when you realize he is training in your private yard. He's young, you think to yourself as you shift to stand next to some browning thistle bushes. Butterflies erupt in your belly as you take in his shirtless and lean muscular back that is facing you.

Even with his boyish age, Levi is covered in thick, strong muscle, but due to his intense practice routine, he's covered in dirt and some bruises. You could even see the pale gleam of faded scars on his chest and back, and that's when you decided you needed to know who this recruit was.

What kind of guard trainee is this? He looks young, but he seems so experienced, he couldn't have come from one of the lords, you think to yourself as you shakily emerge from your hiding spot.

You roll your shoulders back and down, lifting your chin as you walk as poised as you can. An image of grace, or so you thought. You were youthful and inexperienced, having only just gotten out of a lecture about politics and debate. Your days were spent going to classes, electives, and other menial lessons.

This was your time of day to relax, but the air suddenly changed from inquisitive to tense. Just as you started to approach the dark-haired boy, who was swinging his swords in a practiced sequence, he caught sight of you.

He flips his sword over in his hand, and pivoting on one foot, his blade just grazes your chin to lift it and look deep into your wide (colored) eyes. The slight sting of the blade causes you to jump back, your hands racing to your face to see if he drew blood.

Your heart is pounding in your chest as you pull them back to see just a small droplet on the tip of your fingers, and your breathing is labored as you glare at the raven-haired boy.

Levi holds your stare as well as the stance with his blades and mutters, "Who are you and why are you watching me train?” It's silent for a moment as you process his words, the fading stinging on your chin slowing your brain down. Your mouth parts open, both in offense and shock.

He didn't know who you were.

You swallow thickly as you blink slowly once, trying to regain your composition as you reply, "It doesn't matter. You are training in a private courtyard meant for this kingdom's elite and personal guards."

His silver gaze bores into you for another minute before they roll in annoyance, his swords dropping away from you with an irritated sigh. He takes a small step backward, regaining your gaze without saying a word.

You watch him carefully, slightly nervous before dropping into a shallow curtsy. You look down and murmur, "Excuse me then." Levi takes a step to the side as you walk past him, skirts fluttering as you look straight ahead without a second thought.

Once you're out of earshot, Levi watches you leave and wander into the next garden, disappearing around the corner. Who the hell was that? He thinks to himself but brushes it off and continues with his training.

---

Later that same evening, the other recruits were laughing and chuckling after a hard day of training. Levi walked along behind them, listening to their conversations but never truly taking part in them. 

Everyone was headed back to the barracks, slowly wandering through the outskirts of the castle while trying to not be too loud. He kept one hand on the hilt of his blade, his gaze trailing away from the crowd of trainees in a practiced and calculated manner.

Colt, Porco, and Zeke were leading the group, some of the advanced trainees Levi had come to know. They were cracking jokes and talking about what was for dinner, but Levi didn't care for their conversation. He found more interest in listening to Reiner and Bertholdt who were in front of him.

The two young boys were discussing the upcoming rotations for the guard trainees. Each rotation group was stationed somewhere different around the castle and courtyards, and they rotated every couple of weeks so the guards could defend anywhere they were needed.

Reiner was more worried about who he was going to be stationed to watch, which made Levi roll his eyes, his silver gaze locking onto motion around the upcoming corner.

A split second later, he sees your figure surrounded by a flock of maids on your every side. Then, just a few paces behind them were your two female guards, Pieck and Annie.

His eyes narrow as the pieces click together in his head. He's interrupted when the other male guards he was walking with recognize you. “Good evening, milady,” Colt chirps out, a wide smile on his face as the group comes to a halt.

You had been talking to one of your maids about some kind of fabric for your next dress but were interrupted by the sight of the guards in front of you. You give the men at the front a sweet smile as the group of trainees all drop to one knee in a respectful bow.

All except for one.

The dark-haired boy, you think as he locks eyes with you. You nod silently to the maids, who skirt around all of the men and head toward your quarters. You continue to smile gently as they leave, and you address the trainees with a quiet and pleasant, "At ease soldiers."

Zeke offers you a wide grin and says, “Good evening, princess! Lovely weather we've had today, perhaps we can get some musicians to play in the back courtyard for you after dinner tonight.”

While Zeke is talking, you don't break eye contact with Levi, who is still standing at the back, not kneeling like the rest. You see Reiner elbow Levi in the knee, motioning to kneel in respect, but Levi continues to stare at you.

As Zeke finishes speaking, you shift your gaze to him slowly and agree, "Wonderful idea, Zeke. Please alert some butlers and other maids to gather everyone, especially my family and the lords. Reiner, Porco, join him, please?"

Zeke humbly agrees, as do the others, and you give them a dismissive nod, saying, "Thank you, gentlemen. Make sure to get my favorite violinist!" As the three blondes rise and disappear around the corner you just came from, you are left with Colt and Bertholdt kneeling, and the dark-haired boy still standing.

Levi's eyes are calculating and firm, and you nod to Colt and Bertholdt, relieving them from their bows of respect, heading past you and to the barracks. Colt turns around when he realizes Levi isn't following him but freezes at the showdown playing out in front of him.

You square up with Levi, taking a few steps toward him before he says, “You’re a princess? Makes sense why I caught you so off guard. You were loud, obviously in my line of sight, and an easy target who can’t even protect herself.”

A gasp sounds out as Colt gapes at the harshness of Levi's words, but the dark-haired boy doesn't say anything. And neither do you. You simply stare at where Levi’s head had been moments before as the boy walks past you, brushing past the other trainees. He disappears down the hallway where Colt and Bertholdt had been heading, straight for the barracks. 

Annie and Pieck are still standing behind you, and when you don't move for a second, Pieck rests her hand on your shoulder. "Princess Y/n? Are you alright?"

You don't say anything, but turn to face Annie instead, a snarl now etched onto your usually kind features. There is a fire burning in your (colored) eyes as you give her a cold look and state, "Teach me to fight."

---

The training session with Annie was just coming to an end, with your muscles sore and aching and your chest heaving to catch your long-gone breath. It was a long and brutal session, as Annie wasn't forgiving and it was warm as could be outside despite it being the middle of fall.

It didn't help that you were in your new fitted armor that Pieck helped you choose - it was heavy and there were many layers to keep you protected. There was a well-fitting breastplate that was engraved with your family’s name and emblem, cuffs for your forearms, and even protective plates for your calves, thighs, and biceps.

It was intricate and beautiful, with each piece perfectly tailored to your body. The one downside - it was heavy. With the rays of the autumnal sun beating down and carrying the extra weight you weren't used to, it was tough on your body.

Annie being a deadly threat didn't really help either, but at least her blade was only a wooden practice sword.

Her weapon came down fast and hard in a never-ending wave of attacks that were perfectly timed, accurate, and most of all, deadly.

With a fast nudge from her wooden blade, your sword easily flew to the ground, clattering against the hard-packed dirt. You were out of breath, with your hair all mussed up and grime smudged across your cheek from your hours of practice.

Silver eyes were watching from a distance in the trainee’s practice area, but you were too tired to notice anything. Instead, you were focused on Annie, who was holding her own sword up to your throat, much like Levi did two weeks ago.

"You've got a long way to go," is the only thing she says. You sigh deeply as she takes a step back and drops her sword, turning to walk away.

"I'm going to clean up, Pieck is here to watch you," Annie calls over her shoulder as she sheaths her practice blade back into her belt, and you give her a feint wave as you locate Pieck near the edge of the training field.

You watch as Annie’s blonde head disappears behind some shrubbery before slumping unceremoniously to the ground, a groan falling from your lips.

A few pants escape you as you close your eyes, a wave of exhaustion flooding over you. You try to calm the erratic beating of your heart and slow your breathing down as a light breeze begins to blow through. Leaves stir up on the ground, but you couldn’t bring yourself to care.

While your eyes are closed, everything somehow seems to get darker, and the breeze seems to stop just a moment later. Your (colored) eyes flutter open and up, leaving you face-to-face with the dark-haired boy.

You groan again and move to get up as Levi glimpses down at you and he states blankly, "You need practice." You shuffle to your feet shakily, closing your eyes and taking a deep breath before opening them and answering him with, “Yes. I know. Thank you, soldier.” 

“It’s Levi,” he cuts you off firmly, "Levi Ackerman.”

You squint at him silently, leaning down to pick up your fallen sword without a word. A small puff of air leaves your mouth as your hand wraps around the hilt of the blade and you mutter, “Well, Levi Ackerman, I’m practicing, and you should be too.”

The dark-haired boy simply scoffs and says “I'm already better than you in all aspects of combat, you need the practice more than anything. I’m not even sure why you’re out here, shouldn’t you be learning how to sew or something?”

Your hand falters on the grip of your sword for a second before your gaze hardens and you snap, “As you said, I need to learn to protect myself, and I'm working toward that goal.”

You don't hesitate a moment after that, choosing to turn away from him and follow Annie to wherever she had disappeared. Levi is left standing behind you as you storm away, quiet as he takes in your retreating appearance.

Pieck had caught sight of your small spat with Levi, and as she followed you out of the practice field, she shot an icy glance toward the dark-haired recruit.

---

Your days were endlessly busy, and you were the most exhausted you had ever been in your entire life, with meetings with potential princes, lords, and suitors, going to your lessons to learn about foreign policy, hosting balls, developing legislature, and more. 

On top of that, you were still determined to train with Annie and Pieck when you had a moment free. Annie focused on teaching you sword techniques and improving your reaction time, while Pieck focused on sequences and how to use them while in a fight.

You were slowly improving with every day you practiced. You were becoming leaner, and building more muscle. You were less quick to tire, you didn’t lose your breath as much, and you were getting to the point where you could occasionally match Annie’s blows. 

Your mother and father weren’t so sure about you learning to fight, but your elder brothers had all learned, so they accepted that it was something you wanted to do. Your mother thought it was “unladylike”, but your father thought it was a good idea that you knew the basics of protecting yourself if you needed to.

"Slow!” Annie's yell comes at you as she spins and slashes her sword toward your ribcage, her aim constantly perfect. You manage to dodge her attack before you parry your blade against hers, using your body weight to push her back a step.

The two of you were sparring in one of the private courtyards this particular day, while Pieck stood guard not too far off.

The two of you circled each other before Pieck called out, “I think that's enough for today, you two, Annie, it's time for us to go on patrol. Colt and Porco will be on guard while we are gone.”

You were in an intense staring battle with Annie, who breaks her gaze away from yours to nod at Pieck. You groan and whine out, “But Pieck, I'm not tired yet, I can still practice for another hour!”

Quiet footsteps behind you make your head turn, and you suddenly see a blade coming down toward your face. A flash of fear runs through you, and you instantaneously react, bringing your sword up to catch the opposing blade.

You just barely catch it in time, and you realize your heart is pounding in your chest as the initial rush of adrenaline burns off. Shock is evident on your face as your lips part in a gasp and your eyes widen, but you soon frown when you are met with that new yet familiar silver gaze.

"Then let's fight for another hour," the low voice comes. 

Annie and Pieck had both drawn their swords, just to find the dark-haired boy named Levi was the assailant. Dressed in his practice armor, the silver metal covering his body reflected the same color as his eyes. 

One of his swords was drawn, the blade pushing down on your own, leaning toward your face. You could see the concentration in his brow, but you weren’t about to give up and lose. Stalemate it is then, you think to yourself as you brace against Levi.

At that moment, Colt and Porco walk into the yard, suited up in their new armor, their eyes wide when they catch sight of you and Levi. Pieck sighs and walks over to them, briefly giving them the rundown of events before she and Annie leave for their patrol. 

Colt and Porco, each respectively, take a position on either side of the yard, giving you and Levi plenty of room to fight. When your eyes meet Levi’s again, you find him with what could be considered a smirk resting on his lips.

"Let's fight, princess.”

At that, he pushes his blade off of you in a sudden burst of energy, spinning away quickly to avoid any counterattack from you. This gives you time to draw your sword in an effective manner to combat his every blow.

Levi draws his second sword, now dual-wielding in the style that no one seemed to be able to replicate. You grit your teeth and go after him swinging, allowing the metal of your blade to clash against his, your footsteps shuffling in the fine gravel and dirt. Your hair was falling out of the already messy ponytail it had been in, the (colored) locks falling into your eyes.

You felt unkempt, wild, and stronger than you ever had before. And this time when you were fighting, you had the physical strength to show it.

While you were on the muscle and ready to attack at every movement, Levi was at ease, effortlessly matching your blows; twisting and flipping just out of range of your blade.

Eventually, Levi starts to get the upper hand, and without you realizing it, he gets you backed up and pinned to the wall. In an instant, one of his blades flicks yours to the ground before being pointed at your throat, while his other one comes up to point at your belly.

He's panting now though, with sweat running down his forehead and neck, disappearing behind the silver chainmail covering his chest. The sun just barely catches his left eye as he gazes at you, and it glows like a hot ore on a fire.

It's silent between you two, your blade is on the ground so there is no way to defend yourself, and your hands are by your sides. At that moment, you are out of breath, beaten, with nothing to say for yourself.

Levi pauses for a moment before dropping his swords and resheaths them, one on his back and the other at his hip. He takes a deep breath through his nose and gives you a small, shallow bow and a quiet mumble of, “Better.”

He takes a few swift steps back and jogs out of the yard, giving Colt a simple nod before disappearing toward the barracks. You're left standing there, dazed, as you watch his armor glitter and dance in the disappearing rays of sunlight.

You hardly notice it, but a faint flush has covered your face, and as you touch your cheek, you realize it's warm.

---

The sun had sunk below the horizon and the coolness of the full autumn nights was bone-chilling. While you had gotten cleaned after some flower arranging and training exercises that afternoon, there was a part of you that wanted to get messy.

So, you decided to go to the forges and clean your practice gear. The plates had been coated with mud and grass from the numerous times you hit the ground while sparring Annie, and there was no doubt dust caked onto the cloth from the dirt Levi kicked up when he surprised you.

It was late in the evening, several hours after dinner, and one of the times of the day that you were allowed to be alone for just a few minutes. Not wanting to make a scene, you chose to go to one of the smaller forge rooms, one that you knew not many people used.

You took a few moments, setting up a few candles on the workbench and lighting them, stoking the fire in the hearth to warm up the small workshop. There were several tables set up in the room, embroidered cloths carrying the royal insignia, others holding stacks of bent swords and dented plates of armor.

On your workbench, someone had left out a few delicate trinkets and other lightweight tools, and you find yourself smiling at the meaning behind them. A small forged flower? Perhaps for a lover back home, you wonder to yourself as you gently move it to the far side of the table.

You can’t help but sigh in happiness at the quiet sounds of the workshop; the crackle of the small fire burning in the hearth of the forge, the distant sounds of drunk men happy with their work for the day, and even the call of a spotted owl hooting in the distance.

The ability to be alone for a few minutes was much appreciated after the clashing of swords all afternoon, and you quietly start to work on polishing your armor as a warm, orange glow begins to fill the room. The faint smell of wood smoke fills the air, accompanied by the dark and rich aroma of the oil used to clean your armor and blade.

Time seems to tick by slowly, and you don’t even realize there is moonlight shining through the window until the sound of footsteps approaching catches your attention. Your (colored) orbs are snatched away from the rhythmic movement of polishing your thigh plate at the noise and you cease motion as you look to see who it is.

As you turn to face the entrance to the forge, you are met with the shadowed face of Levi, who when he notices you, his eyes widen ever-so-slightly and he bows in recognition and murmurs, “Princess”.

You can feel your eyes narrow in immediate suspicion at the sudden respect he is showing you. He quietly walks past you, moving to sit at the table closest to the forge, the two of you facing each other, yet tables apart.

You notice he is carrying his own gear, and you soften the intensity of your expression and answer him with a short, "Good evening, Levi,” before returning to your thigh plate with the small rag.

It’s quiet for another moment, but the simple silence that had once surrounded you has grown thick and uneasy. You could feel yourself shifting on the bench you were sitting on, realizing you were in a much more casual outfit than you typically wore. It wasn't nearly as extravagant as your day-to-day dresses, but you still felt comfortable enough to be seen by your guards and maids. 

So with it being Levi sitting in the same forge as you, it made you uneasy. You watch him pull a stool out from the corner of your eye, the wooden legs scratching against the ashen ground near the forge’s mouth. What had been a harmonious sound from the forge becomes the sharp hiss of logs burning and the soft zings of metal being wiped clean and sharpened.

You feel the need to say something, anything, and so you mumble carefully, "You fought well today.” You dunk your rag in more oil, (colored) eyes cast down toward your hands. You can feel Levi’s heated gaze snap onto your frame, and the intensity of them is like daggers digging into your sides.

"I fight well every day,” he almost snarls. You feel your heart practically jump to your throat at the harshness of his tone, and you keep your eyes on cleaning a piece of mud off of a shoulder pauldron. Suddenly you feel foolish for saying something, and it's quiet for another moment before he pipes back up.

“But thank you," he murmurs, softer this time, "You are getting better, some of your combinations are pretty good.”

His words are simple, and straight to the point. They show no signs of being impressed or disappointed, it was like he was simply stating your fighting abilities like they were facts. Your cleaning motions completely stop as you process his words, and you can’t stop yourself from looking up to view his lithe figure. 

Levi is working on cleaning his dual blades when your gaze lands on him, and he doesn't look up when your eyes find him. He doesn’t even seem bothered that he gave you what could be taken as a compliment, especially with how he has acted toward you.

But this is the first time you truly get to lay eyes on the scrappy boy, taking in his limber build. He's not large. Everything about him seems to be small, regardless of the obvious muscling on his frame. 

You know he's strong despite his size, and he is lethally fast, which proves to be a deadly combination. The boy sitting across the room from you has something about him that sets him apart, and you just can’t put your finger on what it is.

As you go back to cleaning your armor, you try to piece together a possible backstory for him. You know he didn’t live in the town connected to the castle, no one here knew him. He was around your age, and he knew how to fight, but he wasn’t from a royal or respected family.

You look up from your gear, setting everything off to the side and you state out of nowhere, “Levi, I want you to train me.”

It's quiet again, and you can feel your heart pounding in your chest as you wait anxiously. You then hear his blades hit the wooden table in a sudden clatter, drawing your gaze to the intricately designed swords. 

No one else had swords like him. Custom designed, but embellished with the royal insignia, they were specifically made for his fighting style. You had wondered about them, and why your parents would allow for a random boy to have custom swords if he were just to be joining the guard.

You pause for a moment, thinking about how you made a major mistake asking this of him, and you look up to meet his gaze. And now, he's looking at you.

The expression on his face is one you don't know how to digest. He always seemed to look mad, bored, or sad when you watched him from a distance, but now you had no idea how to get a read on him. If you were to say what he looked like, you thought that he looked excited. 

Levi stands up from his stool, the wood once again scraping against the ash-covered floor. His boots crunched on the thin layer of ash, but he didn’t seem to mind as he secured his blades on the table. 

He moves with a grace you never noticed and he walks around the edge of your table to lean his hands on it directly across from you. 

“No,” he says, his gaze still unreadable. You blink up at him, your fingers nervously weaving together in and out before you plead, “Teach me, there is no way I can get better if I don’t learn.”

You can feel his disbelief when he tuts and pushes off the table to stand up straight, looking down at you. His arms move to cross his chest and he responds again, “No, I’m not going to teach you.”

A wave of frustration washes over you and you stand up and frown before spitting out, “You have to!” Levi rolls his eyes and sighs, “I don’t have to do anything.”

You walk around the edge of the table to get closer to him and you point your finger at his chest and bark out, “You have to listen to me, I am your superior!” Levi smacks your finger away with his hand and is quiet for a moment.

His gaze shifts, and suddenly you can read his expression again. A challenge. His eyes become steely in the light of the forge, and you can see them flicker between your eyes, down your frame to your boots, and back up again.

You suddenly feel too warm standing there, and you uncomfortably shift side to side as you feel him silently judge you. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Here I am in clothes not suitable outside of my quarters, this guy is judging me after beating me today, and I’m begging him to train me. Get it together! The words flood into your mind as you stand there, and you cross your arms over your chest to try to cover up in insecurity.

“What’s in it for me?” he asks coolly, his gaze boring into yours as he awaits a response. You blink in disbelief and stutter, “Uh, uhm, I don’t know. What do you want?”

Levi rolls his eyes and walks back over to his gear, sliding the swords back into their sheaths. He folds up his armor and puts it back into a leather bag that he brought it in. He seemed dismissive and you were racking your brain before an idea caught in your brain.

“Land!” you call out loudly, before covering your mouth. Levi freezes and turns to look at you with one of his brows lifted in question. You take a quick breath and continue, “Land, for your family, here around the castle. That way you can see them whenever you want.”

Levi continues to put his stuff away and replies blankly, “My family is dead. I am alone.” A pit builds in your stomach and you usher out, “I’m sorry, I had no idea.” Levi glances at you and shrugs, “I’ve worked alone since I was a child.”

You are quiet again and let him walk past you toward the mouth of the forge. Just as he’s about to leave you mutter, “Please, Levi. I want to learn.”

He pauses behind you at the door, your backs facing each other. It’s quiet, with just the sound of the fire splitting open another log. You can hear the fluttering of the owl’s wings outside the window, and you turn to face the door, afraid he left.

Instead, you are met with Levi’s gaze watching your dejected figure. You can see he is calculating in his head, thinking, planning, and ready to say something that will destroy your hopes.

“You have no idea what you’re signing up for, princess,” is what falls from his mouth. It’s quiet, so quiet you almost miss it. A flicker of hope blooms in your belly and excitement takes over as you realize the implications of his words.

You take a step toward him, your hands clenching by your sides as you whisper, “Try me.”

Something flashes across his face, another unreadable emotion. He stares into your eyes and replies, “9 o’clock tomorrow night outside the Josephina Garden Hall. Don’t be late.” 

Not a moment later, and he’s gone.

---

It’s just starting to get late, with the moon climbing higher and higher into the sky. You are nervously making your way to the Josephina Garden Hall on the south side of the castle, opposite the barracks. 

You could hardly focus in your classes all day after the interaction with Levi in the forge room the night before. He was going to train you!

The training at night part made you a little nervous though, as you had really only practiced during the day and under heavy supervision. It was a windy night too, so you wore an extra layer underneath your practice gear so that you would stay warm.

A chill runs up your spine as you hurriedly make it inside the grandeur gates of the Josephina Garden Hall, and you take a deep breath as you start scoping the area for Levi. 

You had informed Pieck and Annie of your new training program with Levi, and both of them were hesitant but supportive. They were both standing at the opposite sides of the gates when you entered, and you quickly waved at them in recognition.

Just as they start to wave back at you, there is a sharp and quick blow to your back that knocks you to the ground. Air rushes out of your lungs and your forehead knocks into the grey, rocky tile with a loud crack!

Ow, ow, ow! The pain sets in quickly, and you can tell you’ve cut your forehead, you’ve likely got gravel or dirt in your palms, and there is going to be a bruise in the middle of your back in the morning.

“Lesson 1 - always keep your defenses up,” the low voice comes from above you. You are trying to decipher the words when panic begins to set in. You couldn’t catch your breath.

You don’t think you’ve ever experienced so much breathlessness, and you roll over onto your back, gasping for air. In doing so, the voice, which belonged to Levi, rings out again, “Lesson 2 - don’t give yourself an opening for the enemy to disarm you.”

In a quick motion, his boot flicks your practice sword right out of its sheath on your hip. The wooden blade flips perfectly into his hand, and in an instant, the blade is pointing at your throat.

Blinking rapidly while trying to regain your breath, you take in Levi’s appearance. He was wearing a dark cloak, and his face was shadowed in the light of the moon. He looked… eerie. And for the first time since you had met Levi, you felt scared of him.

“As I said, princess, you’ve got no idea what you’re in for”, he spits out, dropping your sword next to your head. You shuffle into a sitting position, chest still heaving. Your mind was an absolute whirlwind due to the lack of oxygen and the speed and accuracy with which he evaluated your fighting knowledge.

You frown and grab your wooden practice blade, putting it back into your sheath before scrambling to your feet to face him. You pant for a moment and then say, “Then teach me how to be better.”

Levi turns to face you, the moonlight casting him in a silver glow. He cocks his head to the side slightly before he replies, “Your reaction time is slow, you move loudly, and you are uncoordinated.”

You stand still for a moment, taking in his words. You shrug and ask, “So how do I fix all that?” Levi squares up with you and says, “Well with someone of your skill level, you can’t work on it all at once. You need to learn the pieces individually and then start putting them together.”

He motions to a tree where you can just make out the figure of a spotted owl, the one you had seen the night before! Levi starts, “An owl doesn’t start out as a silent flier. It first must learn how to flap its wings to get in the air before it worries about how quiet it is.”

You nod in understanding as the owl turns its head, flaps its wings a few times, and then glides off into the woods outside of the courtyard. A small shift on your heel and you face Levi again and call out, “Let’s go again!”

---

That first training session was the start of a brutal and grueling process to get you in fighting shape. Levi was a good teacher, surprisingly, but he was relentless. For every time you messed up, you had to get it right three times in a row.

The weeks started to slide by, and you were getting stronger, faster, and more deadly. Winter has arrived in its full glory - frigid winds, iced-over paths, and inches of snow every morning. The pines in the forest had started to get weighed down by all the icicles hanging on, and the horses were blanketed every night to keep them warm.

It was hard, practicing in the cold. The dry, cold air made it hard to breathe when you were working to the point of exhaustion, and when the sun shone down just right, you were positive you were going to go blind.

That didn’t deter Levi, though. You had managed to get better with a blade, but Levi insisted you needed to learn how to fight hand-to-hand since you “were so good at losing your sword”.

So that led you to your current predicament - being across from Levi trying to dodge his punches. They were fast, one after the next, after the next. Perfectly timed with an accuracy you didn’t know someone could obtain.

You jump out of the way as fast as you can, but a blow to the rib catches you off-guard and has you keeled over, your breath puffing in the frigid air. The pain is sharp, but you’ve started to learn how to manage it better, so you stand back up and form your fists into balls.

You attempt to throw a weak punch toward Levi’s abdomen, but he catches your hand with ease. He’s strong enough that he pulls your hand up to eye level, looking at the form of your fist.

“Okay, first off, this isn’t how you should make a fist when throwing a punch,” Levi says to you, pointing to the way you had your right thumb in the middle of your fist. He pulls your hand apart and makes it flat before reforming it into a fist, wrapping your thumb around the outside of your middle and pointer fingers.

You feel a wave of heat wash over your face as you realize he’s close to you, touching your hand. You try to pay attention to what he’s telling you, but it’s like you are just now realizing the ashen color of his eyes is flecked with the faintest hint of light blue.

“If you had actually hit me with the fist you had, you would have broken your thumb in an instant,” he explains, dropping your hand and showing you the fist you had made but with his hand instead. You don’t expect to almost miss the warmth of his touch when he moves away, but you shake the thought away as soon as it comes.

You step off to the side, letting out a small breath that billows around your head before throwing a punch in the air with your fist in the correct position. You turn to gauge Levi’s opinion of your punch, and you see what resembles a small, half-smile on his face.

Levi sighs and shakes his head, “Not quite. You’re twisting your arm as you deliver the punch. You want your arm and shoulder to follow directly behind wherever your fist is landing. If you are moving to break someone’s nose, you want it all to be in a straight line.”

He demonstrates a quick punch in front of you, and you can see the line he’s talking about from his fist, through his arm to his shoulder. You take a deep breath, trying to focus as you once again square up with Levi. You hone in on his nose, and in a flash, your fist flies out in front of you.

It surprises both of you when your fist makes contact with his jaw, and there is a clack as Levi’s teeth clamp down together in pain. Your (colored) eyes are wide as Levi takes a step back, one of his hands coming up to cup his cheek.

Your fist is still hanging in the air from where you just punched him in the face and panic sets in as you realize you just punched him. “Oh-oh my gosh, Levi, I’m so sorry!” the words come rushing out of your mouth, and you take a step forward with your hands covering your face.

There is a slight grimace on Levi’s as he works his jaw up and down to dissipate any pain. He lets out a quiet snort and utters, “That’s more like it, even if your aim was a little off.”

Worry is etched across your features as you take in the growing red mark on Levi’s cheek. “Levi, I am so sorry, please let me take care of that,” you plead as you move around the side of him to get a better look at it in the light. Levi just brushes you off, waving his hand dismissively, “It’s alright, I’ve had much worse.”

You sigh and mumble, “I believe that but that doesn’t mean you need to suffer now. Please, Levi, let me at least get some ice for you so it doesn’t bruise as badly.”

He glances at you from the corner of his eye as he unwraps his hands, quiet and calculating. A moment passes but then he gives you a small nod, leaning down to pick up the extra wraps he brought, and motions for you to lead the way.

It’s a quiet walk back to the barracks, with only the snow crunching underfoot. You keep an eye on your surroundings, noting the guards just coming back from patrol in the forest, and the next rotation of trainees leaving to watch the castle walls.

Before you know it, the two of you are sliding into the small medicine room at the entrance to the barracks, and you grab a soft cloth and a stool. You have Levi sit on the stool while you run back outside, scooping up some of the fresher, cleaner-looking snow from outside the building.

Ducking back inside, you press the snow down into a ball inside the cloth, wrapping it until it is softly padded. You give Levi a small smile as you offer the rag to him, and he quietly grunts in thanks, bringing the cooled wrap up to his face and laying it on his cheek.

You rock back and forth on your heels a few times before asking, “So, uh, what are we going to practice next?” Levi looks up at you through his dark lashes, his eyes half-lidded in exhaustion. He’s quiet, which is something you’ve come to notice about him.

Levi never seems to have a lot to say, and only really talks when spoken to. Your thoughts are interrupted when he mutters, “You still need to work on your hand-to-hand combat skills, your aim is off.”

He shuffles the ice on his face a little bit, a soft hiss sliding through his gritted teeth. Your brows furrow and you reach out, moving to pull the ice from his face to see what his cheek looks like.

While you’re busy looking at the slight purple and pink marks blooming on his cheek, Levi is looking at you. He hasn’t spent much time with you in such close proximity, as he typically kept you at arm’s length.

But up close… you were pretty. He should expect that- you are a princess after all. But there’s a certain natural aura that he never noticed before, a sort of kindness written into your features. Maybe it was the way your (colored) orbs flickered from one dark spot on his jaw back to his eyes to see if he was okay.

Maybe it was the gentleness in your touch as you pulled his hand down from his face so you could look at it. It could have been the tenderness and honest sorrow in your voice when you apologized for hurting him.

Your hair, whilst messy from fighting, somehow suited you despite its frazzled appearance. The curve of your mouth when your lips were parted while thinking matched the ferocity you had when mad and the joy in your heart when you laughed.

Levi felt a wave of emotion run through him while you muttered to yourself how you needed to get better and train harder. It was intense, a feeling that shook him right to his core.

Was it… longing?

“When I was living on the street, alone,” he whispered, his voice so low and quiet you thought you were hearing things. You dialed in on Levi and the way his eyes were slightly glazed over as if he was in another world.

He pauses for a moment, swallows thickly, and then continues, “When I lived on the streets, there was this little girl I helped out. She was probably 7, maybe 8 years old. Didn’t have any family, no place to live. But I helped her.”

You are quiet as you listen to him, not wanting to upset him, you nod along. He glances up at you and starts again, “I would get her food, clean water, maybe even a place to sleep at night. In turn, she would find me medicine and bandages.”

Levi looks back down at the ground and his eyes flutter close as he mutters, “I was a sick kid, but she helped me when I needed her. I wonder where she ended up some days, and if she’s still as kind as she was to me.”

You shift your weight slowly, crossing your arms over your chest, and mumble back, “I can imagine she’s helping people, a good heart is a good heart. No amount of wounds and scarring will stop someone’s true nature.”

Suddenly, as if a flip switches in his mind, Levi’s eyes snap open and a hardened look covers his face. He stands up, slamming the snow-filled cloth down on the table and he practically snarls, “You would have no idea, all you’re used to is a protected life within these walls. You’ve never experienced what it’s like to live every day not knowing whether or not you’re going hungry.”

He lunges towards the door, pauses for a second, and spits over his shoulder, “Not everyone is as privileged as you, princess.” The words are as cold as ice, and you feel like your head has just been plunged into a bucket of water.

Hurt washes over you as you watch him disappear deep into the barracks, and you slam the door shut as you collapse onto the stool where he was just sitting. A sob tears itself from your throat before you can stop it, and you wonder why you’re crying.

Is it because his words are true? Is it because he was vulnerable with you? Or was it because you were starting to consider him a friend, and he only saw you as a pawn in the overall game of royal hierarchy?

---

A few days have tensely come and gone, and you and Levi haven’t spoken to each other since his outburst. You had buried yourself deep into studying, you figured that way you could stay out of his way and better yourself while doing so.

You hadn’t bothered practicing while being nose-deep in your books, and Annie and Pieck had started to notice. They had seen the dejected look on your face when you made it back to your room that night and how you shut the door without another word, locking them out.

They didn’t bother asking what was wrong when they saw Levi practicing with the other trainees and not with you. So, instead, they guided you to and from lectures, meetings, and other royal duties without hesitation.

There was one day where the sun seemed to break through the sky a little clearer and Pieck decided you needed to get some fresh air. She was waiting outside of your room, knocking gently before she called, “Princess Y/n, come out! You need some fresh air and out of those books.”

You groan at the distant call of Pieck’s voice, but deep down you knew she was right. You set a small bookmark between the pages of the current novel you were reading and begrudgingly call back, “Give me a moment to change into something more suitable for outside!”

Pieck smiles as she hears you fumble around for a few minutes before she hears your door click unlocked and you appear beside her. Dressed in clothes more appropriate for the winter weather outside, there is a disgruntled look on your face that says you aren’t happy with her interrupting you.

She rolls her eyes and says, “Come on, you know this will do you some good. Annie is already down at the stables getting our horses ready. It’s a nice day out and we thought you might like to go for a ride.”

The strained look on your face shifts to one of easeful thanks as you and Pieck make your way down to the stables. From a distance, you could see Annie’s blonde hair peeking out from underneath her cape, and beside her were three of your favorite horses.

The first was Ramon, a deep cherry bay with a small white star on his forehead. He was an absolute sweetheart and enjoyed going out on the trails. The second was your favorite mare, named Vairon, who was a small white and black spotted Leopard Appaloosa. She was a little on the fiery side, but you really enjoyed her company.

The third was an old, kind stallion named Enfés. He was a dark, seal bay that could almost look black in the middle of winter. While his name literally meant “hell”, the blaze of white hairs on his face showed his older age and the kindness in his eye.

You give each of the horses a quick rub between their eyes before you look to your two guards and ask, “Who wants who?” Annie was already holding Enfés since she tacked him up last and she replies, “I can ride Enfés since I already have him.”

You nod and look to Pieck and she shrugs with a smile saying, “Pick whoever you want!” You smile back with a giggle and mumble, “Alright, I’ll ride Vairon, I haven’t ridden her in a while.” You move to grab the mare, carefully guiding her out of the tacking area and out into the snowy, grass field just outside.

The three of you mount your horses and set off towards the woods. There were hundreds of miles of trails around the castle that you enjoyed riding through. In the summer, you could gallop your horses down the paths and out onto the open moors without hesitation.

But now, in the middle of winter, you were limited in how fast you could travel. While it was a warmer day and the snow was melting, you still had to be cautious of the slick ice underneath the snow that could make your horse slip.

You take a deep breath through your nose, the cool air burning your airways with a slight sting that is refreshing. You let the air slide back out through your lips, the warmth from your breath instantaneously freezing. It momentarily blocks your vision, and when it clears, your stomach drops at the sight in front of you.

Bandits.

There were several hooded figures, too many for you to get an accurate count in the split second you realized they were in front of you. Pieck and Annie had caught sight of them too, motioning to quickly move to the side of the path. There were only three of you, and at least a dozen invaders.

You can feel a wave of nervousness wash over you as you try to draw your sword from your sheath. You glance back and forth between the figures closing in on you and the hilt of your sword, which was caught on your cloak.

Crap, crap, crap! Is all that is racing through your mind as you struggle to get a hold of your only weapon. A cry rips through the air as Annie moves to fend off the first round of attackers. In a desperate motion, you let go of your reins to grip the hilt of your sword with both hands.

With another strong tug, your sword comes loose, and just in time for an arrow to whiz through the air near you. Another pang of fear runs through you, and in a panic, you jump off of Vairon, the mare instantly turning and bolting as the sounds of battle rapidly approach.

You try to steady yourself and in your mind, thinking through your training with both Levi and Annie. Just as you get a grip on your surroundings, a dark figure appears in the corner of your vision with a blade directed at your head. You duck on instinct, sticking your foot out in a way you had seen Levi trip someone many times.

The bandit trips over your extended leg, falling to their knees as you advance behind them, kicking them in the back with your other leg. This seems to knock the air out of them, leaving the bandit out of commission for a moment while you glance to see how Annie and Pieck are doing.

“Pieck?” you call nervously when you don’t see her black locks of hair anywhere. “Pieck?!” you yell more loudly when you don’t get a response. In your moment of distraction, you don’t notice another bandit sneaking up on you, and your attention draws back to the invader you had already knocked to the ground.

Just as you move to attempt to knock the invader out, the second bandit attacks. You’re too slow when you finally realize they are there, and shock rips through your nervous system as a searing hot pain takes over your left arm. You cry out, your voice shredding at the coarseness of your yell, and it’s loud enough to catch Annie’s attention.

“Princess Y/n!” she shouts towards you, parrying blow after blow with three attackers on her at once. You don’t get a chance to respond when you hear a voice exclaim, “A princess? She’ll be worth a lot if we can capture her!”

“It’s a shame that won’t be happening today,” a low voice barks from someplace behind you. The second invader launches at you, holding the blade that had cut you up to your throat. A gasp of pain leaves your lips and the guy who had a hold of you grabs you by the shoulder and yells, “Quiet, princess! Or I will have your head.”

He turns to face the unidentified voice you had heard, and you shuffle along to avoid any more injury. You hear the voice again, and through your pain and blurry vision, you can start making out a figure.

This time you know who the baritone belongs to as it rings out, “I can’t allow that either.” Before you can comprehend it, Levi is off his horse and lunges toward the bandit. You see a slight flick of his sword, and then you feel the pressure of the blade on your neck disappear.

With a shaky glimpse toward the ground, you can see the bandit’s severed hand still holding the sword. A scream splits the air behind you as the harsh pain sets in for the bandit, who steps away from you and tries to run. Levi is faster though, and he spins around, slashing his dual blades again.

You close your eyes as you hear the bandit’s body hit the cold, hard dirt beneath him. Another wave of agony washes over you as you feel warmth start to seep down your arm, and a choked sob breaks through your lips.

Not a moment later, you can feel a hand placed on your non-injured arm, and through tears you didn’t know had, you can make out the shape of Levi’s face. You can see concern on his features as he asks, “Are you alright?”

You are shaking, your whole body quivering as you try to contain your emotions through the pain. You try to nod your head but another cry leaves you with a fresh set of tears streaming down your face.

“H- how did you find us?” you manage to stutter out as Levi drops his hand from your shoulder. He re-draws his secondary blade and replies, “I saw your horse, and then Pieck appeared a minute later and brought our patrol.”

Another screech rings through the air and he sharply looks away from you and calls out, “Wait here, get down and hide somewhere!” Then, he’s gone, heading to where the cry came from. You could see several of the bandits were fleeing, leaving their horses and weapons as they ran for their lives.

Levi and the rest of his patrol were finishing off the few that remained, with Annie and Pieck joining them. You were about to collapse to the ground when you caught sight of something glinting through the trees. After a moment of realization, you recognize it as the royal insignia on a soldier’s breastplate.

You stumble forward as you call out to the fallen soldier, “Hey! Are you okay?” You don’t get a response as you trip through the brush, eyes blurry with tears from the pain coursing through your body.

In an instant, your body seems to come alive as you recognize the soldier. Rico Barht, one of your father’s guards. Rico was gushing blood from his thigh, where a nasty arrowhead had dug itself into the flesh. His upper body was drenched in blood from slash wounds on his chest and arms, oozing onto the soil beneath the two of you.

“Oh my gosh, Rico!” you blurt out in recognition as you lunge forward, your hands coming up to cup his face. He was just barely breathing and his hazel-colored eyes were half-lidded, unfocused.

A sob escapes you and you exclaim again, “Rico, hold on,” you look around for a second and then yell, “I need help over here!” You turn to face Rico again, slightly shaking him as you try to get him to focus on you, “Rico, Rico, hey, it’s me, (Y/n). We’re going to get you all fixed up, okay?”

A weak garble comes from his lips and that’s when you see it - a clean slice through across his throat. You immediately move to put pressure on it, but your hands keep slipping from the blood that is rushing out of his jugular.

“No. No, Rico come on, no no no no,” you rush out as you see his eyes fix and dilate. The blood continues to flow from his neck, and then you feel him take a breath. Then, all is still.

You can hear the fading cries of the bandits, and the forest rustling before it’s silent again. Sobs wrack your body, ripping your throat apart from the inside out. You let the tears fall as you clutch tightly onto the fallen soldier, praying that his soul leaves this cruel and unkind world behind.

You are so distraught you don’t hear your name being called from where Levi had left you. “Princess Y/n?” the call comes, and then again, this time with more intensity, “Y/n?! Y/n, where are you?!” You can hear the panic growing in the voice, but there is no air left in your lungs to reply as another whimper leaves your lips.

The person calling for you hears your cry, rushing down the dirt path that you had taken to find Rico. “Y/n, there you a-”, the voice starts but then abruptly stops. You turn to face the oncomer, who through your fuzzy vision determines is Levi.

He turns back towards the group and orders, “I need medical supplies over here, now!” Levi places his hand on your shoulder, trying to pull you out of the way so he can help, but you don’t budge, “He’s already gone.”

You can’t say anymore, and you bring your hands up to try to wipe the tears away from your eyes. Instead, you end up smearing Rico’s blood all over your cheeks. You don’t seem to notice, but Levi does.

His silver gaze widens as he sees the blood coating your hands and he rushes, “You’re injured, we need to get you medical equipment now.” He turns over his shoulder and shouts again, “Where the hell is that med kit?!” When his eyes meet yours, you simply shake your head.

“It’s not mine,” you whisper, sniffling, “I tried to- I tried to save Rico. But I couldn’t…” your voice trails off as a fresh wave of tears washes over you. Levi doesn’t say anything for a moment, a look of sorrow and realization covering his bloodied features.

You hadn’t ever seen someone die before.

It wasn’t something Levi thought of often. Living on the streets, defending innocent lives, death was so common he didn’t think twice about it. But you? A princess who barely could fight, holding a soldier as he died? He couldn’t imagine what it was like.

The two of you are interrupted as Pieck appears behind Levi and states, “We don’t have any more med kits, the soldiers in critical condition have already been sent back to the palace.” Her gaze flits from Levi to you, to the body of Rico behind you.

She opens her mouth to call for help, but she catches the glint in Levi’s eyes, and she understands. Pieck swallows thickly and then says, “I’ll get some of the other guards to take care of this. You two should get back in case any of the bandits are lurking around.”

Levi nods in thanks before turning toward you and murmuring, “Let’s get you back to the castle.” You don’t say anything, finally quiet after exhausting yourself of tears. Levi offers his hand to you, the digits covered in blood and grime.

You don’t think twice, placing your own hand delicately in his, gripping on tight as you feel Rico’s blood press into Levi’s palm. He pulls you to your feet, steadying you before guiding you out of the brush and to where Annie had gathered your horses.

She was in good condition compared to you, only mildly dirty, and didn’t look injured. Her blue gaze meets Levi’s silver one, and they both give each other a nod of understanding. Without any words, Levi mounts his horse while Annie helps you onto Vairon, the mare slightly antsy from all the commotion.

Annie passes your reins to Levi, who says to you, “Just hold on, alright?” You sit deeper into your saddle, grabbing onto the horn before nodding to him.

The two of you set off for the castle, a harsh silence settling over the ride home. You couldn’t help replaying Rico’s death over and over again in your mind. The feeling of the blood spurting from his neck. The look in his eyes as he died. The way his chest stopped rising and falling and laid eternally still.

You don’t even realize that you’ve made it back to the palace until you see Levi standing next to your left stirrup, offering you a hand to get down. Time and space seem altered as you make your way from the stables back to your room, trying to avoid any and all eyes on you.

You were a sight to see: face and hands covered in blood, your jacket ripped and your arm bleeding, dirt covering your clothes, and a distant look in your eye.

Levi stops you just outside of your door, his gaze trying to peer into your own troubled (colored) one. For the first time, Levi can’t tell what you’re thinking, and in a way… it almost scares him.

“Y/n- ”, he starts but is stopped when you cut him off and robotically state, “Thank you,” and then disappear into your room without another word. The door clicks shut with a small gust of wind, leaving a disheveled Levi outside with a look of surprise on his face.

He stares at the door for a moment, wondering whether or not he should go after you or send someone to help, but then he thinks better of it and heads towards the king’s chambers to inform him of the raid.

---

It was the day following the bandit attack, and you had two guards following you on your heels. Bertholdt and Colt were both on edge, you could tell. You know they weren’t quite as experienced, and that they knew you had seen something… dark, yesterday.

The two of them don’t say a word, though, and follow quietly behind you as you make your way towards one of the sitting gardens within the palace. You had gotten cleaned up, your skin washed from any traces of blood and dirt, but you couldn’t help but feel like Rico’s blood coated your body.

You felt like red was covering you, smothering the fine lace of your light blue dress. But it wasn’t. So you kept quiet and walked, trying to clear the encroaching feelings and thoughts from your mind and body.

You find yourself slowing near a white rose bush, and you gaze upon the seemingly perfect flowers for a moment before muttering, “Isn’t it funny how this flower can grow so perfectly? Can live a life so pure?”

Colt and Bertholt stop behind you, giving each other inquisitive looks but not answering you. You don’t give them a moment to speak as you continue, “These flowers can stay here, in this garden, safe from the freezing temperature of the winter outside. They don’t ever have to die because they are safe, protected here.”

You turn to face your guards, a far-off, distant look in your eye as you mumble, “They don’t ever have to experience death, only the rebirth of new life.” A tear falls quickly from your eye, sliding down your cheek and onto the ground next to your heel-clad shoe.

Without another word, you turn on your heel and continue through the garden, solemn. 

Your day is slow, and you can’t battle the thoughts that seem to torture you every waking moment. The moment you are released from your duties for the day, you set your sights on a glow in the middle of the darkness. The forge.

You hadn’t spent time in the smoked and charred room since Levi had taken you on as an apprentice. Typically you were so exhausted that you would just go to your room to clean up and fix up your armor and blades.

But tonight, you couldn’t stand looking at the walls in your room, or the pages of your favorite book that you could get so easily lost in. No, tonight, you needed to get out and get away from sitting and doing nothing.

So, you find yourself in the corner of the forge near the hearth, quietly stoking the fire, lost in thought. You thought about trying to find a blade to sharpen, or some armor that needed polished, but your feet seemed glued to the dirt floor next to the growing flames.

Deep marigold mixed with tawny and carmine, forming an intricate dance as you scoped the flames, looking for something. Maybe it was so that you could catch a sight of the soft sapphire and indigo licks that seeped in and out of the rusty haze. Maybe it was so that you could leave the thoughts of the bloody bandits out of your mind. Maybe you just wanted to forget the sting on your arm as your heart shattered while Rico’s life slipped away from your fingers.

Or maybe it was to forget the relief you felt when Levi’s gaze found you in your utter panic. The peace that streamlined through your body when you could see concern etched on his features. The comfort you found when he placed his hand on your arm, asking if you were alright.

You shut your eyes as the thoughts berated you, one after the other. You could hardly stand them, all you wanted was one moment of silence from your mind. In the haze of your head, you don’t notice the lithe figure that slips into the forge room behind you.

The figure catches sight of you curled up next to the hearth, sitting on the dirt. You were wearing what he could only imagine was an expensive, imported dress, but here you were, sitting on the floor. Dust and ash lay on your lap and the edge of your hem, but it didn’t seem to bother you one bit.

Levi set his gear down as quietly as he could on the table near the door, mentally battling with himself on whether he should leave or not. Just as he takes a step back, the fire cracks, breaking your train of thought, and the angle of your gaze changes to catch him red-handed.

Levi could curse under his breath, but he stayed silent before dropping into a respectful bow and murmuring, “Princess.” Your (colored) orbs are tinted copper in the light of the forge, but they widen as they recognize who was before you.

In a moment, you try to scramble to your feet, but Levi cuts in, “No, no, please, stay where you are. I was going to clean my gear, but I can find somewhere else.” He straightens up from his bow, his gloved hand reaching for his gear before he hears your voice.

“Please stay,” your voice practically croaks out, “Please?” The pain in your voice immediately catches Levi’s attention, and he can feel his resolve crumbling when he sees the wet glimmer in your eyes. He drops his hand from his gear, instead plucking his leather gloves off and removing the rest of his bulky gear.

Levi makes his way over to you, feeling your searing gaze on his every movement. He chooses to sit on the opposite side of the hearth from you, giving him a good look at your tear-stained cheeks. The clear look of distress tugs on his heartstrings in a way that confuses him.

What was that for? He’s just here to make sure you’re okay. You’re here all alone with no one to protect you. 

At least, that’s what he told himself. He clears his throat, pushing the thoughts away as he asks, “Are you alright, princess?” You roll your eyes and sniffle, uttering, “Please just call me Y/n. And-” you pause, rubbing at your nose before sighing, “I don’t know.”

You can feel Levi’s watchful gaze on you, but you choose to gaze deeper and deeper into the flames. It’s silent between the two of you, and you think that you might have said something wrong. Levi blinks slowly, thoughtfully, and then replies, “It’s okay, you know.”

This catches your attention, and you turn your cheek toward him, catching sight of the meaning of his silver gaze. He continues, “It’s okay, to feel the way you feel. It’s not an easy thing to deal with.”

You want to brush him off and defend the soft and broken part of your heart, but you realize that Levi saw straight through your uncertainty. You open your mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. Levi cocks his head slightly, his gaze burning into you like the heat wafting into your sides from the fire.

You swallow thickly, a dry and humorless chuckle falling from your lips as you manage, “It’s such a natural thing, yet all I can do is replay that moment over and over again, wishing there was something else I could do to save him.” “There wasn’t,” the instant reply comes.

Levi hadn’t taken his eyes off of you once, and you meet his gaze with a furrow in your brow as you fight off an incoming wave of sadness. “There wasn’t,” he repeats, softer this time, “That soldier was lucky to have you in his last moments, Y/n. At his end, he knew nothing else other than someone cared for his life.”

He finally tears his eyes away and he mutters, “And that can mean a lot to someone.” You take in Levi’s appearance at that moment. This… interesting, to say the least, soldier, sitting on the ground with a crying princess, talking about death. It was almost funny, the way it seemed like everything to you, but just another burden to carry for him.

In a bold move, you reach forward, your fingers gently resting on top of his own hand as you question, “How do you deal with death, Levi?” You shuffle your feet ever so slightly to get more comfortable, waiting for him to pull away at any moment.

Instead, he flips his hand over so that your digits rest in his palm, and looking at your hands he replies, “I remember them.” He glances up at you through his darkened lashes and when he sees the confused look on your face he elaborates, “When they were normal, healthy, alive. I remember whenever they smiled or laughed. When they weren’t sick or dying.”

You nod delicately, taking in the deep timbre of his voice and the emotion that it carries. You reply, “But what if I don’t have those memories? I only saw Rico in passing a handful of times, I barely knew his name.”

Levi squeezes your hand and states, “You carry on with your life, living for him. Enjoying each moment so that his life doesn’t go to waste.” You give the dark-haired male a saddened smile and nod, squeezing his hand back when your voice seems to fail.

Thank you.

---

The chill of winter slides away with the onset of a warming spring, and things have been becoming more normal. You and Levi finally resumed training once you seemed to cope with the loss of Rico.

You were behind, yes, but doing everything in your power to catch up but with one major caveat. Your 18th birthday was just around the corner. Your days were full of meetings, ballroom preparations, lessons, training, and sword practice. There had hardly been any downtime to relax or breathe, and everything was slowly becoming overwhelming,

Levi was accommodating though, with practices starting later and later in the evening. You had started to learn and understand this raven-haired boy better, with his insomniac-like tendencies, and his peculiar and dry sense of humor.

You liked spending time with him.

To your benefit, Levi was a surprisingly good teacher, and even though most nights you were tired and fed up, Levi could handle your banter. He had a sharp tongue, which kept your focus on getting better, but he was never too harsh.

Whenever he was unable to help you, Annie or Pieck picked up the slack to be your punching bag or let you try out a new combination on them. But with months of training under your belt, you were becoming an increasingly lethal opponent.

One evening you were getting ready to head down to the training yard to practice with Levi, fixing your gauntlets and securing your sword as you rushed to get ready. It was the night before your 18th birthday, and your mother insisted on planning a huge ball for your coming of age.

Just as you were putting the finishing touches on your outfit, there was a knock on your door. Latching onto the handle, you open it to see Levi, who always comes by your room before practice. There was one glaring difference that caught your eye, shock covering your features as your gaze took him in. 

He typically donned his plain, smooth metal practice gear when training with you, but instead, Levi was covered in new, glimmering plates of intricate armor. The smooth breastplate that once was blank and had no symbol, was now textured metal lined with gold and donned the royal insignia on it. His expression was no different than normal, he just wore his usual, stoic frown.

Your eyes widen at the realization of his upgraded armor and you can’t help the words that burst from your mouth, “You’ve made it into the guard?!” It comes out as an almost-shout, which catches Levi’s attention.

His silvery gaze widens ever-so-slightly at your realization, and he shuffles on his feet before he gives you a slow nod. He straightens up for a moment before motioning to the hallway outside of your room and replies, “Let’s go for a walk, princess.”

Your mouth is still parted open in surprise, and your hands have come to interlock in front of your chest, but you do as he requests and move to walk side-by-side with him down the hallway. Your footsteps fall in sync out of habit and you gasp at him again and say, “I didn’t know you were getting knighted today, you should have told me!”

The new knight just shrugs as if it made no difference to him, folding his arms behind his back in thought. He briefly looked to the ground and his black locks moved to fall over his angled cheekbones.

You playfully hip-bump him lightly, trying to reinforce your point. On the rare occasion he wasn’t paying attention, or he was just letting you think that, he stumbles forward a little bit. His arms come down to rest at his sides again and he looks over at you, slightly offended.

Giggles fall from your lips at his reaction and you chuckle out, “I’m serious! That's such a huge deal and you've only been here for a few months.” A soft, barely noticeable flush covers Levi’s cheeks, and he’s thankful that you don’t seem to see it.

He looks directly in front of you two and replies, “I’m doing my best to protect the kingdom.” You scoff and roll your eyes before retorting, “Puh-lease, you do your own thing without regard for anyone. That’s how you are, Levi.”

Levi’s eyes narrow as he turns to face you and just as he opens his mouth to respond you cut in, “I don’t even know if I can count your friends on the one hand.” You give him a look that says, “You know I’m right,” and he just rolls his eyes and groans, “It’s not like you’re much better, you only hang out with your guards and your maids.”

The playful banter between the two of you continues as you walk the cascading hallways of the castle. The intricate paintings hanging on the walls start to catch the rays of the glowing candlelight and the setting sun.

Before you know it, Levi is steering you into one of the courtyards - Josephina’s Garden Hall. You smile softly at the fond memory of your first-ever training session in this very garden. As you look around, there is not a single person around.

The thought crosses your mind that people are preparing for your birthday, which is just around the corner. Your mother was practically bursting at the seams to host a ball in the largest ballroom of the castle, so all energy was put towards the festivities.

Of course, there were still guards and knights littering the perimeter, but there were fewer stationed around unoccupied areas to focus on decorating or protecting the exterior of the castle.

Levi pulls ahead of you by just a stride, heading toward one of the walls that is adjacent to one of your favorite rose gardens. One of the bushes is coated in giant red blooms, and just as you are about to say how beautiful they are, Levi reaches for something behind one of the flowers.

“What are you-” you start but are interrupted when you catch sight of what he was grabbing. It was a brand new, dark leather sheath with a sword in it. A sheath with your initials on it.

You quickly glance from Levi to the sheathed blade and back again. He returns your gaze with a strange intensity you’ve only ever seen once from him, and it makes you want to almost squirm. It felt like he was seeing through and into you, and it made your heart flutter in your chest in a way you never experienced.

“Happy birthday, princess,” Levi whispers, handing you the darkened leather. Your lips are parted in complete surprise as you accept it from him, your eyes raking over the intricacy of the stitching of your initials.

You don’t waste another moment before grabbing onto the hilt of the sword, drawing it firmly out of the sheath. The last of the sun’s rays catch the unmarked length of the blade, making it glow like an ember burning in the hottest of fires.

Your mouth had fallen open in true admiration and shock at this point, and you turned to Levi in complete wonder and appreciation. You swallow thickly and stutter out, “I, I can’t accept this, Levi,” dropping the sword back into the sheath and offering it back to him.

The dark-haired man simply shakes his head and states, “You deserve that blade, princess. You’ve worked very hard, and while you still have a lot to learn, you need more than a wooden practice sword or dull blade to protect yourself.”

You can’t help the huge smile that rushes to your face, and a wave of excitement takes over you. In a split second, you lunge forward toward Levi, crushing him into a huge hug.

He once again isn’t fast enough to react, and he’d never admit it, but he was enraptured at the sight of you: your hair falling perfectly around your face, the light of the sun reflecting the pure joy in your eyes, the strength you exuded as you held your new blade… you were stunning.

Levi struggles against you for a second, afraid someone would think he was taking advantage of you, alone like this, but after a moment, softens into your embrace and slowly pats you on the back.

You pull away from the hug as a stray tear runs down your cheek. You sniffle as you let out an embarrassed laugh, wiping at the tear as you gush, “I apologize, I didn’t mean to get so emotional. This is such a beautiful gift, Levi. I don’t even know how to properly thank you.”

Levi lets a hint of a smile rest on his lips, and his eyebrows softening ever so slightly as he murmurs, “You don’t need to thank me for anything. I should be thanking you for giving me a place here at the palace, and I apologize for being so rude when I first arrived.”

You wave your hand dismissively at him before laughing, “It’s alright, you were the first and only person to openly challenge me like that, and I needed that reality check.”

The two of you stand in silence for a moment, close to one another but not quite touching. You shuffle and glance at your feet and at your hand holding your new blade. You mumble, “There’s something I want to ask you, Levi.”

He quirks an eyebrow in interest at your sudden shift in tone but he motions for you to go on with a gentle nod. You sigh before a saddened smile covers your face, the dying rays of the sun just catching the last of your drying tears.

“Annie is leaving the guard after my birthday celebration is over,” you explain, “She wants to live a life with her father in the country, and the king has arranged for her to leave. That leaves a gap in my defense, and while I’m much more capable of defending myself, I’m missing a knight-” “I’ll do it.”

Levi’s voice comes out soft and low, and it catches you off guard at how much emotion it seems to hold. “I’ll join your personal guard if that is what you wish, princess. Just say the word and that will be my next mission in life.”

You blink up at him, your smile shifting from one of sadness to one of thanks, “Please, would you join my personal guard?” Levi bows to you and utters quietly under his breath, so quiet you don’t hear him, “As you wish.”

When he stands up straight, you give him a slight bow and the two of you stop for a moment, silently regarding the other. A moment passes and you give him an almost cheeky smile before turning away, and without hesitation, Levi follows you.

---

You see, that was the start of a beautiful friendship between you and the dark-haired man. It was built on long days of sparring, bickering, and slowly but surely, tolerating each other. On the day of your 18th birthday, Levi was appointed to your guard and soon began taking his patrols with Pieck, swapping in and out with Porco, Reiner, and the other guards who had also recently been knighted.

Now officially a knight, it was harder to get training practices in, but whenever it was his shift to watch over you, the two of you found yourselves in the training grounds. The training sessions continued for months, your sword skills becoming more and more refined.

Before you knew it, a year or two seemed to slip by like the finest silk, and your friendship with Levi bloomed into something tried, true, and trustworthy. He was always there when you needed him to be, a reliable soldier and a trusted friend.

You weren’t blind to how the two of you grew up, Levi got slightly taller and thicker with muscle. No matter the day, he always, always, always got stronger. You, on the other hand, became more elegant and stronger in your own ways. You became physically stronger, yes, but you found your voice and learned how to rule and talk to your subjects while remaining kind as you always had been.

Over time, Levi had learned your ways rather quickly. The time you woke up. How long it took you to roll out of bed. Just how you liked your morning coffee or tea. It seemed so domestic every morning whenever he’d knock on your door to see if you were awake or not. 

A fondness developed between the two of you for those easy morning conversations, not that either of you would admit it. While the two of you constantly bickered and playfully argued, Levi saw through the facade and to the sweet and tender side of you.

It was moments when you would kindly thank your maids, or encourage your younger siblings. He saw the way you treated the guests who would visit from overseas, and he found a deep respect for you.

And although you had many personal guards, Levi ended up being the one that stuck by you the most often, often by your parent's wishes. With Levi in the guard and not out protecting the towns surrounding the palace, crime rates had increased. And so, the king and queen wanted you to be the safest you could, with the best protection around.

---

On a cool winter morning, with snow glistening on the windowsill, you had just gotten dressed and were preparing for a meeting with your parents. They had found someone they thought would be a lovely suitor for you, as you were now old enough to be betrothed to someone of equally high status.

A soft knock on your door catches your attention, and you fumble with your earrings as you call, “Just a moment!” But the door opens anyway, and in comes Levi, a scowl covering his face.

Yet when his eyes land on you, fixing your earring in a slight panic, his eyes soften and he mutters, “It’s just me, relax.”

His silvery eyes seem to linger, though. They take in the gentle curve of your cheek dusted with blush, then fixate on the necklace hanging around your neck.

Levi is no fool. He has come to know you over the years, and he knows you are one of the most beautiful women he has ever seen. Of course you were, you’re a princess.

He has to shake his head slightly to clear his thoughts before he coughs once to clear his throat. Levi glances up at you and states, “It’s almost time for your meeting with the king and queen, Y/n.”

You give him a warm smile and ask, “Walk with me?” Levi offers you his arm in his classic fashion, and you take hold of his arm like you always did.

Levi guides you out of your room and down the familiar hallway. The arches were cast in a soft, ethereal glow, the snow from the courtyard reflecting the light brightly. Your steps land in sync and quietly echo as the two of you silently move toward the meeting halls.

You sigh and glance down at the floor as you mumble, “I don’t know if I’m ready for this, Levi. My parents have spent so long trying to find me a suitor, but I’ve disliked all of them. I’m afraid they’re running out of patience, or that I’m not worthy to be a good wife.”

Levi stops in his tracks at your words, a bored and stern look on his face. He pinches the bridge of his nose with his free hand before running it through his black locks and saying, “Are you kidding me, Y/n? You are a beautiful, strong, and intelligent princess. You are practically the epitome of a queen and wife, and if anything, I think you scare a lot of your suitors off because of that.”

Surprise floods over you, and the words of praise coming from Levi seem to float around in your mind. Beautiful? Strong? Smart? He thinks I’m beautiful?

But Levi doesn’t give you any more time to think. He continues walking, dragging you along as he finishes, “Just because you haven’t found the right man for you yet, doesn’t mean that you won’t find him. He might be the most surprising person you’ll ever meet.”

You stay quiet at that, walking silently next to your knight and trying to process his words. And before you know it, you have made it to the meeting room where you knew your parents and a suitor would be waiting.

Levi slowly releases your grip, letting his hand slide down your arm before grasping your palm. He gives your hand a gentle and encouraging squeeze before releasing it, and walking up to the large door.

He hits the knocker three times to signal your arrival, and just a moment later two butlers open the door from the inside, ushering the two of you in.

Just as you expected, your mother and father were sitting at the head of the table, and at your entrance into the room, all eyes were set on you and Levi. You are dressed to perfection, regarding the room with elegance and grace, taking in the setup and the profile of the room and the suitor.

The tall, blonde gentleman stands up and bows before you can speak and states, “Good morning, princess.”

You swallow deeply and smile as you curtesy and reply, “Good morning, sir.” You take your seat next to your mother, and you can feel Levi’s steps stiffen as he walks behind you, pulls your chair out for you, and gets you settled in.

He ends up standing a chair or two down in the corner of the room, watching and waiting as he was trained. Your eyes flash towards your parents in a sweet greeting before you take in the appearance of the suitor.

The man was tall. Very tall. He had longer blonde hair and just a small bit of facial hair. He wore very fine clothing, embroidered with intricate details, and obviously fitted by a professional tailor.

The potential suitor bows again and states, “I appreciate your time this morning, Princess Y/n, my name is Viscount Miche Zacharius.”

At the sound of his name, you could hear Levi’s blade scraping against the wall ever so slightly. You shoot him a concerned glance, but all you can see is a hardened look on Levi’s face.

He looked… mad?

You turn back to Miche, and with a practiced smile you reply, “It’s wonderful to meet with you this morning, my lord.” The blonde smiles in response, and before he can speak again, the king cuts in, “Tell us about your kingdom, Miche. Y/n would love to hear about your homeland.”

Your teeth grit together as your father speaks for you, but you keep the practiced smile plastered on your face as you watch Miche chuckle slightly nervously, but he nods. 

Seconds fade into minutes, and minutes lead onto an hour as Miche, your father, mother, and occasionally you, make conversation. You could tell Miche was a nice man with good morals, but there was something lacking in the conversation that kept you jumping for joy.

However, your mother and father thought the two of you kicked things off well, even considering the fact they hardly let you talk to the man. Your mother was so enthralled with the idea of you and Miche that she suggested a ball to be hosted for the two of you to get to know one another better - an offer your father couldn’t refuse. And neither could you.

“What a grand idea!” Miche exclaims, standing up to shake your father’s hand, “Do let me know of the details as soon as you get it planned.” He then turns to you, excitedly and says, softer, “I do hope you’ll save me some spaces on your dance card, princess.”

You giggle uncertainly and reply, “Of course, my lord.” At that, Miche takes your hand, gently, and presses a chaste kiss to your knuckles before giving you a bow and leaving the room, your father a pace behind him.

Your mother is practically swooning at how sweet the man seems to be, but you are quite taken aback by his forwardness. You hear metal scrape against the wall again, and out of the corner of your eye, you can see a firm frown etched on Levi’s features.

He was pissed.

The walk back to your room is quiet and tense, with no words passing between the two of you. You could have practically screamed in frustration when your door finally latched closed and it was just you and Levi on the other side.

“Who does he think he is?!” you immediately lament, whipping around the face of Levi, who’s already rubbing at his face in frustration. In response, he just groans, “I think he’s the most bold one yet. You have to dance with that guy?”

You pause and look Levi in the eye before groaning, flopping down onto your bed like a little girl. Levi folds his arms across his chest and shrugs, “At least he’s polite?” You harshly look over at him, a pout on your lips. 

“He’s like talking to a tree that never became a book. He just kept growing,” you manage to mumble around the sheets of your bed. Levi scoffs at your words before leaning back against the door and snaps back, “The guy sure is full of himself. No wonder it’s taken him this long to find a wife.”

You feel a pang run through you and you sit up from your bed, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear. “I’ve been looking for a suitor for a while too, Levi. Hopefully, I’m not full of myself. Or not too picky.” Your hands find themselves carding together as you look down at them, and you miss the dark-haired knight’s expression change.

The furrow in his brow softens and he pushes off the wall to stand in front of you. He takes a breath as he stops in front of you and starts, “Y/n, I-” But you beat him to it, “What if I never find love, Levi?” You look up to meet his silver gaze at that moment, tears darkening your lashes.

Levi sighs, letting the air flow freely out of his nose as he sits down next to you on your bed, quiet. Then, he meets your gaze once again and he murmurs, “You will, Y/n/n. You will.”

You smile sadly at him, and he reaches his hand toward your face to tuck an unruly piece of hair out of your face. Just before his hand can make contact with your skin, there is a knock at the door. 

The moment is gone in a flash, and Levi quickly moves to stand post by the doors to your balcony and you wipe under your eyes. You guiltily look at Levi, who has gone back to his classic stoic look, staring straight ahead.

Another pang of guilt runs through you as you tear your eyes away from his frame, instead focusing on the person on the other side of your door. You take a breath and then call, “Come in!” Then, a head of blonde hair appears and you recognize the guard as Reiner.

“I was told I might find you here,” he says with a bow, “I was sent to relieve Levi from duty for a little while.” Reiner props the door open a little further before stepping into the room, and Levi turns to regard his fellow soldier with a respectful nod.

Before he leaves the room, the dark-haired man faces you and gives you a bow with a simple, “Good day, princess.” Before you know it, he’s gone, and it’s just you and Reiner left in the silence of the room.

---

Over the next couple of days, you didn’t see much of Levi. You thought it slightly odd, but you figured he was on a personal quest for your father or taking some personal days. Eventually, when you were trying to find him so you could spar a little, he couldn’t be found anywhere.

You stopped a maid who had brought fresh linens for your bed and asked, “Have you seen a short, dark-haired knight recently? He goes by the name Levi, I haven’t seen him in a while.” The maid pauses in thought and then replies, “I do think I recall a dark-haired soldier turning up in the infirmary a few days ago. I can check to see if that is who you are talking about.”

You shake your head and quip, “There will be no need for that, I will make my way there now.” Without another moment’s notice, you turn and slide out of your room, (colored) gaze set on finding the infirmary.

Typically, you didn’t spend much time in the infirmary because you were royalty and you had your own personal staff. However, you occasionally would pick up small supplies after training if you had a small cut or brush burn from the grass.

It was fairly quiet as you slipped into the entrance of the sick bay, with no doctors or nurses in sight. You take a deep breath as you peer around the few rooms that make up the infirmary, making your way as silently as you can so as to not disturb anyone resting.

Just as you make it to the last room, you can hear coughing on the other side. You just barely peer through the door when you catch sight of a familiar black head of hair. Levi.

You push the door open and remark, “I wondered where you disappeared to, soldier.” Levi’s head immediately snaps up to take in your frame entering his small room. He opens his mouth to answer you, but another coughing fit overtakes him.

You rush next to his side, finding a small cup of water on his bedside table. You offer him the cup, watching him soothe his irritated throat with a frown before handing the water back to you.

“It’s not what it looks like,” he grumbles out lowly, trying to avoid sputtering again. A giggle slides through your lips before you can stop it, and you bring a hand up to cover your smile when you catch sight of Levi’s annoyed gaze. It only makes you giggle harder, and you can see his displeased look ease a little at your laughter.

As you calm down, you manage to take a breath and smirk, “It looks like you’re sick to me, Levi.” The dark-haired knight just rolls his eyes, his hands fiddling with the blanket on his lap to pull it up higher on his waist.

“It’s nothing,” he grumbles out again, “The king and queen forced me to come down here so I can “recover as fast as possible” or something.” You nod knowingly with a gentle smile on your face, saying, “I can imagine they only had the best intentions and wanted to see you well before the suitor’s ball tonight.”

He groans and rubs at his flushed face with one hand and mumbles through his night shirt’s sleeve, “Don’t remind me about that. I think standing there watching everyone dance and act so cheerful would kill me faster than any blade would.”

You scoff and roll your eyes at your best friend replying, “You are so dramatic!” But then a moment passes and you tuck a piece of hair behind your ear saying, “Actually, you’re probably right. My mother is going to have me hanging on every man’s arm within a thousand miles tonight.”

This time, Levi is the one to just barely crack a smile and he shrugs, “Who knows, you might actually enjoy the ball. There will be no lack of eligible suitors, and I can’t imagine all of them are complete imbeciles.”

His words get you to giggle again, and you nod along in agreement, your eyes trailing toward the clock on the wall. As the time on the clock registers in your mind, panic starts to set in and you scramble to your feet muttering, “Crap, crap, crap!”

Levi’s gaze follows yours and he realizes it too: you’re late for getting ready! You glance apologetically at Levi, who goes to swallow and then starts sputtering with more coughs.

He waves you off and manages to squawk out, “Go have fun, tell me all about it later.” You give him a grateful smile and over your shoulder you call out, “I will! Please try to feel better and get some rest!”

With one last glance over your shoulder, you set off toward your room to get ready for the ball. Your maids about mauled you when they finally managed to wrangle you into your ballgown and start to get you presentable for the public.

Since Levi was out sick, Reiner and Porco were assigned to watch over you for the evening. They follow closely as you make your way to the ballroom, greeting guests pleasantly and making your way to the heart of the festivities.

While the ballroom was decorated magnificently, the entire atmosphere felt slightly disappointing and moderate. There were many suitors around, none of which seemed to interest you. In the distance, you could see Miche talking with another tall blonde male, but you ducked behind a waiter to make your move toward the king and queen.

Your parents were talking with lords about their investments and businesses, and all you managed to understand was that they wanted money from the royals. You have to refrain from rolling your eyes, but you stand quietly and listen to the conversation come to a close.

Your mother turns to you, excitement written on her features as she hands you a piece of paper saying, “Here is your dancing card, dear! I’ve already done you the liberty of picking out which suitors to dance with based on their resumes. Have fun!”

She wraps the filled-out dancing card around your wrist, tying it neatly before giving you a giddy smile and pushing you toward the man whose name is first on the list. Miche Zacharius.

You groan internally as you make your way over to the tall man, who grows visibly interested as you break into his peripheral. He excuses himself from his conversation, bowing in front of you when he sees you stop in from of him.

“Princess Y/n,” he says, straightening up and catching the lustrious light in your eyes. You give him a shallow curtsey and reply, “Lord Miche, how lovely to see you this evening.” In the back of your head, you couldn’t help but wish you were anywhere else at this very moment.

Miche tips his head toward you and shrugs, “I think it is I who am the lucky one to be in your presence.” And as if on cue, the orchestra starts playing the next song, a waltz, to which Miche offers you his hand with a, “May I have this dance?” 

You give him a tight-lipped smile and place your gloved hand in his own, allowing the tall blonde to escort you to the empty dance floor. He begins to move the two of you around the dance floor, carefully swinging you through the other couples who start dancing around you.

Miche smiles down at you and asks, “If I may ask, princess, how many children would you like to have one day?” It feels like the air is sucked out of your lungs as you give him a polite smile and respond, “Sorry, I’m trying to count my steps, perhaps we can discuss this later?”

He has the liberty to keep his mouth shut during the first dance, but once the two of you take a break and you look at your dance card, you can see your mother has booked him for the next four dances.

During those dances, Miche asks you too many questions, to which you politely respond. You tried to sound not too interested but also not too dry, simply polite. You were praying for when the fifth song would end, and you don’t think it could come soon enough.

The whole point of the ball was aggravating to you, and you couldn’t help but hate the evening as you were twirled from lord to lord. You wanted to slip out unnoticed, find a pint of wine or something of the like, and complain about all of it to Levi.

However, you manage to stick it out through the night, engaging in pointless conversation and dancing until you are about to roll your ankles. As the night wrapped up and your dancing card was completed, you scanned the crowd, your eyes landing on Porco and Reiner, who seemed to be arguing about which lady in waiting was the prettiest.

You scoff at the two knights, but with them distracted, it gives you the perfect opportunity to slip away. You take one more scan of the room before slowly backing out of one of the doorways. With no one’s eyes on you, you disappear from the ball without a trace.

You had your eyes set on one thing - go check on Levi and tell him about your endeavors that night. You weren’t able to find a bottle of wine to easily sneak out, but you did find a small plate of cheese that you grabbed on your way to the infirmary.

As you make your way back to Levi’s sick room, you can hear the sound of metal scraping. You raise an eyebrow at the noise, and as you poke your head into the small room, you can see the source.

There’s Levi, sharpening his blade in the middle of the night. You sigh and bring your hand up to knock on the wall to alert him of your arrival. His head snaps up quickly from his sword to your figure at his door, his body going tense in a moment.

When he realizes it's you, you can see him relax, but his gaze remains on you, fixed. You can’t quite place the look on his face, his eyes are wide and locked onto you, completely frozen. You duck under the sudden intensity in his gaze, murmuring, “I brought you some cheese from the ball.”

You walk into the room, the ruffles on the edge of your skirt rustling as you place the plate next to his water on the nightstand by his bed. Levi’s silver gaze follows your every movement, no words escaping him. You sit down in the chair next to his bed, grab a small piece of cheese, and pop it into your mouth with a huff.

You glance over to see Levi still staring at you while you chew, and suddenly you feel hot under his watchful gaze. You look down for a second and swallow before asking, “Are you alright? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

A moment passes as you wait for his response, and it gives you a second to take in his condition. His usually pale cheeks were painted pink with a gentle flush and his skin was slightly shiny from sweat. He must have a bit of a fever, you think to yourself.

Levi swallows thickly as he looks at you, his mouth opening and closing once or twice with no words leaving them. Mistakenly, you think he can’t answer because his throat hurts and he needs water, so you burst out, “Let me get you something to drink!”

Your hand reaches to grab his cup of water, which seems to be empty. In a flash, Levi’s hand has wrapped around your wrist, his silver eyes never leaving your face. The quick movement startles you, which makes you drop the cup, a small amount of water falling onto the floor.

Levi’s sword clatters to the ground, which makes you flinch in surprise. You glance from the water pooling near your feet to the sword that landed on the opposite side of the bed and back to Levi. 

Your mouth parts open in a stammer as you start, “Sorry, let me, uhm… let me grab a towel to clean this-” “You look beautiful,” he cuts in lowly. You raise your eyebrows in surprise at his comment, the words slowly registering in your head.

Once they do, you can feel butterflies erupt in your belly and you glance away from the dark-haired knight and roll your eyes playfully. “Oh hush, you’re just seeing things with your sickness.”

This seems to snap Levi out of his daze and he releases your wrist with a playful scoff of his own, “You wish, princess.” You smile at him, one that he knows is of thanks to his compliment. He clears his throat and questions, “How was the ball? It must not have been great if you are down here all ready.”

You lean down to pick up his cup off the wooden floor, a groan falling from your lips, “It was all crap, Levi. It was men who wanted money, men who wanted the crown, and men who wanted to dance. It was so annoying. ”

You straighten back up, placing the cup back on the table and skirting around the water on the ground. Levi chuckles at that, and he motions to the edge of his bed with his chin and says, “Tell me all about it.” A giggle falls from your lips as you move to sit near his feet and you reply, “As long as you’ll listen to me complain about how terrible of a dancer Miche is!” 

The rest of the evening is peaceful compared to the stress of the ball, the two of you making fun of the suitors and princes from across the countryside. You don’t even realize how late the evening runs, but you do know that you aren’t ready for bed just quite yet.

---

A couple of days had passed since the suitor’s ball and Levi had been put down with his illness. Thankfully, after another day or two of rest, he seemed to turn for the better and was ready to get back to the service.

Just around 8 o'clock in the morning, just as he always would, Levi makes his way toward your bedroom, feeling energetic and recovered from being sick. He stops in front of the familiar and grandiose door, pausing in thought before knocking on the dark wood.

He waits for a minute or so, but he doesn’t hear any noise from the other side of the door. The dark-haired knight sighs in slight annoyance, it’s his first day back, after all, and you aren’t responding. Levi knocks again on the door, this time a little harder and with more urgency.

When he is once again met with silence, he takes it upon himself to call out, “Princess Y/n? Are you alright?” To anyone else, it may have sounded like he was just calling out to you, but between you and him, he knew there was worry in his voice.

His impatience seems to take over him, and Levi finds his fingers wrapping around the door handle and pushing it open. As he steps into your room, one he had been in many times, his steely gaze rakes across every detail he sees.

Your bed was empty and remade, so you weren’t asleep. The loveseat in the corner of your room where you typically sat and read was also void of your presence. Levi turned toward the bathroom that was connected to your room, but there was no sign of candlelight or movement.

A sigh falls from Levi’s parted lips in frustration, and he shuts your bedroom door behind him before stepping deeper into your personal space. He opens his mouth, about to call out for you again before he sees a figure moving in the walk-in closet behind your desk.

It’s you, thankfully, and Levi’s figure relaxes as he takes in the… interesting sight of you. You were shuffling out into the main space of your bedroom, your hands grabbing at the bodice of the dress, with a slightly irritable look on your face.

He almost cracks a smile as he watches you fumble and almost trip as you make your way up to him, but instead, he murmurs, “Well good morning to you, princess.” You give him a playful scowl and mutter, “Shut up, …and help me zip this please?”

At the end of your sentence, you swivel 180 degrees, showing him your half-exposed back, where you couldn’t quite finish zipping the dress up. You wait a moment and then rush out, “I don’t know where my maids are and I couldn’t find anyone else to help-”

“It’s alright,” Levi’s voice cuts in lowly, and you can hear him take a step toward you. This makes you relax, shuffling your hands to pick the dress up to the correct height to be comfortable. 

However, with your back to Levi, you miss the complete and utter look of nervousness and awe on his face as his hands make contact with the soft skin on your back. His typically stoic resolve crumbles when his hands just barely begin to quiver as he grabs a hold of the fabric and begins to pull it taut.

Levi is silently cursing the heat that is rushing to his face, swirling in his chest, and giving him butterflies in his stomach. With pink dusting his nose and the close proximity to you, his magnificent best friend, he wasn’t sure what to feel. But, he pushes through, his hands grabbing onto your waist so the zipper would slide up the fabric with more ease.

You aren’t in much better condition than Levi, and you’re glad he can’t see your face. Heat is coursing through your veins, but his warm touch has chills running up and down your spine. A shuddery breath escapes you as you feel his palm flatten against your waist, and you have to will yourself to be calm as he works on zipping you in.

His fingers work in good time, making sure the intricacies of the dress are not damaged or pulled on as he zips the dress up closer to your neck. At the top of the zipper, there is a small clasp to keep it from pulling apart, and he brings both hands up to clasp it.

You feel his warm breath on your neck, and you can feel goosebumps rising on your skin from the small distance between the two of you. It’s completely silent between the two of you as he takes a minute step backward, but it’s enough for you to feel like you can breathe.

The air is thick, heavy almost. There was tension, and you aren’t quite sure where it originated from. You can’t help but be disappointed when his warm hands leave your waist, and you try to fight down the butterflies in your belly as your brain processes his touch.

You liked it. No, you needed more of it. 

What? How could you think that? Levi was your… what was Levi?

As you turn around to face him, you give him an uncertain and slightly shy smile and whisper, “Thank you.” Levi holds your (colored) gaze, looking deeply into what could almost be his favorite color, and gives you a subtle nod.

He was just your personal knight, right? He was your best friend, right? …You had no idea. 

You take a shuddery breath and start, “Levi, there’s something I-” but you are interrupted by a flock of maids bursting into your room. You jump away from Levi, who also takes a few steps backward and moves to stand near the door.

“We are so sorry, Princess Y/n, for being late! We knocked on the door several times but we did not hear an answer,” one of the older maids says, curtsying low in front of you. You turn to face her and you give her a tight-lipped smile and reply, “It is quite alright, Marie.”

The maid stands up and urges, “You must not be late for your foreign policies lecture, the queen will have my head if you are not on time!” You give her a nod and looking over her shoulder to Levi, you ask, “Walk with me?”

The maids clear out of the way, dispersing as quickly as they came. Levi clears the doorway for you, letting you lead the way down the hall. It was quiet for a moment before the dark-haired knight cleared his throat and murmured, “You were saying?”

“It was nothing,” you rush out, wringing your hands together in a nervous fashion. Silence falls between the two of you again, and you direct your vision to the many doors and paintings you pass on the way to the lecture hall.

It’s an uncomfortable silence, so you try to break it with a joke, “I was surprised you weren’t earlier than you were this morning, seeing as it is your first day back since your illness.” Levi scoffs at your remark and refutes, “I do believe it was you who was up earlier than normal, I knocked on your door precisely at 8 o’clock.”

You giggle at this, your hands still fiddling with one another as the pair of you glide down the hallway. The banter picks up between the two of you as normal, but Levi couldn’t help but feel like there was something you may have been hiding from him.

However, he brushes it off and tries to think nothing of it while he stands guard outside of your lecture hall. He tries to focus on getting back into work and pushes the feeling of your skin and body out of his mind.

---

It had been a few days since the zipper incident and the king and queen announced that they wanted to host a festival in the town square with the spring season ending and merging into a beautiful, warm summer. 

For you, it was one of your favorite times of the year, since you got the chance to meet with the children of the town. You loved playing with the children, encouraging their interests, and not letting them give up on their hopes and dreams.

You adored events like this, so it was only natural that you were getting dolled up to meet with the people of your home. The festival typically hosted live music from the best musicians around, food brought from all over the country, and the town square decorated to the top for the best area to go dancing.

You spent most of the morning getting ready for the festival. You had to make sure your dress was absolutely perfect - not too extravagant, but still dressy enough for everyone to recognize you as the princess. Then, you put the finishing touches to your makeup before Levi came knocking on your door around noon. 

“Are you ready?” he asks as he guides you through the castle and out through the gates. You sigh dreamily before answering, “I believe so. This is one of my favorite times of the year, after all.”

The two of you made your way down to the town just outside the palace, where people were bustling about, trying to finalize the touches to their stalls. Children were laughing and playing, running around with yellow and red streamers in their hands.

Levi guides you around them, leading you toward the heart of the festival, and your favorite place to be: the dance floor. There were even more children here, and the orchestra was just set off the to side of the tiled area, a joyful tune bouncing off of their strings.

You leave Levi’s side to join them, falling in with the children to dance and let loose. The daytime was made for the children during the festival, and then when the stars would come out and the sun sank below the horizon, the parents would enjoy themselves.

You sing and dance with the children for what seems like hours to Levi, but he doesn’t mind as he stands guard on the edge of the town square. He could easily see you but also maintain a visual around the dance area, his silver gaze on the lookout for any potential intruders.

The songs seem to blend together until a small brown-haired boy grabs onto your right hand. He tugged on your fingers for a moment and asked, “May I dance with you, Princess Y/n?” Your heart feels like it’s about to burst with the sweetness from the young boy, and you give him a sweet smile and a nod.

“Lead the way, good sir!” you chuckle out as you motion to the opening dance floor. Your sage green and dark brown colored skirts ruffle as you are led onto the floor by the bouncing young boy, and you can’t help but giggle as other young girls and boys join you in the middle of the town square.

You can hear the live orchestra count off, and the little boy offers you his other hand to dance, and with a genuine smile, you accept. Since the boy was maybe 8 years old, you had to lean down to hold both of his hands, but he didn’t seem to mind as he began to spin and twirl you around to the music.

While slightly clumsy and uncoordinated in his movements, you didn’t mind the boy's antics, giggling and laughing as the boy spun you, and you spun him. The other children were no different, gleefully dancing the night away.

You didn’t seem to notice Levi’s silver gaze watching you sharply, noting how you giggled each time the boy spun you or the way your eyes lit up when you got mixed up in all of the children dancing. To the dark-haired knight, you looked perfect at that moment.

With the afternoon sun’s warm rays casting down on you, you were simply golden. The festival's market stalls with red and yellow banners donning the kingdom’s insignia were paled in comparison to you. Although you were wearing a more simple gown for the festivities, you shone brighter than any of the lanterns or rays from the sun.

Levi couldn’t tear his eyes away from you. To put it simply, you looked gorgeous. Not just in the way that you were dressed and styled, but in the way that true joy brings out the best in someone. He could feel how raw your emotions were as you danced, and he couldn’t help but wish he was the one swinging you around instead.

Just as the upbeat song ended, Levi felt a passive tap on his side. He instinctively reached for the hilt of his sword, but when he looked to see what had bumped him, he immediately stopped.

There, looking up at him, was a little girl no older than 3 or 4 years old. She had dark, black curls falling around her face, and her bright blue eyes were wide as she stared up at the knight. The little girl taps again on his hand, slightly bouncing as she giggles, “Dance, dance!”

Little did Levi know, you had stopped dancing to catch your breath and talk to him, but you ceased your movements when you saw the little girl next to him. You can’t help but hold your breath as Levi turns to face her, and you can just barely make out the words he says.

“I’m sorry, miss,” he starts, moving to kneel down so he is at eye level with the girl. A frown starts to crease between her eyebrows and she repeats, “Dance! Dance!” She stomps her small feet against the ground in protest, and Levi says as he tries to explain, “I’m working right now, I’m not allowed to dance.”

Tears begin to well up in the little girl’s big blue eyes, threatening to spill down her smooth cheeks. Levi glances around for a second, eyes scoping to see if anyone watched him make this child cry. 

From the corner of his periphery, he catches sight of you watching the interaction. He groans internally, but then he sees you motion to the little girl, and he turns to face her again. She reached across to where his arm was resting on his knee, gently grabbing his fingers.

“Dance?” She repeats softer this time, the tears sliding from the edge of her eyes and down her cheeks. Levi’s heart can’t help but melt a little at the touching sight and he lets out a sigh of defeat.

“Just one dance,” he manages as he stands up straight, offering the girl his gloved hand. Instantly, the little girl starts smiling and giggling, “Dance! Dance, dance!” before launching onto Levi’s thigh.

He’s caught off guard for a second, stumbling back a few steps before regaining his balance. The little girl just laughs the entire time, and once again, Levi glances around for help. Unsure of what to do, he reaches down and picks the little girl up by her small waist, hoisting her up to his side opposite his blade.

Just then, the music started to pick back up and more people were making their way to the dance floor, and Levi begrudgingly followed, much to the little girl’s enjoyment. As he shuffles toward the edge of the dance floor, he catches sight of Zeke and Porco, who are standing guard on the other side of the tiled area.

He could see the two blondes snickering to themselves, pointing to the little girl and back to Levi. He can feel a moment of rage well up inside of him, but he pushes it down as he turns to face the little girl and says, “May I have this dance, miss?” 

The little girl throws her arms around Levi’s neck and giggles, “Dance, now, now!” Not a moment passes by before the crowd on the dance floor begins to move in sync with the music. Levi starts to copy everyone’s movements to the best he could holding a toddler, but she doesn’t seem to care about his mistakes.

He twirled and spun the two of them around, slowly but surely letting his guard down as he danced around with the girl. You on the other hand, sat watching the two of them from the sidelines, and your heart was swelling in your chest at the adorable scene in front of you.

I had no idea Levi could be so good with children, you think to yourself, Nor did I know he could dance! 

As the two of them passed by every few seconds, you could hear the little girl laughing away, and occasionally you could pick up the word “dance”. The music eventually slows to a finish, and you once again see Levi get down on one knee in front of the little girl.

He reaches under his short cloak and pulls out a small clutch of white daisies, offering them to the little girl. She smiles brightly at him as he says, “I would gladly dance with you again, miss.” The little girl launches at him again, wrapping him in an awkward hug before grabbing the flowers and running off.

Levi watches her small figure run up to a woman with two children next to her and another one in her arms. A minute smile makes its way across his lips as he sees the little girl reach up and give her mom the flowers, turning to point back at the dark-haired knight.

The woman gives him a grateful smile, and he pushes off his knees to stand straight and gives her a nod. Just then, he hears someone clear their throat behind him, and when he looks over his shoulder, he sees you standing there.

The sun was just starting to set behind you, illuminating your frame in its golden glow. Levi’s breath catches in his throat as he turns to face you, noting the sly smile on your lips. You rock back and forth on your feet before saying coyly, “I saw you dancing with that little girl, soldier.”

Levi feels a wave of heat wash over him in embarrassment, his cheeks slightly tinging pink at your comment. He glances to the ground with a shrug and mumbles, “It was nothing.” You scoff at him and playfully hip-bump him with a giggle of, “C’mon, that was absolutely adorable!”

You can see a smile start to crack through his faux facade and you nudge him again, and he finally caves in with a chuckle of, “What was I supposed to do? I couldn’t just hurt her feelings and leave her to cry.” 

You laugh along with him, grabbing his arm as he starts to guide you toward the food stalls, “And the flowers? That was a bit over the top!” He just rolls his eyes, a pleasant smile on his face as he sighs out, “Let’s go get you some food before nightfall.”

He guides the two of you through the market stalls, and you pick and choose which snacks and foods intrigue you the most. Just as you finish off a small glass of cherry wine, Levi pulls you behind one of the market stalls without a word.

You don’t question his movements, simply following in his footsteps until you see where he’s brought you. It’s just one street down from where all of the festivities are taking place, and it’s much quieter without the hustle of everyone and the harshness of the music.

The fresh air and light breeze swirl around you, making you take a deep breath through your nose that you slowly sigh out through your mouth, (colored) orbs fluttering closed. Levi watches you in that moment, noting the way your hair was coming slightly undone from a small clip that pinned away (colored) locks behind your ear.

Then you open your eyes and turn to him, a sweet smile on your lips as you say, “Thanks for getting me out of there for a bit, it was starting to get a little overwhelming.” He nods under your watchful gaze, motioning to a small bench just down the street.

The two of you sit down for a moment, eyes fixed on the sun setting in front of you. The once golden color was now bleeding shades of carmine and lavender, swirled with rusts and peaches. It was silent except for the sound of the festival on the other side of the stone wall behind your bench, not that you minded.

A few minutes of silence pass between you and Levi before he starts to shift, catching your attention. He once again reaches under his cloak, hand fumbling for a second before reappearing with one lone daisy.

The small white flower was still in good condition, only the stalk of the plant slightly bent from where it resided on his belt. You glance from the flower back to Levi, whose cheeks are once again slightly flushed, and he offers the flower to you.

Your (colored) gaze widens as you take it from him, admiring the pureness of the petals and the beautiful golden color of its core. You move to place it in your hair saying, “Thank you, Levi! This will be a lovely addition to my outfit tonight.”

You struggle for a moment, trying to push the stem through your unruly locks of hair that were tangled from dancing. Levi’s voice distracts you as he asks lowly, “May I help?” You give him a thin smile and a nod, handing the flower back to him.

Levi pulls the leather glove off of his left hand, setting it on his lap before taking the flower from you. His thin digits reach up slowly, so as to not scare you, before pushing the stem of the daisy through your (colored) tresses. He then brushes a small piece of hair behind your ear, securing the flower and then dropping his hand back to his lap.

It’s tense for a moment, the air thick with emotion, but Levi coughs once and then starts, “Y/n, I’ve been meaning to ask-” “This is my favorite song!” you burst out, your attention turning toward the music coming from the other street.

The tune was loud and unmistakably your favorite, and you stood up in a hurry, calling, “We must discuss this later! I cannot miss my favorite song!” And with that, you disappeared around the corner, with Levi sighing from where he was on the bench, his stomach dropping.

But, he takes a deep breath, stands up, and follows you back into the festival.

---

Night had fallen. The sky was a deep, midnight blue, flecked with stars that glimmered in the lantern light of the festival. The crowd was livelier now than it had been before dusk, with all the children tucked into bed and the parents out on the town.

For you, however, you were done with dancing and playing. Now, you had to act like the royalty you were supposed to be representing. And that meant dealing with your father and mother who wouldn’t stop talking about Miche and other suitors.

“Honestly, Y/n, I don’t see why you aren’t getting excited about this time in your life,” your mother chastises, motioning to you up and down with a look of slight disappointment on her face. You want to groan internally at her comment, but you just reply tightly, “I would be excited if I found someone worth marrying, mother!”

Your father clears his throat and insists, “Well I do have another fine set of suitors coming in for you to try out. I even believe one of them is a prince!” Instead of being excited by the thought of more suitors, it simply enraged you.

You rise to your feet quickly, rushing out, “I can’t do this.” You take off through the crowd of lords and ladies in waiting, weaving in and out of the people until you disappear from eyesight. You blocked out the calls of your parents as you made haste, tears starting to burn at the edge of your vision.

Levi witnessed the whole encounter from a few yards away, still standing guard for the evening. He immediately takes off after you without saying a word, skirting around the edge of the crowd while tracking your movements.

You don’t notice Levi following you, too enraptured with the thoughts racing in and out of your mind. Tears are blurring your vision, and you are fighting back sobs as you pick up speed, now running toward the edge of the town.

You clumsily find your way onto the roof of a house near the edge of town, the small building far from the center of the festivities. You clamber to the top of the roof, facing the rising moon, which casts a pale glow that makes it so you can see where you are stepping.

Your mind, however, was at war. More suitors? Can’t my parents tell I don’t like their choice of men for me? Have they not seen how I can’t stand any of them? Why don’t they understand I need someone who knows me…. Who likes to be around me, and I like to be around them?

Someone like Levi, the words ring out in your head. A gasp bursts from your chest and you aren’t sure if you’re crying or trying to catch your breath.

Levi?

His name makes you stop for a second, and as the tears slide down your face and you gaze up at the waxing moon, it clicks in your head. 

Your heart….  Yearned for someone like Levi. Your hands itched to grasp more than just his arm walking to and from a lecture. Your soul hungered for the conversations of intellect and familiarity. Your lips thirsted for his landing on yours.

The last thought makes your eyes widen in realization, but you don’t have any time to process it when someone sits down next to you. The familiar baritone sighs out, “There you are,” making you turn to face the dark-haired knight.

You give him a tight-lipped smile, one that is holding back tears and the few words circling your mind like a mantra. Levi’s silver gaze flits between your tearful eyes, and his features soften as he watches the teardrops stream down your cheeks.

“Hey, hey,” he almost coos, hunkering down a little to look up at your face as your chin dropped to your chest, attempting to stifle another sob. His brows furrow in thought before he asks quietly, “Are you alright, Y/n?”

There is a tenderness to his voice that almost makes you want to vomit, but you manage to strangle a deep breath in and let a shaky one out. You toss your head from side to side and stutter, “N-no, Levi. I- I’m, uh, not alright.”

You glance back down at your hands and stay silent. Levi stays still, deep in thought before gently imploring, “Would you like to talk about it? I am here to listen.” 

This time, when you look back up, Levi can see the moon and stars reflected in your eyes. They were still wet with tears, but your (colored) orbs seemed to hold the entire night sky in them for one second.

And in that one second, a calm peace seemed to wash over the two of you just as you started to speak, “My parents are bringing in more suitors for me to get to know. They don’t think I’m trying hard enough with my royal duties.”

You sniffle, glancing over at Levi and then continuing, “I just feel as if I don’t ever get to do what I want. Or maybe it’s that I’m frustrated they don’t understand what I want.” Levi nods in understanding when you finish talking, shuffling for a moment before murmuring, “Well, they did let you learn to fight, which is something you wanted to do.”

You sway side to side, swinging your head ever so slightly as if to contemplate his words before muttering, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Levi could tell that wasn’t the response you were hoping for, but he was never one to sugarcoat things.

“You need to stand up for yourself, Y/n/n,” he murmurs, softer this time. “They don’t take you seriously because they still see you as a child, following their every order. You need to make them realize you aren’t their precious little girl anymore,” and his gaze locks onto yours with a fiery intensity.

“You’re a woman now, and a strong and independent one at that,” he finishes passionately, moving to stand back up. His words echo in your head, and each time you hear the truths behind them, you can’t help but focus on the tone of his voice.

You open your mouth to reply, but he cuts you off, “Let’s get you back to the festival. We can’t have them thinking their princess ran off in the middle of the night.” At the end of his words, he offers you his hand to take, which you accept. He pulls you to your feet and steadies you before motioning back toward the glow of the festival and says, “After you, princess.”

---

It takes a few days for you to build up the courage to confront your parents about the whole suitor debacle. You knew it was something you couldn’t take lightly, but you knew you needed to tell them sooner rather than later.

And before you know it, you are standing in front of them, heart pounding in your chest as the words that your father just said pound in your head like a hammer.

Your mother and I are in agreement. You haven’t made sufficient effort in courting a suitor, so we have chosen one for you. You’re getting married tomorrow.

It feels like the floor dropped out from underneath you, falling into a nothingness that made your stomach whirl. Married? Tomorrow? You can’t deny their wishes even though your entire body is screaming at you to fight, argue, yell. But you can’t.

So instead, you numbly are whisked away to get fitted for a white gown that you didn’t want. You are run through the order of the wedding and the reception, what you are to do, what you are to say, how you are to act.

You didn’t have the guts to face Levi and tell him of the new development in your life, but you knew he was no fool. He heard the rumors, he saw the preparations. And when he was assigned to stand guard at the main hall the following day, he knew.

You hated everything.

You hated the yellowish tone of the white dress, you always wanted one that was more blush-toned. You hated the way your hair was pinned up off of your neck and out of your face. You didn’t want everyone to see your blank stare and emotionless eyes.

You didn’t want any of this. And neither did the dark-haired knight.

The two of you could only follow orders though, and so uneasily, you survived the night. The following morning comes and you are immediately fawned over by your maids and the wedding planners.

First - your makeup. Second, your hair. Finally, the dress. It was a routine that you had dreamed of being ecstatic about, completely in love with the man you were going to marry. But you weren’t.

There is a knock on your door precisely at noon. Three short taps in a row, followed by two shorter ones. Levi. Just thinking about him makes your heart ache with a pain you never knew you could experience.

A maid rushes to open the door, and just before her hand makes it to the golden handle, you call out, “Wait! Let the guard in and please leave. I require a moment alone.” The maid nods to you, opening the door with a smile and curtsy, sliding out of your room before a familiar figure makes his way in.

You were sitting on a short stool a few feet away from your vanity, staring at your reflection in the mirror hanging on the wall. Your whole image was one of grace and elegance, everything a princess should be.

But the light in your eyes was one of a grounded bird. The emotion in your eyes was reminiscent of a beached whale. The frown on your face with the light of a dying deer, hunted by a mountain lion.

Levi stops in his tracks when he catches sight of you, his mouth parting as he takes in your appearance. To put it simply, you were beautiful. He coughs once to clear his throat, a tight line forming his lips before he states, “I am here to guide you to the main hall, Princess Y/n.”

You turn to face him at the sound of his voice, tears threatening to spill down your powdered cheeks. You can’t fight the wobble in your lip as you utter, “Levi…” You can’t see his brow furrow just a smudge more at the pain in your voice, and you feel terrible for not telling him.

“Levi, I- I-...” and you take a breath, your vision blurring over for a second before you continue, “I am so sorry for not telling you about this plan. My parents-” “I know,” he whispers, his voice thick with emotion.

You sniffle and stand up, wiping tears away and reaching for a small towel to pat your face dry. He watches every movement, in awe that he could be near someone so ethereal, so heavenly. Levi finds words on the tip of his tongue again, dancing through his mind, coursing through his blood.

But he knows he can’t say anything, it’s your wedding day, after all. He bites his tongue to keep them from spilling out of his mouth, instead giving you a moment to steel your nerves. You walk toward him once you have cleaned up your appearance, and you open your arms with a sad smile.

“Can I please have a hug? I think it might be the only thing to get me through the day,” you croak out with a subtle shrug. Levi’s heart is pounding in his chest, bursting at the thought and meaning of your words.

He nods though, and takes a step forward, opening his arms to wrap around your waist. Your arms come to rest around his neck, pulling the dark-haired knight closer. His hands are warm on your waist, a feeling you know you will miss when he pulls away.

You don’t mind the hard feel of his armor or the feeling of his breath on your neck. You wished the moment would never end so that you didn’t have to marry a man you didn’t love. It’s ruined when the bells outside your window start to ring, and Levi forces himself to slowly pull away from you, looking deep into your (colored) gaze.

You sniffle again saying, “Thank you, Levi. For everything.” He bows and murmurs, “As you wish, Y/n.” As I wish? I wish… I wish to live in this moment forever, Levi. With you.

Levi clears his throat again, and you can see his stoic mask go back on. You feel a pang of guilt wash over you, even though you know it's not your fault. He offers you his arm, and for what could be the last time, you take it.

He guides you down the familiar halls of the castle you grew up in. There are people fluttering about, finalizing the touches to the reception to be held after the ceremony, but you do your best to block them out.

Instead, you try to focus on the feeling of your hand on Levi’s shoulder pauldron, the chill of the silver metal keeping your attention on the knight. In step, the two of you make it outside the doors of the ceremony, where you will walk down the aisle, alone.

Levi reaches across with his second hand, the gloved fingers grabbing your own digits. He squeezes them slowly in a way you know is meant to calm you down. It’ll be okay. I’ll be in there. You can do this.

You give him a tight-lipped and watery-eyed smile before gushing, “I’ll see you on the other side, right?” He squeezes your hand again and then steps away with a nod and says, “I doubt you could get rid of me if you tried.”

A dry giggle escapes you, making you breathe deeply for the first time that day. You are handed a bouquet of flowers, and as you turn to thank the maid, Levi disappears. Not a moment later, music starts to play from the other side of the doors right before they open.

You are met with the faces of hundreds of lords and ladies, people from the town, and the face of the priest and the man you were marrying standing on the altar. You take a deep breath before marching like a soldier down the aisle decorated with flower petals and large arrangements.

Everyone is standing, staring. But you try to ignore them, focusing on the feeling of your feet landing flat on the ground, the softness of the ribbon holding your bouquet together. The way your heart beat for another man, but was about to be given away to a stranger.

While it seemed like a mile long, you eventually make it to the altar, and you are met with the face of the man you were set to marry. You knew he was probably a good man. He probably had goals for his career, wanted to father a gaggle of children, wanted a wife he could count on and love.

And you knew you couldn’t do that for him.

Mindless words echo out as you repeat the vows from the priest, loveless and cold. You manage to make it through each line, but just as the priest asks, “Princess Y/n, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

I…. the thought reverberates in your head, I, I don’t love this man, I can’t marry him. 

“Y/n?” a voice calls to you, and it shakes you out of your head. Your (colored) gaze snaps from the priest, who looks concerned, to the man you are about to marry, around to the gathered congregation. In your heart, you knew you were searching for one person. One man you knew your heart burned for.

You turn back to the priest, withdrawing your hands from your betrothed, and you utter, “I, I can’t do this. My heart belongs to another.” At that, you grab your skirts, rush down the few steps, and run up the aisle, leaving the man at the altar.

The crowd gasps in shock at the scandal playing out in front of them, and you see people reaching for you, grabbing at you as you make your way out of the main hall. You don’t hear your father’s call after you, lost in the destruction your heart created.

“Ackerman, find her!” your father’s voice booms out, but the dark-haired knight is already on the move. The knight immediately takes off, running as he tries to keep your frame in sight. He knew you were strong from all of your training, but evidently, your stamina was still intact despite wearing a heavy gown.

You find yourself running blindly, passing maids, butlers, and gardeners finishing up the last touches of flowers for the reception. Your lungs were burning like the red-hot flames from the forge you passed in desperation. You push past all of them, tears blurring your vision as you run as fast as you can away from everything.

You can hear footsteps following you, but you don’t really care who it is or what they want. “Leave me alone, please!” you wail as you tear through bushes, your eyes closed as you burst into an open garden. Unknowing to you, you ran the entire way to the Josephina Garden where you first encountered a certain dark-haired knight.

Not a moment later, a warm hand closes on your wrist, and you are quickly spun around to face the assailant. You blink through the tears as you make out the figure of Levi, concern written all over his face. Your chest is heaving from your run in the heavy white dress, but Levi seems rather unphased.

He takes a deep breath before stuttering out, “W-why did you say that, Y/n? You know you shouldn’t lie about stuff like that, especially in front of your family and, and the kingdom.” You can see the emotion on his face plain as day, like reading a book that you know word for word.

You could see the way his brow creased, like the gaps between paragraphs when the words seemed to stop flowing. You could see the confusion in his grey, steel eyes, that reminded you of the words you had to reread over and over again just to understand their meaning.

Every feature of his face, you knew, though. Levi was like the dog-eared fold in your favorite book, the paper worn smooth from how many times you flipped it open. He was like your favorite line when the girl finally let the guy take her out on the town on their first date.

Levi was memorizable, you knew every piece about him, and every thought and feeling as he stood in front of you, grasping your arm. Yet he was blind, and couldn’t read the book that he was himself.

“I am in love with someone else!” you shout again, moving to pull your wrist away from the grasp Levi had on it. He doesn’t budge though, holding you firm as you try to pull away from him.

He pulls you closer, his second hand coming up to grasp your shoulder as he barks, “Who?! Who on this goddamn earth would you be in love with?!” Levi pauses, looking deeper into your (colored) eyes before his voice cracks and he murmurs, “I’m your best friend, Y/n, you would have told me if there was someone else you loved.”

You take a deep breath and close your eyes, willing the tears to stop flowing and your heart to stop pounding as loudly as it was. You could feel it rattling your ribcage, attempting to crawl up your throat and make a fool of yourself.

And it betrays you in an instant.

“It’s you!” you exclaim, ripping your arms away from him in a moment of strength, throwing them into the air. The words ring out loudly, the silence that followed them almost deafening. You peek your eyes open as you look up from the ground to meet Levi’s hardened and confused gaze.

“It’s you, Levi,” you whisper as you lock eyes with him. He turns his head in bewilderment, and then he starts shaking it in denial, “No. No, it’s not. It’s not me, Y/n. Don’t joke with me about this.”

You laugh dryly as you throw your hands in the air again and scoff, “I wouldn’t lie or joke about something like this, Levi.” You meet his intense gaze again and gesture to him with a softer, “You know I wouldn’t.”

You can see him swallow thickly, his hands clenching by his sides. You can see the words forming on his lips, and you can just barely hear them when he whispers, “You can’t…” Levi doesn’t say anything after that, so you take the moment to fill in every question you know is racing around his mind.

“It’s… it’s always been you, Levi. It’s been you since the very first training session when you knocked me to the ground,” you start, your right hand coming up to caress your left bicep in shyness. “It’s been you since that night in the forge when you helped me cope with Rico’s death,” you whisper.

You shrug as you smile fondly and state, “It’s been you since you let that little girl dance with you at the festival. It’s been you since you sat on the roof with me, giving me a taste of normalcy.” You sniffle as fresh tears stream down your cheeks, “It’s always been you.”

Levi is mute. Not a sound escapes him as his mouth parts, unsaid words and questions hanging on the tip of his tongue. You don’t say anything, letting him process each and every moment, reliving them as you did in your own mind.

Finally, he speaks, “You’re lying. You can’t possibly love someone like me.” The words are harsh and cut right to your core. Lying? He thinks you’re lying? The look on his face shows that he is completely dumbfounded, flabbergasted, amazed. 

Emotion and frustration builds up inside you as he denies you again. And then, you’ve had enough and you can’t handle it anymore.

“Believe me!” you shout, your voice ripping at the heightened volume. You pause as you feel your throat tighten and clench. Then, “Bel-believe me, when I say this to you, Levi,” and you straighten your shoulders to match his stance.

You meet his gaze and then your voice rings out, “Believe me when I say I love you.” A sob wracks your body and then you finish, “Because I do. I do love you, Levi, with my entire being.”

Passion overcomes Levi and he lunges forward, grabbing onto your waist as if you would disappear under his touch. He holds onto you for the first time without ever asking, pulling you close to him as he urges, “Repeat that, please.”

You look deep into his eyes as your hands come up to cup his angled cheekbones and you whisper, “I said I love you.” A smile cracks through Levi’s lips as he watches your lips move and as tears well up in his grey eyes he rushes out, “Again!” 

A slight giggle falls from your lips as you repeat, “I love you, Levi.” The dark-haired knight just grips you tighter, pulling you closer and more flush to his chestplate. A moment passes between the two of you, and with Levi looking deep into your (colored) eyes he murmurs, “I love you, Y/n.”

You feel butterflies erupt in your belly, the feeling completely washing over you in mere seconds. Levi moves one hand from your waist to slowly close his palm on your cheek, his head tilting to the side ever so slightly.

“... may I?” his voice comes out so soft you almost miss what he says, but the meaning behind his silver gaze is undeniable. With such an intensity, his eyes flicker from your own (colored) ones to your parted lips, and there is no doubt in your mind.

Not trusting your voice, you nod, leaning into his touch without another thought. His nose bumps yours in a way that could be seen as clumsy and inexperienced, but it’s endearing the way he pauses, allowing himself to enjoy the smallest touches.

He nuzzles you for just a moment before his lips land on yours, soft and warm. He’s slow as his mouth meets yours for the first time. Levi is nothing but gentle as he kisses you, holding you with such a tenderness that it makes your knees weak. You clutch onto him as you let your mouth move against his, enjoying every second of his love.

You can’t bear to open your eyes when you feel him pull away, wanting to savor every fleeting memory of Levi kissing you. When you do allow your eyes to flutter open, you find Levi staring at you, cheeks pink and an embarrassed look on his face.

“Was that not to your liking?” you ask quietly, scared that you had somehow messed up your first kiss with the knight. Levi shakes his head from side to side, and with a small smile, he replies, “No, not at all. I just can’t believe there was something so perfect out there and I never knew it until this moment.”

You feel heat wash over you at his comment, eyes tipped toward the ground. The hand that was caressing your cheek stops your movement, pulling your chin up to face him. Levi’s gaze is so intense it feels like knives are splitting you open and he says, “You are so beautiful, Y/n. I would lay down my life for you if you asked.”

You smile at him and lean into his touch before whispering, “Let us hope it never comes to that, Levi. I don’t think I could live without you.” Levi smiles and murmurs back, “As you wish, princess, as you wish.”

–The End–

Tags: @anlian-aishang @xyumemi @xxdragonwriterxx @starstruckkittensweets @darlingheichou

[shikiii-skadi]

Attack on Titan Love Language Season 4 ver.

INCLUDES: eren jäger, reiner braun. pieck finger, porco galliard, colt grice

WARNINGS: mentioning of insecurity NAVIGATION: Attack on Titan Masterlist | part 1 (eren jäger, mikasa ackermann, armin arlert, levi ackermann, christa lenz)

Eren Jäger:

How they love you: Physical Touch

Over the years, he has become expressionless. After all he has seen and done, he feels most comfortable when you touch each other, since he is no longer able to express his love for you with words.

How they want to be loved: Words of Affirmation

Even if he would not admit it but there are times when he doubts himself or the things, he believes in. At these times he wants to hear nothing but your soothing words filled with so much love for him. He himself can't understand why you still want to be by his side.

Reiner Braun:

How they love you: Acts of Service

Reiner thinks he doesn't deserve you. He thinks it's more tolerable to be by your side if he is of use to you. If you need something, you don't even have to say something. He is already on his way to get it for you. Reiner is doing the little things as well. Always checking if you have enough water with you while training or if you seat in a meeting is close enough to the front so you can hear and see everything.

How they want to be loved: Words of Affirmation

As said before, Reiner is really insecure. He thinks he doesn't deserve you and that you deserve someone better than a broken man like him, with whom you will never have the life you dreamed of, because of his position as a warrior and Ymir's curse. But if you, someone so wonderful and important to him, tells him how much you love and appreciate him, he feels a bit better about himself.

Pieck Finger:

How they love you: Physical Touch

Pieck likes to touch you. She likes the feeling of your soft skin and how warm it feels. There is nothing is better than to cuddle with you after a long and stressful day. Pieck also likes to give small gestures of affection, for example fixing the collar of your jacket, while slightly brushing against your neck with her fingertips.

How they want to be loved: Quality Time

Pieck knows that you two can't spend your entire lives together, as much as she wishes it. That's why she wants to spend as much time as she possibly can together with you. You don't have to do anything special every time you have a free day. It's enough for her to just cook together or sort out old clothes. The only thing that's important is that you do it together.

Porco Galliard:

How they love you: Quality Time

Whenever you are together, you have his undivided attention. He will always set aside time just for you. Even if it sometimes doesn't look like it, but Porco always listens to you very closely and remembers what you told him weeks later. You have his full attention even if you are on the other side of the room or something like that.

How they want to be loved: Physical Touch

Porco always tries to maintain his tough guy image, even if it's just the two of you. That's why he often can't bring himself to admit that he really likes it when you two cuddle. Therefore, he is more than happy when you make the first move.

Colt Grice:

How they love you: Acts of Service

Colt will do anything for you to make your life a little easier. No matter what it is, Colt is immediately at your side ready to help. Even when it comes to easy things, he always asks you if you need his help.

How they want to be loved: Receiving Gifts

Colt can't think of anything nicer than the thought of you spending your free time figuring out what the perfect gift for him would be. All the time and effort you put into this just to make him happy warms his heart. He also doesn't care what it is or if it's valuable. Because the fact that you gave it to him makes it valuable enough.

[id-rather-be-an-outsider]

College and Chill (teaser)

summary: who knew that the aftereffects of a night of drinking would turn out to be so much more than just a hangover?

a/n: hey ya’ll, the plan was to post this during March, but a lot of shit came up. one of my aunties passed, I had finals, my boyfriend found out his dad has stage 4 cancer, and I got hit by a car while driving home from my mom’s house (really mad about that tbh), so things have NOT gone according to plan 😭 anywho, as an apology for being late, here is a teaser! I will release the completed version sometime this month :) hope you like what I have in store!

What? Is it terrible of me to not want to give a stranger my address? Whatever. Groaning, I roll out of bed and pull on some sweats and one of Colt’s t-shirts. He keeps spares here when we do movie night, and they’re comfy so I wear them as a closet tax when I’m lazing about. I slink into the kitchen, down a glass of water and head to the bathroom to finish getting ready. Nothing fancy, just deodorant and brushing my teeth. I pull my hair into a ponytail and pour myself some cereal.

I’ve only just sat down with my bowl when I hear a knock.

I sigh, pulling the door open to find Colt being held up by a broad-shouldered guy wearing a bomber jacket. The stranger and I both stare at each other for a couple seconds before Colt says, “Y/n, Porco, Porco, y/n. Can I please go sleep somewhere dark now?”

I chastise him, “You could’ve done that at your own dorm, you know.”

“Yea, but I want to make you suffer as revenge.”

“Fuck you, I could still shut this door in your face and say no.” I move to push the door closed until Porco’s hand pushes it back open.

“I’m not watching him all day.” He says flatly. “And from the looks of it...” He eyes Colt’s shirt, “You already have experience taking care of him.”

I roll my eyes. “We’re just friends. I can’t date someone who gets drunk after only two shots.”

He smirks. “You don’t seem like you can handle your shit either.” I slip under Colt’s other side to help him over to the couch.

“I can handle a little bit more than Colt- I just drink ‘til he’s gone and quit then. Pretty good strategy, if I do say so myself.”

We let Colt plop down on the couch, and he immediately slumps over, mostly unconscious.

“So, you guys drink often?” Porco asks.

I nod. “We were in cross country together. Lots of parties.”

He looks over at Colt, already curled up sleeping. “You can handle him?”

“Yea. I just tell him to shut up and sleep when I get stuck with him.”

“I owe you.” Porco says, rubbing the back of his neck as he stands by the door.

“Just bring me food or some shit.”

[animestsstuff2]

Hey I saw you were asking for aot recommendations, so I wanted ask if you could write maybe a Zeke one? There's not much about him

Attack on Titan

Zeke x reader.

I haven’t watched attack on Titan since it finished so I hope this is okay I didn’t really know how to write Zeke

Content warning: established relationship, trauma, fluff, before Erens invasion period, kinda angsty

——————————————————

You sat waiting for Zeke to come home from one of his meetings, humming as you stood over the stove making dinner. You and him would be together two years as of tonight and you made all his favourite foods.

You perked up upon hearing the door opening and shutting, turning to greet him only to see him glance in at you from the hallway and head immediately upstairs. Your brows furrowing as you moved the pots off the stove to colder rings and followed him.

“Zeke? How was the meeting?” You called as you slowly ascended upstairs. You wondered if something had happened, sometimes when the meetings don’t go how he likes he likes to he left alone.

You headed down to his small study, knocking as you entered and seen him at his desk. A glass of whiskey on the desk as he ran his hand through his hair before glancing at you again.

“I’ll be down shortly Y/N” he told you, you walked over to him ignoring his hint that he wanted to be alone as you smoothed your hands up his shoulders, leaning down to rest your chin atop his head.

“What happened at the meeting?” You hummed, rubbing his shoulders through his shirt feeling him relax slightly as he sighed.

“Nothing important just the usual discussions” he mumbled, he never really did tell you what they spoke about.

“Clearly something, why are you so sad. You know what today is don’t you?” You asked, moving to kiss his cheek as he swivelled in his chair to move so now you stood between his legs.

“I do remember love and I can’t wait to eat the delicious food you’ve prepared” he gave a small smile as he picked your hands up with his.

“Well the sooner you tell me the sooner we can go eat” you chimed a grin forming as you thought about the sweet apple pie downstairs.

“Not now. I dont want to ruin today” he mumbled, his smile falling as you thought about what could ruin today, did he have to leave? Are Paradis making a move.

“Ruin today? Zeke what happened at that meeting” you pressed firmly as you squeezed his hands.

“Y/N don’t push you won’t lik-“

“Tell me Zeke. You always feel better after we talk things out” you told him, it was true he has always been secretive but with you he felt at peace and could tell you anything. He sat for a moment.

“They chose my successor today” he told you and your heart stalled. You hated Titan stuff, Zeke was nearing his thirteenth year as the Beast Titan.

“Oh..who is it?” You asked softly, not wanting to think of your boyfriends inevitable death.

“Colt Grice. A young warrior” he told you, looking up to see your saddened eyes.

“I told you Y/N you wouldn’t like it. I-..I thought about this on the way home, it would be better if we, we went our separate ways now instead of down the line” he told you, you pulled your hands from his and his head snapped back up to yours.

“Not this again Zeke. I won’t hear it.” You told him, trying not to let your eyes water.

“Y/N its only reasonable. I don’t want to hurt you more than I will. I don’t unde-“

“I love you Zeke! I know you’re going to die and that I will be alone but right now I want to spend that time together with you!” You told him, eyes watering as some tears dripped. His heart ached as he stood.

He reached for you, wrapping his arms around your waist as he pulled you into him, resting his chin on your head. He pulled away wiping the tear from your eye as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to your pouty lips.

“Im sorry for bringing it up my love. I just think too rationally sometimes. I don’t ever want to be without you but knowing I will have to leave you alone pains me so much” he whispered and you nodded accepting his reasoning. He pressed another kiss which you returned, wrapping your arms around his neck as he pulled you in closer.

You both pulled away as he gave you a small smile which you returned.

“Now, im pretty sure I smelled apple pie downstairs” he mumbled and you giggled nodding as you pulled him with you.

The dinner and desert were amazing. Zeke continuously complimenting your cooking throughout till now where you both sat in the living room, fire lit and cuddled up with a glass of wine he brought back. It was a special wine he was gifted.

[gobblinggojo]

Hi :) I'd like to request Colt x female reader and their first kiss + confessing when he's back after the four-years long Marley mideast war? Thank you ♥

<3: Let's ignore the fact that I've been off of Tumblr for such a long time, but I'm finally back to writing. So, I decided to make my come-back with this lovely request!

Warnings: Brief mention of death, fluff, reader uses she/her pronouns.

"Last Kiss"

A Colt Grice x Reader Short Story

Four years. 1,460 Tragedy filled days that you had spent waiting. Waiting for a man whom you had hopelessly fallen in-love with throughout your years of being close friends. To you it was hard to believe that today would be the day that he would finally be back in your arms. It almost seemed too good, too lucky for you, that the man you loved oh so much would be back safe and sound.

Colt Grice. He was the man who had stolen your heart and left with it just like that. The man that you had harbored an attraction for far too long. You still remembered the day that you had met. You had lost your father whilst shopping in the plaza in town; you had been crying, searching everywhere for him when a boy who was just a few years older than you were grabbed your hand, whisking you away to help your troubled self.

That little interaction led to a beautiful friendship blooming; one that would last forever in eternity. You realized you had loved Colt when you were twelve, almost thirteen. Colt had just turned fourteen. You had been asked on a date by a boy in town, whom you had said yes to. Long story short, you were stood up and were left bawling in your friend's arms. Colt's embrace was so warm, almost like a comforting fire. You still remember the feeling of your heart rate picking up as Colt's hand rubbed gentle circles in your lower back.

"It's okay, Y/N. He's just a jerk who doesn't know that he's missed out." He muttered quietly in the crown of your head.

Colt. Just the thought of seeing him again today made you feel so ecstatic. You felt giddy as you stood on the sidewalk by the train tracks. Your E/C eyes were wide open with excitement, hands shaking slightly from the rising bubble of anxiety that was overcoming your body as you watched the train that held the Marlean soldiers inside pulling up.

You made sure to wear your prettiest dress today. It was a soft brown color with faint floral patterns on the bottom. It reached just past your knees. Your foot tapped against the pavement impatiently, the sole of your boot made the tapping sound louder than it would have been without them on. The few people that were around you separated away from you. In a way they felt your anxiety just pouring off of your body, which they probably would rather stay away from during this moment.

Hopelessly you stood and watched. Watching as so many people you had grown up around got off of the train and were instantly enveloped in hugs by their awaiting family members. So many tears were spilled and with each soldier that stepped off of the train your heart rate quickened.

Where was he? He should have gotten off by now.

You were beginning to worry. Tears filled your eyes before a sigh of relief left your lips. Falco had run off of the train, being enveloped in the arms of his mother, not a second had passed before Colt stepped off of the train, arms carrying both his and Falco's luggage, which was quickly dropped as his mother also threw her arms around her older son. Your heart melted at the sight, watching as Colt wrapped his arms so gently around his mother, as if she would break if he applied too much pressure.

The urge to run and interrupt Colt's time with his family was strong, but they needed it more than you ever did. You stood there, watching the scene as it drawn on until finally, Colt had pulled away.

His gaze flew right towards you. "I'll be back," he seemed to mouth to his mother as he began to move through the crowd of onlookers. He kept moving, taking long strides before he finally stood in front of you, head craning down in order to look you right in the eyes.

"Y/N-" he began before he was ultimately interrupted by you flinging your much smaller form into him, arms wrapped tightly around his neck as you let out a relieved sob. "I was so worried about you." You breathlessly spoke as you gazed up into the males' beautiful brown eyes. His gaze itself made you want to just pepper kisses all over Colt's face.

God, he was so beautiful. How could someone so beautiful exist in a world filled with so much death?

Colt didn't say a word. He just stared down into your gaze, nothing was said between the two of you. It was as if you guys had a conversation with just your eyes. A mutual agreement was shared as you both began to lean in, lips pressing against one another's.

It felt electrical in a sense. Your heart rate had picked up, and you were almost certain Colt's had as well as your lips molded perfectly to fit the others.

Colt was the first to pull away, though he didn't stay away long as he almost instantly leaned back in, pressing another chaste kiss to your lips.

"I love you, so much." He muttered against your lips.

You wanted to cry right then and there. Not tears of anger, sadness, or betrayal. But tears of pure happiness. And you did. You cried in Colt's arms, sobbing about how much you missed and loved him beyond measure.

He cried in yours too, for he knew now that you would forever be his, and he would forever be yours.

[vainilla-milk]

when you get your period while you're having sex feat. porco, reiner, colt

tags: afab! reader, mentions of sex, slightly suggestive i guess

Porco Galliard

He was devouring you alive until he separates his face from your pussy and sees that the string of drool was red, the taste of iron in his mouth only made him more alert.

He thought he had hurt you with his teeth and kept bombarding you with questions about whether you were feeling well.

He was about to call an ambulance....

You almost slapped him to calm him down.

"You just witnessed the start of my period," you said to him. " It was supposed to come down next week."

One of Porco's eyes seemed to twitch, but at the same time, he was relieved.

"You planned it to scare me on purpose" he accused you, however, you knew it was just to disguise his embarrassment and ease the situation, you couldn't hold back a small laugh.

Reiner Braun

After you had your orgasm, Reiner removed herself from your body, but....

"don't fuck with me" he whispered with his eyes expressing horror.

1."are you okay!?" 2."did i hurt you!?" 3."why didn't you warn me i was being rough!?" just like porco, he bombarded you with questions.

You didn't really even understand why he was concerned until he told you that you were bleeding.

"Oh" was all you could think to say, your brain was still somewhat disconnected from the orgasm.

It made your heart shrink to see that Reiner was so scared and feeling guilty.

"I'm fine love, I'm fine" you said again as he hugged you, you explained that you had just gotten your period while having sex. After a few minutes of cuddling he got up to get you a sanitary napkin from the bathroom.

Colt Grice

You had felt a couple of discomforts while you were doing it, but you played it down believing that they were premenstrual symptoms, that your period would come in the next few days.

Nah, your body was a bit of a traitor in that aspect (according to you), you tended to suffer from strong cramps and this time was no exception.

Colt was scared out of his wits when you complained as he rammed into you, he thought he had overdone it in strength.

"It's just colic, don't worry, it wasn't you" you reassure him.

Colt looked at you consumed with worry.

"Do you need anything?" he asks trying to offer you something that would be helpful.

"Maybe stay with me by hugging me?" you looked at him with puppy dog eyes.

He would never deny you a hug, but before that he went to get you a sanitary napkin and make you some tea to soothe your aches and pains since you were out of your menstrual discomfort pills.

[marsbutterfly]

Headcanons: Dating Porco Galliard & Colt Grice

ᴀ/ɴ: ᴛʜɪs ᴏɴᴇ ɢᴏᴇs ᴏᴜᴛ ᴛᴏ @iluvlottie ᴀɴᴅ ᴍʏ ᴡɪғᴇ @tsukidrama

- Porco is the kind of boyfriend who thinks he has to go big or go home when it comes to any romantic gesture.

- Date nights with Porco would include a lot of wine and delicious food.

- It isn't uncommon for him to text you, asking you to go outside only to find the word "love" made out of countless of your favorite flowers in the front lawn.

- Or something like an expensive present only because he felt like it when, in fact, he saved up for months to buy a necklace with his initials or a diamond ring.

- When he is saving money for a grand gesture, that's when he really let's his sweet and gentle side show because then he will cook for you and rub your feet.

- He will let you win when you are playing Mario Kart on the Wii you bought together, even if you ask him not to do that because you want to beat him fair and square.

- He will come back from a hard day at work with a bag of your favorite fast food and maybe some of your favorite candy he bought at the dollar store.

- Porco is also the kind of boyfriend who would take you on an outdoor kind of date.

- Go for a hike, a walk through the park, go to the beach, anywhere that could include him taking his shirt off so he could show off for you.

- Of course that would always earn a smile out of you and that is really why he did it.

- Porco is a sweetheart but he will only show that side of himself to you.

- He would turn the back of his pick-up truck into a bed with lots of blankets and pillows and he would proceed to take you to watch the sunset somewhere.

- Other kinds of dates would include mini-golf. Porco sucks at it but he tries his best. He loses every time.

- Grilling in the backyard because he is very good at it.

- Ultimately, Porco will spoil you rotten when he has the money for it and when he doesn't, he finds ways to spoil you anyway, even if money is not included.

- Colt is the kind of guy who would take you on simple dates but the kind that he put hours of effort into so it would be perfect for you.

- A picnic with all of your favorite foods after a hard day at work to watch the sunrise on the roof together.

- He would plan game nights with all of your friends every so often just to show them how happy you are and how you two are perfect for each other.

- The two of you always win. But not because he's cheating because he would never do that, you win because he's just that good.

- And because you are the one cheating but he doesn't need to know that.

- He likes to go on a bike ride so you can catch Pokémon together.

- There is nothing Colt loves more than to stay home with you and have a spa night together.

- He adores being pampered by you: face masks, cucumbers on his eyes, lip masks, he even loves it when you pop the pimples on his chin and his nose.

- Colt loves the little things he does with you.

- Going grocery shopping together, making scrap books, looking through old pictures. Nothing out of the ordinary for you but he makes mental notes out of it every single time.

- He's a little old-fashioned sometimes, like the time he took you out dancing all night long but you stepped on his foot one too many times so he scheduled some lessons for you.

- You want to be offended but you know he just wants you to enjoy yourself when the two of you are together.

- Colt is known for how much he cares and so it becomes a habit from the very first date for you to volunteer together. It could be building houses or feeding the homeless at a shelter.

- He loves you from the bottom of his heart and he wants to do everything in his power to make sure you are happy by his side.

- And boy, does he succeed at making you feel special and loved.

[father-time-and-baby-new-year]

i show up to the party just to leave

tw: angst, unrequited feelings, asshole behavior, degradation, barely proofread

a/n: why do I love posting at worst times lol. if this gets no traction, it's my fault, but i really hope it gets some traction

this is part two of seems like the life i need is a little distant

pairing: eren x fem!reader, side porco x fem!reader & colt x fem!reader

wc: 4.0k

The sheets still smell like him. Sharp notes of mint and sage and the ever-present smell of nicotine that seemed to cling to his body.

You had cried yourself to sleep last night. After Eren had essentially just fucked you and left. All you want to do is stay in bed and curl up in a shell.

But alas, there’s class to attend. And Plan B to buy since the dark-haired boy had insisted on cumming inside of you.

It’s not like he usually slept over so you have no reason to be so dramatic. It’s not like last night was the first booty call, and he’s always been one for degradation in bed. And you especially don’t mind being called a slut if he’s calling you his slut.

But you feel used. Disposable. Like the cigarettes, he crushes under his heel after ashing them out.

You roll over and check your phone, and the screen is filled with messages along the lines of:

Good morning.

I’m at the cafe, just picking up some breakfast. What drink do you want?

Got you a chai latte because that’s what you usually get. And a blueberry scone.

Don’t be late to anthro!

The messages make you smile. Colt Grice is sweet. Tooth rottenly sweet. You look over at the clock by your bedside. If you left within 15 minutes, you’ll have enough to grab what you needed from the pharmacy while making it to class on time.

“You made it! I was sure you wouldn’t.” There’s an easy smile on the blond’s face, beaming and bright. You dramatically sigh, “Praying on my downfall, huh?”

He hands you the brown bakery bag, “Never that.”

You sink into the chair, letting out a sigh. You hadn’t done the reading, and there was a long homework assignment due tonight.

“I emailed the reflection to you.”

You whip your head in surprise, “You did what?”

He shrugs, “I figured it’d help.”

“No, I mean, I know it will. Thank you.” And softer, “But you didn’t have to.”

His hazel eyes meet yours, “You seem tired lately. I don’t want you to strain yourself.”

You wonder if tired is a code word for awful. You look awful right now, dressed in a college sweater with faded letters and a dark stain you’ve never quite managed to get rid of, and sweat pants you haphazardly threw on.

You flick his forehead, “Mean anything by that? Don’t you know you’re not supposed to say a woman looks tired?” Your expression is deadpan but there’s a teasing lilt in your voice that’s specially reserved for him.

The tips of his ears burn red, “What? No, I didn’t say that. You look great. You...a-always look great.” His response makes you grin, and you break half of the scone to offer to him. He waves his hand away, “No, that’s for you.”

He watches as you lick the crumbs off your lips, “Suit yourself.”

You’re walking back from class, side by side with Colt, hands doing an awkward dance as pinkies nearly touch. As the distance seems to close, someone nearly ambushes you as they place their large arms over your and Colt’s shoulders. The blond himself nearly jumps in shock.

“Reiner.” Colt groans, “You have to stop jumping on us like this.”

“Why?” The spiky-haired jock chuckles, “Can’t handle a little-”

“You could have hurt her.”

You roll your eyes, waving his worries away, “I’m fine. What’s up, Reiner?”

“Just was just gonna ask you if you’re coming to Zeke’s party Saturday, Colt.”

Colt wrinkles his nose as if he heard something distasteful, “The one he’s hosting at Liberio? No thanks.”

The taller blond growls at his friend, “Out of everyone, you should really come. Think of everything he’s done for you.”

You place a hand on Reiner’s shoulder, “You know...I could probably get him to come.” You wink before placing a thoughtful finger on your lips, “But I’d have to be invited right? I don’t really know Zeke…”

But you’ve always wanted to go to Liberio, the hottest nightclub in the city, wildly exclusive and glitzy.

Reiner smiles at you, flirtatious eyes zeroing in on your suggestive demeanor, “Yeah, of course, you can come. You can be Colt’s plus one,” You sigh in relief, but don’t anticipate the sneer on his face, “...Or you can be Eren’s. You’re pretty close right?”

Your blood runs ice cold, and there’s surprise written all over your face. There’s no comeback at the tip of your tongue but thankfully your best friend has always been quite perspective.

“Okay, Reiner. Thanks for the reminder. We’ve really gotta go now.” He cuts the conversation short and drags you away to a bench under the shadow of a large tree. You sit, but he stands over you like a disappointed parent.

But here’s the primetime for an awkward conversation.

“You’re close to Eren? I didn’t even know that you knew him.”

You bit your already chapped lips, a habit that the hazel-eyed boy wishes you’d quit. He fishes his pocket for the vanilla chapstick and wordlessly hands it to you.

“We’re just friends.” You grumble under your breath.

He sighs, and you hate that he’s making you feel so guilty. What do you even have to feel so guilty for?

Taking a deep breath, he starts what sounds strikingly similar to a lecture, “Eren Yeager is not a good guy, I’ve told you this before, right-”

“You literally have no right to scold me like this when you’re practically besties with fucking Reiner. And fuck, Zeke? Zeke?-”

The tall blond takes a seat next to you, watching as you rub the salve over your bitten lips, “It’s complicated,” He sighs again, a sound you’re getting tired of, “I’ve just known them for a very long time. And our families-”

A heartbeat. Both of you watch the leaves fall.

“--Shit.” It’s rare for him to curse.

“Colt.” You say.

“I’m kind of dreading it, but...maybe it’ll be more bearable with you there.”

You playfully punch his arm, happy to see him admit he did want you to come, “I think it’ll be fun. I’ve never partied with you, y’know,” You pause, looking at him wide eyes, placing a piece of hair behind your ear, looking so delectably innocent in the way you know he likes, “Wanna see what you look like drinking shots.”

“I’m not really much of the party person type.” He admits.

The club is everything you imagined. It feels like it’s straight out a scene of the Hollywood movies with the smoke, strobe lights, and beautiful bodies strewn across the dancefloor.

You’re grateful you’re wearing your friend’s dress tonight, a silky dark green number that fits your body like water. Nothing in your closet would have matched the caliber of tonight.

Colt gets a lump in his throat when he first sees you. Tries to keep his eyes on your pretty face so they don’t trail after your neckline or the skin left uncovered by the shortness of your dress. But he finds demise there too, he doesn’t want to stare too long at those kissable lips.

Still, he’s composed if not anything else. He’s too gentlemanly to touch you improperly. The hand on your back is feather-light. Doesn’t waver or tease lower.

“Remember, we can leave whenever, okay? If anything’s wrong-”

“Colt” You giggle, “Everything will be fine. Now, go socialize. Don’t you have important people to talk to?” You shoo him away, and he turns around with a look of defeat.

“If anything is wrong, come find me ok?” He affirms, and to reassure (and perhaps fluster) him, you thread your fingers between his, clasp your hands together and press a kiss on your joined knuckles, “Yes, yes. I know.”

The strobe lights shower his face in violet, and he’s grateful you can’t see how red he is.

You weave through the crowd with no particular purpose, dancing on beat to songs you can only remember half the lyrics to. There’s an attractive man who lingers behind you like he’s some ghost haunting you. You humor him because he’s way too cute to not entertain. Tall with slicked-back blond hair, broad shoulders, and an air of cockiness that should register as a red flag.

This song’s pretty. Synth heavy and melodic. The man behind you doesn’t shout his name over the music, he invades your personal space with large hands over your hips and whispers his name into your ear. Porco Galliard. The name sparks an unfortunate chord within you. Colt most certainly knew him, which means he was off-limits.

It’s okay. You didn’t come here to hook up with a new boy toy today. You came here to have fun. You could dance with him a little.

He’s not afraid to touch you, hands all over your hips, pushing you closer. He’s so close, you could smell his aftershave. Minty. If you closed your eyes, you could pretend that his hair was dark.

Porco bends his head to whisper in your ear, “You’re so intoxicating, I’ve always wanted to meet you.”

Your eyes flutter in confusion. It’s cute, the blond thinks. Not minx-like like how you portray yourself, a deer caught under strobe lights. You frown, tilting your head, “Do you know who I am?”

He chuckles, and you could almost feel the vibrations of his deep voice. “Colt never really shuts up about you.” His fingers thrum on your hip, “His best friend.” The way he says those words are mocking, and you can feel your heart sink into your stomach.

You lightly push his chest, “I-I should probably circulate.”

His eyes narrow but he doesn’t press, boldly kissing you on the apple of your cheeks and firmly squeezing your hip with the same hand that felt it was its right to situate itself there, “Come find me later.”

Definitely not, you think. That’s not going to happen.

You leave the dance floor disjointed. Maybe you needed more liquid courage. Your eyes settle on an alcove on the second floor. Tentatively, you climb up the stairs, letting your intuition guide you. You wonder if it’s some kind of VIP room, as you look at the velvety walls and the private bar to the side.

You’re about to turn around, knowing you probably won’t be let in since you’re essentially a no-body but you hear your name echoed behind you.

It’s Reiner, and he gestures you to come into the room. You mutter thanks although you’re not quite sure what you’re thanking him for.

“Some party huh?” He asks.

Not in the mood for conversation, you simply nod.

“Do you want to see Eren? I can take him to you.”

Even at the mention of his name, you could feel your heartbeat quicken, “Oh no, it’s totally fine. I’m sure I’ll catch him later.”

“But he’s right there”. And that dreaded pointer finger points to the large couch behind a table left messy with playing cards, crystal ashtray bowls, and shot glasses. It’s like you’re witnessing a stage with the bright lime-light only shining on Eren.

And the woman sprawled all over him.

Reiner nudges you towards them, even though your feet don’t want to comply. You hate him for forcing you into this situation, no exit in sight.

Eren’s eyes are closed, not like he’s napping, but merely resting. You can see the dark circles but fuck he looks good. He’s wearing a nice black button-up where most of the top buttons are left unfastened, showing off his nicely defined chest and you hate how you can’t tell who the small red marks on his skin are from. A string of pearls is around his neck, fastened like a choker. His legs are spread, his body half-sunken on the couch.

There’s a pale hand stroking his chest. It belongs to one of the most beautiful women you’ve ever seen. She’s sitting with her knees tucked under her, all wrapped up in a short glitzy dress, the shape and fit not unlike your own but you don’t think you can pull off your dress like the way she does. Her hair is dark and curly, framing her shoulders, and she has one of those unique faces you can spot in high fashion magazines.

The way they look next to each other, like Adonis and Helen, like two halves of a whole-it makes you want to eat your insides.

“Whose your friend Reiner?” She asks, the coyness evident in her tone.

Reiner beams next to you, “She’s Colt’s plus one”. You’ve never wanted to punch anyone more, although you’re more than sure you have nothing against the student football athlete built like a brick house.

The dark-haired woman coos, “Isn’t that cute? I didn’t know Colty had a girlfriend.” She pouts, “And I thought he tells me everything.” There’s a funny feeling building in your gut, twisting and reacting over the nickname.

Eren opens his eyes, disturbed by the noise. You’re not prepared to meet his viridian eyes. The “we’re just friends” you were about to utter dies in the roof of your mouth.

“She’s not Colt’s girlfriend.” His voice is cold and flat, slightly hoarse. He looks straight at you, “Right?” But it doesn’t really feel like he’s asking you anything.

You jumble over your words, “Yes um, Colt and I are not dating. We’re-we’re just friends,” You finish awkwardly.

The woman’s eyes narrow into slits as she observes the interaction between you and Eren, your frazzled demeanor giving everything away, “Do you guys know each other?” A question not even remotely addressed to you.

Taking a long hit from his disposable vape, he blows out rings. “Yeah. Same college”

Jesus. You think. All those thoughts and feelings and restless nights spent with him, and he summarizes your familiarity with each other as attending the same school which is funny because you honestly don’t know the last time Eren has attended any of his classes.

She removes his hand from his chest and brings it to you, offering a handshake. “Hello, I’m Pieck.”

You force yourself not to think about how this hand had just rubbed up and down Eren���s chest, likely feeling over the love bites she left on his torso. You shake her hand, introducing yourself with a shaky breath.

There’s no music, no distractions, a hazy dark room filled with smoke and people you were totally out of your element with.

Reiner and Pieck are talking about something, the words not sticking to your ears. Eren is staring right at you, through you. Viridian eyes staring soullessly, no words to fill the void, just him and his pretty mouth blowing out curls of vapor, nauseatingly sweet vapor that almost made you miss the cigarette stench.

You feel awkward, you feel scrutinized, and when his eyes stare at all of you, from the plunge of your neckline, the exposed calves and kitten heels you wore because you were too clumsy for grown-up heels (she wore stilettos), you want the ground to swallow you whole.

Clearing your throat, you cringe as you hear yourself talk, “I-uh, should get back. It was good to meet you Pieck.” The words come out as a rush.

The dark-haired woman pouts, “Oh but we just met. Thought we could talk a little more, you know girl to girl.” She giggles.

Reiner smirks “Let her go, Pieck. Colt’s probably worried sick looking for her.” Eren clenches his mouth at the blond’s words but says nothing.

You can hear your heartbeat thud. No words come out so you merely smile weakly and half-heartedly wave to the trio.

As you leave, you catch a tail-end of a conversation you wish you hadn’t, “Are we going back to your place after Eren?”

You reach the bar at the dance floor with lightning speed, wanting nothing but to dissolve like sugar. You ask the bartender for shots, shots, and shots, doesn’t matter what. You’ll drink the man-shaped loneliness in your heart until it bleeds out. Your throat burns but you’ve long learned to welcome the fire.

You’re about to down your third shot of clear liquid until you feel a warm hand wrap around your shoulder. You turn around, about to give a stern piece of your mind until your eyes find concerned hazel ones.

Colt. Good old best friend Colt.

Good old Colt who loved you so much everyone teased you for it. Good old Colt who wore his heart on his sleeve and would never dream of touching a cigarette.

You’re buzzed, not even properly drunk, but there’s a bubby overexcited feeling bursting out from the seams.

“Hey, are you okay?” He asks, eyebrows furrowed into worry.

You roll your eyes, so typical of him to always be so serious. “Come on”, you grab his hand, “Let’s have fun!” He lets you drag him away to the dancefloor, fully knowing that if he wanted to, he could just push himself out of your grip.

The song that’s playing is one that you and Colt have blasted multiple times in his car and that song has played so many times in that car, he swore he’d never play it again.

“This is our song” you giggle, and poor, awkward Colt who unaccustomed to dancing merely stands, peering over you with a mix of worry and puzzlement,

“I think you’ve had too much.” He tries to grasp your shoulders but you slink away in time. You’re perfectly fine, he’s just too much of a square to realize what having a good time is.

Batting your eyelashes, you look up at him, “Just follow my lead ok?” You guide his shyly eager hands to your hips. He looks at you like…he looks at you like…

Shit. Is this what Eren sees? When he looks at you? Genuine unadulterated admiration. No admiration isn’t it, this unnamed feeling has more weight.

You intertwined your fingers with Colt’s warm hands. He’s red but he welcomes the touch, moving his body to the beat, and you giggle at his attempted dancing. He laughs too and all is warm and good. So warm and good, but not enough.

You crush your lips against the blond’s and you can feel him go still. But that moment of hesitation passes because he’s crushing his lips against yours too, hand digging deep into your back. You part your mouth, kissing his teeth and his tongue moves against yours. Slowly, sensually, sweetly.

Without warning, he pulls back abruptly.

He’s all flushed, “Wait, why…why did you kiss me?” What an entirely unromantic question.

You give him a smile so wide your cheeks hurt, “You didn’t like it?”

He stumbles over his words, “No-No I did, I liked it a lot” You wish you could kill the pause, “...But…do you like me?”

You tilt your head, “Of course I like you Colt.”

He doesn’t believe you, you realize. And you’re not sure you believe it either.

“N-no you don’t.” A deep breath, “I like you a lot. I think you know that.” Your nails dig into your palms so deeply. What’s he doing? Is he getting himself ready to ride the high horse?

“It’s not that deep…” You cut in.

“No, it is that deep. I like you so so much, fuck I-” A deeper breath, “I like you too much to be used.”

I like you too much to be used.

That doesn’t make sense, does it? Don’t you make yourself dispensable for the people you love?

He takes a step back, voice so soft you want to screech, “I’m going to go home. If you need a ride back for when you decide to leave, Sasha can take you home.”

“Colt” your voice is on the verge of breaking, “You don’t have to leave.” His lips are swollen, freshly kissed.

He smiles at you, asymmetric and sad: “I should have left long ago.”

When you find Porco, there is no preamble. You whine not here and he pins you against the walls in the alleyway near the back exit of the club. It’s cold and when you exhale, you can see air. Porco is comfortably warm in his bomber jacket that he’ll never offer you. You didn’t want anyone to see you and the dark blond in the club, but it’s so cold out here.

He moves too fast, hiking your leg up, slotting himself between your thighs. He pulls your dress down without much of a prelude, feeling up your soft breasts with calloused hands. He pulls on the nipple between his teeth, “You like this huh?” Your nipples are stiff because it’s cold, not because of his frenzied ministrations.

He’s three fingers inside you when you push against his shoulder, “S-stop.”

Agitation colors his face, “What do you mean?” As if to emphasize, his bulge presses against your core.

Maybe you should let him have his way. It wouldn’t be too bad. Probably wouldn’t last very long either, but your teeth are chattering and you hate how blond Porco’s hair is.

But this is a situation. You hold on to his shoulders tightly, trying to force over the awkward words, “I w-want you to stop.”

Reluctantly, he pulls his fingers out of you, annoyance etched onto his handsome features, “You’re a fucking tease.”

And he leaves like that. You let yourself slide against the wall, knees tucked to your chin. In a second, you’ll fish your phone out and call an Uber, but for now you just want-

You’re not very sure what you want. A moment to yourself? When has a moment to yourself never been miserable?

You hide your head in your arms, ignoring the goosebumps prickling on your arms.

Your nose reacts first. Those damn cigarettes.

Raising your head up, you see the dark-haired archangel who haunts your dreams and nightmares. The street lamp’s light behind him makes him look ethereal, an angel with a street lamp halo.

Eren simply stands, watching you. You’re not in the mood to break the silence. Awkwardly, you hoist yourself up. Your heart is beating, but you don’t know if you have it in you to make yet another man disappointed. Of course, you could never disappoint Eren because he never expected much, did he? What was there to disappoint?

You forget though. Eren’s capable of apathy.

And cruelty.

“Colt ran off on you so you fucked his friend?”

You grit your teeth, “That’s none of your fucking business. And no I didn’t.”

The corner of his mouth perked up, “That’s good. You should be wary of the diseases he’s carrying.”

“As opposed to what?” You snark back, “How many sluts are you fucking?”

You didn’t mean for it to sound so bitter, but it makes him throw his head back in laughter, “Besides you, I can’t really think of anyone else.”

That’s it. You’re about to leave but a large hand overwhelms your wrist, “I’m kidding. You know that.”

You try to pull away but he doesn’t let you, instead of pulling you into him and against the wall, in the very position Colt had you earlier. But now the chances of escape seem slim to zero.

His slender fingers ghost over your jaw.

“Shouldn’t you be with Pieck right now?” You hate the way you sound, reminded of all the movies written by men with overly jealous and bitchy female characters.

His thumb swipes over your parted lips, “No, I’d rather be much with my favorite girl.”

You hate this, Hate how your heart swims up. Hate the amusement laced in his low voice. Hate how desperately you want to believe him.

“That shut you up huh?” He chuckles.

There’s a rude remark on the tip of your tongue that he swallows with a kiss. You kiss back. Teeth against teeth, mouth against mouth, his tongue dominating yours.

When it’s time to breathe, he swiftly unzips his jacket and places it around your shoulders. You’re too shocked by the gesture to respond properly. You mutter out a thanks, flustered and flushed.

His hands grope your inner thighs, thumb digging into the supple flesh. Lowly he whispers into your ear, “Let’s go back to mine.

[sufjanoflove]

Love story

Reiner Braun x Afab Reader

Synopsis: Lake date with the one and only!

Warnings: Fluff 💗💗💗; I feel obliged to write only fluff for my Reiner because he already goes through so much.

Unpacking your picnic basket filled with snacks, lunch, and drinks, you realized you forgot one thing, the dessert! You stood from your place on the dock and cupped your mouth.

“Reiner! I think we forgot the-”

“I brought the sweets, baby.” On your tippy toes, you reached for his face, landing a big kiss to his lips before grabbing the pastries and placing them in the basket.

Shimming out the big shirt you stole from Reiner, you revealed the pink bikini he always loved on you.

“I fall in love every time.” Reiner said in disbelief as he watched you. Giggling, you pulled him towards you and hugged him as you two stared into each others eyes, remembering the reasons of your love.

Remembering why you both were where you were in that moment. “I love coming here every summer, it’s our sweet tradition.”

“You’re such a hopeless romantic, Reiner. I’d say you’re in love with me or something.” You placed your hands on your hips as he chuckled loudly. You looked him up and down with the sassiest look ever.

“One, stop staring at my chest,” You rose your eyebrow playfully as he continued, “And two, you got the wrong idea, I’m married to the most beautiful woman in the whole entire world.”

Crossing his arms, he looked away, biting his cheek intent to try and hide his smirk, “She’s difficult but-”

You smacked his bicep before he could even finish the sentence causing him to belt out in laughter.

“Not funny! I am so not difficult!” You yelped as he threw you over his shoulder, jumping off the dock with you, into the river. The air becoming cool on your hot skin as you both found the air again.

Brushing his hair back, you admired the man staring at you, in the water. Alone, you had this secret area empty every first Sunday of every august for 5 years. It had become tradition ever since the day he took you out for a summer date but ended up with you two getting lost.

—

“I swore the map said turn left!”

“Reiner, if we turn left the car will end up at the bottom of the river, us included.” He stopped the car and looked out his side window, admiring the little area you stumbled upon.

“This isn’t the right place but it’s empty, we should stay here.”

“What if it’s empty because there’s a sea monster or something, I’m not taking the chance.” You crossed your arms, content on staying in the passenger seat all evening. He pulled out the car keys, leading to you growing hot, no keys equaled no air conditioning.

“Hey!”

“You’re not staying in the car, especially with no a/c. Come on, it’ll be fun!” You locked the door, making sure he couldn’t get in but since he had the keys he unlocked the door, and quickly opened it.

“IM NOT GOING!” You shouted as you both fought over the seat buckle, moments later you cried because he threw you in and you were scared a snake would make a grab at you. That day ending up with you two sleeping in the car, seats laid back as you two stared at the stars through the roof window.

—

Leading to now, half a decade later and you kept coming back with him. Caressing his face, you both stared lovingly in comfortable silence.

“You know what?” He hummed in response, “Since my belly is underwater, does that mean our baby is in a submarine? I’m a human submarine.”

He belted out in laughter, hands still on your waist as you softly laughed, “Come on! I’m serious, the baby really is in a submarine if you think about it.”

“I’m sure they’re wondering where all the sea monsters are.”

“You’re such a jerk! You know what if there was one that day, you could’ve been girlfriend-less! Stop laughing! It’s not funny!”

“You showed great courage that day, y/n.”

“Keeping playing these silly games, my love. Just remember this moment when you put in request for the name of our child. Especially if it’s a boy, I don’t want to hear ‘name it after me!’ Because I won’t name it after you Reiner, I’ll remind you of the day you threw me into a dark river knowing I’d panic!“ You playfully ranted as he simply smiled back at you causing you to calm down from your small but joking fit.

“What’d I say, you’re difficult.” He pecked you, as you let out a sigh. He always knew how to making you melt, even with the smallest touches, smallest gestures, he’d always make you fall for him ten times harder.

“I really do love you, Reiner.” Staring down in between you was your ginormous baby belly, “I can’t believe we created a human and it’s growing inside of me.”

“I can’t believe I made you a human submarine.”

—

This is how I imagined how it looked when he threw her in:

From ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandolin’ featuring Christian Bale and Penelope Cruz.

—

© sufjanoflove — all rights reserved to me, Leon, the author and creator of these works. do not claim/translate my work as yours on any platform.

[re1nerisms]

idk if you do text AUs but can you do “the scouts/warriors reacting to you sending them a cute pic of you” THANK U I LOVE U MWAH

— AOT BOYS REACTING TO A CUTE PICTURE OF YOU

thank you for the request bby!! this is my first time making a text post so I hope you enjoy 🥺💕

cw: suggestive content, explicit language

notes: the Bertholdt one may or may not be ib @jeanbeaux ‘s photographer Bert fic so check that out 👀 and thanks for helping me out with Eren’s as well!! Also the pictures used are not meant to represent the reader’s appearance, I just chose them at random lmao

Connie , Jean , Armin

Eren , Porco , Colt

Reiner , Bertholdt , Zeke

[sleepysnk]

Can I request some hcs for hate sex for Eren, Colt and Reiner you sexy bitch??😏😏😏

uh hello yes you can 😏, these were fun to write. SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG WHORE 🙄, i've been kind of slacking. thank u for requesting <3 i hope you enjoy! :)

Eren, Colt, and Reiner angry sex headcanons

Warnings: NSFW

Eren Jaeger:

- oh boy.. you should know right now angry sex happens very very often with this boy.

- you both tend to fight a lot, so angry sex happens.

- Eren would fuck the shit out of you, he would leave you so sore the next day.

- choking, spanking, you name it.

- of course Eren wouldn't hurt you, that's something he would NOT want to do.

- teasing? fuck yes, he will tease you a lot.

- ESPECIALLY IF YOU CAUSED THE ARGUMENT HE WILL TEASE YOU ALL DAMN DAY.

- he would probably degrade you, he'd call you a slut, or a whore for his cock.

- Eren would fuck you against the wall or he'd have you pinned on the bed.

- he's super dominant during angry sex.

- he does not give a fuck he yells so loudly during angry sex.

- this man would bite your neck, you'd have hickies all over your neck and chest once he's done with you.

- this man will not stop till you have cum all over his cock, he will probably overstimulate the fuck out of you.

- would probably cum inside of you 😳 ngl i see him doing that.

- super tiring after for sure.

Reiner Braun:

- ok so angry sex doesn't happen as often as it would with Eren when it comes to Reiner.

- but when you do fight and you push his buttons, be ready.

- Reiner will tear your insides apart.

- he will dominant the fuck out of you, he won't even give you the chance to try and dominate him.

- he'd pull your hair, choke you, spank you, etc.

- Reiner would pin you to the bed and not let you out of his grasp.

- you're not leaving until he's done.

- edging you? holy fuck, he'll do it so much that you'll be begging him to make you cum.

- i'm saying like... begging begging.

- Reiner would probably make you gag on his cock.

- "say my fucking name baby..."

- he'd probably make you scream his name so loud that everyone knows who you belong to.

- Reiner would cum inside of you, and he'd be so sweaty after.

- the hickies all over your body are INSANE. the man marked you up hella.

Colt Grice:

- being honest, angry sex doesn't happen a lot. you and colt rarely ever like that.

- when it does happen, it's like Colt is a whole different man.

- he does act a bit different compared to Reiner and Eren, in a way Colt is a bit more gentle?

- he degrades you, he'll call you a slut.

- i see him pinning you up against the wall and leaving hickies all over your neck.

- this baby would make sure you are okay though 🥺, he wouldn't ever want to hurt you.

- dominant for sure

- he'd purposely go slow so he can watch how you squirm and beg him to go faster.

- Colt would love hearing you moan his name.

- ok not gonna lie, he'd make you sit on his face and you wouldn't be allowed to get off.

- doesn't matter how many times you have came.

- Colt would probably make you feel on top of the world, he'd rub your clit while fucking you.

- "does that feel good? ohh yeah.. i bet it does"

- he would tease you 100%, especially when the fight you had was a bit hectic.

- wouldn't cum inside of you, but he would make you swallow his cum.

[shikiii-skadi]

‧₊˚✧♡✧˚₊‧ Back to main masterlist

.•° ✿ °•. Annie Leonhardt .•° ✿ °•.

Headcanons:

➳How Annie looks at you

➳How Annie would react if you get injured

➳Handwriting Headcanons

Imagines/Scenarios:

➳none

.•° ✿ °•. Bertholdt Hoover .•° ✿ °•.

Headcanons:

➳What it would be like when Bertholdt is jealous

➳How Bertholdts look at you

➳How Bertholdt would react if you get injured

➳You call him handsome

Imagines/Scenarios:

➳none

.•° ✿ °•. Colt Grice .•° ✿ °•.

Headcanons:

➳Colts Love Language

Imagines/Scenarios:

➳none

.•° ✿ °•. Pieck Finger .•° ✿ °•.

Headcanons:

➳Pieck is missing you

➳Piecks Love Language

➳Handwriting Headcanons

Imagines/Scenarios:

➳none

.•° ✿ °•. Porco Galliard .•° ✿ °•.

Headcanons:

➳Porco is missing you

➳Porcos Love Language

Imagines/Scenarios:

➳none

.•° ✿ °•.Reiner Braun .•° ✿ °•.

Headcanons:

➳What it would be like if Reiner had a crush on you

➳What it would be like to train with Reiner

➳How Reiner looks at you

➳Reiners Love Language (Season 4)

Imagines/Scenarios:

➳none

.•° ✿ °•. Zeke Jäger .•° ✿ °•.

Headcanons:

➳none

Imagines/Scenarios:

➳none

[erenscherub]

chapter 7a | series masterlist | chapter 8a

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

chapter summary: It’s quite unfortunate an impromptu trip to disneyland can’t fix all your problems. A flashback to the worst fight you’ve had with eren so far

pairing: eren x fem! reader

warnings: mutual toxicity (??) (reader is kind of an asshole too for not sticking up for eren... still doesn’t excuse what eren did though). angst, verbal and emotional abuse, mentions of miscarriage, implied infidelity/cheating, accusations of cheating.

word count: 5.2 k

Annie begrudgingly gave in to your requests to not inflict physical harm on Eren. A good two out of three times, Colt has to be there to hold her back from knocking Eren flat on ass.

Colt was never really a friend of Eren’s. He was always so sweet so you didn’t have to worry about him threatening your husband. However, he and Annie stood in solidarity and would glare at Eren whenever he would bother to come home or make the occasional appearance during your lunch breaks. They make sure to occupy both seats next to you in the office, the dining room, and the couch. Even your ducklings seemed to mirror the same hostility towards your husband. Eliza hasn’t allowed him to brush her hair or read her bedtime stories in the past couple weeks. Cyrus always runs away from Eren every time he tries to hug him.

Mikasa and Petra don’t pressure you to tell them what happened. Still, sometimes you overhear the two of them whispering, “what the fuck did the king of dumbasses do this time that even a teddy bear, like Colt, and a sweetheart like Cyrus are pissed in (Y/N)’s stead.”

Mikasa, Annie, and Petra may have been Eren’s friends first. But they all take your side with no hesitation and back up Colt when he insists that Eren treats you like crap and you deserve better. Since Colt’s death glares aren’t that threatening, the three make up for it by giving Eren strong nonverbal cues that they’re planning to brutally fuck his ass up the first chance they have.

Normally November 22 is the day that you and Eren celebrate your wedding anniversary. You both agreed to celebrate a little over two weeks later on December 11, with Eren having his hands full with an “upcoming deadline.” Zeke is still insistent that the dynamic duo can’t be separated just yet and Kid Wonder still has a few tricks to show Boy Wonder. He even brought over Falco from California to stay in your house too.

Annie, Mikasa, and Petra come over immediately when you call them to help you get ready. They help you choose an outfit and do your makeup.

You wait at the restaurant for two hours before you decide it’s time to go home. You’ve texted Eren 8 times asking if he was on his way and for his ETA. Called him 5 times and left 2 voicemails.

You can’t help yourself from fidgeting, crossing and uncrossing your legs several times a minute. You keep anxiously twisting your wedding band around your ring finger and staring at the entrance hoping your husband will walk through the doors soon. You keep shifting your gaze across the room and the expressions of pity on the patrons and waitstaff’s faces only increase your humiliation of waiting for so long.

Eren has not only forgotten about all your OB-GYN appointments but also your anniversary dinner that he rescheduled twice.

Whenever you think of rejection, the initial thoughts that come to mind are all the medical schools you didn’t get into, all the job positions that you weren’t qualified for, and even how the body’s immune system will attack any transplanted cells, tissue or organ that was identified as ‘foreign.’

It takes two hours of waiting at the restaurant for the thought of social rejection to be added to the list. But the tightening in your chest, the humiliation of being stood up, and the stinging you feel in your eyes were no longer ‘foreign’ occurrences.

Neuropsychological and neuroimaging research support that social rejection is processed by the same neural regions as physical pain. The sting of rejection is supposed to have a purpose. Evolutionarily speaking, our need for acceptance- to form social groups- materialized as a survival mechanism, and millions of years of natural selection has still enforced that rejection will be painful.

You text in the group chat you have with Annie, Mikasa, Jean, Armin, Petra, Levi, Zeke, and Connie asking if any of them have heard from Eren within the last two hours. When they all respond back no, you feel your eyes beginning to sting, and you’re trying to take in a few deep breaths to ease the tightening you feel in your throat. When ten minutes have passed and they’re all inviting you to join a Group FaceTime, you place a tip of $50 on the tablecloth as an apology for taking up a table for two hours and only having water.

Your brain processes emotional pain the same way it does physical injury. The experience of rejection damages our mood and self-esteem, emotional pain elicits swells of anger and aggression and results in bouts of self-destructiveness and impulsivity.

It was a sudden and rash decision. You usually like to make a pros and cons list before making plans or setting things in stone. Eren has kept a hardcover copy of the Excel worksheets in one of his big-ass filing cabinets of the pros and cons lists that you made for each of the three times you rejected his proposals and for the one time you gave in. Yet before you pull out of the restaurant parking lot, you buy two same-day round trip business class tickets to LAX without even batting an eyelash at the price.

༄༄༄

When you arrive home, all three of your Cubs are already fast asleep. Colt, Annie, Mikasa, and Petra are sitting in the living room with murder in their eyes.

You shake your head at their insistence that all you have to do is give them the green light for them, and they will kick the shit out of Eren.

You state that you need time and space to process your feelings before you discuss anything with them.

Mikasa helps you unzip your dress. Petra and Annie help you remove your makeup. All three of them help you pack a carry-on for both you and Eliza.

Colt has always had a gentle touch. It makes sense since he’s had custody of his six year old brother since Falco was two. He doesn’t wake up Falco or Cyrus even when he picks up Eliza, who is snoring between them, from her full-size bed. Even when he lifts Eliza out of her bed and buckles her into the booster seat, she doesn’t even stir. She’s still fast asleep when you, Annie, Colt, and Eliza reach the airport.

You thank the both of them for driving you and your daughter to the airport. Colt hands you a backpack that has Eliza’s iPad, a portable charger, and snacks he packed for the two of you. They both walk you as far as they can in the airport. And they still remain standing there until you’re out of their line of sight.

Eliza is more curious than upset when she wakes up in your arms as you trudge forward on the walkway connecting the terminal to the plane. She doesn’t ask at all where her father is. She doesn’t gaze furtively around the plane or squirm in her seat. Instead, she lifts up the armrest of the plane seat separating the two of you and leans into you. She tells you that she loves you and doesn’t let go.

You’re grateful that she is fast asleep the rest of the flight.

༄༄༄

Eliza actually enjoys her time in California, though she misses Cyrus and Falco. Your parents are overjoyed that they get to spend time with their only grandchild. And though Eliza loves Grisha and Carla, she tells you in secret that she loves her maternal grandparents more.

She loves her Aunt Amanda and Uncle Reiner. She loves meeting and playing with Falco’s six-year old friends- Udo, Gabi, and Zofia. She loves Disneyland even more.

Because of your insistence, she FaceTimes her father. Every time she FaceTimes her father on the iPad, she never answers any questions about you. Eren will ask if you’re both fine, if you’re still mad at him, how long the two of you are going to stay in California, and will ask Eliza to remind her that he loves you and that he’s sorry.

Eliza will always reply, “We’re fine, Daddy. We’re both safe.” She won’t talk about you further despite all his questions of what you’re doing and if you’ve mentioned him at all and if you know that he loves you.

Instead, she’ll continue to ramble on about how cool Disneyland is, how much she misses Cyrus and Falco, how it’s so much fun to play with Udo, Gabi, and Zofia, and how much she loves her grandparents in California and her Aunt Amanda.

Eren called you 89 times, left 32 voicemails, and sent you 213 messages within the first 48 hours. You stopped keeping count after you blocked him during your third day in California. And when you don’t pick up your phone or respond by the 72 hour mark, he starts trying to contact Amanda.

He’ll stay on the line even if Amanda curses him out and screams at him the same words every time, “You fucking jackass! You better hope I don’t see you again because I will fucking kill you! I will twist you like a pretzel and shove your own feet so far up your ass that your organs will spill out of your throat. I’ll make sure Reiner will finish off what’s left of you by wringing out your eyeballs!”

Amanda and Eren have always hated each other. Whenever you come to California or she goes to New Hampshire, they both have an agreement that the person visiting sleeps at Zeke’s apartment in that state. They love you and know that whenever they argue that it makes you upset. So for everyone’s benefit, they try to minimize contact between them as much as possible and at least have three feet of distance between them if it is absolutely necessary that they have to be in the same house.

You’re surprised that he won’t match the intensity of her voice or curse her out when Amanda continues to storm, “Every time me or (Y/N) blocks you, you always come back with a new phone number to bug the shit out of us! Where was this same fucking energy when (Y/N) needed you? Well?” She taps her foot impatiently, cutting him off, “What’s your excuse now, Lord Fuck-Up? She should have been with Marcel or Colt! She would have been so much happier with anyone else! Hell, any random guy on the street wouldn’t have been such a fucking asswipe like you!”

Amanda and Eren have never had the best relationship. He calls her Queen Weeb and she refers to him as Lord Fuck-Up.

Eren thinks Amanda never gave him a fair chance. She had one conversation with his brother of Eren’s prior relationship with a mutual acquaintance, Pieck. Then next thing he knows, they’re joining forces to try and break up his relationship. He sent an anonymous tip to the FBI for piracy after he found out that she streams anime on an illegal site.

Amanda thinks you’re scraping the bottom of the barrel by staying with Eren. To this day, she regrets allowing you to perform the Heimlich maneuver when Eren choked on boba the first time you two met. She will always remark out of spite to Eren that the only reason you’re with him is because she and Zeke weren’t able to buy enough time for Colt and Marcel to confess their feelings for you by the end of your emergency room clinical rotations.

You’re surprised how Eren doesn’t let his temper get the best of him. Even when Amanda yells at him for an hour, when she takes a breather, he whispers back, “I know I don’t deserve (Y/N). But I still love her. I can’t lose her. If you’re done yelling at me, can you please let me tell her that myself?” Even though Amanda will continue screeching at him, he’ll repeat that same phrase over and over again every time she pauses for air until she ends the call. He'll always call her back to repeat the process.

༄༄༄

You only talk to Amanda after dropping Eliza off at your parents and when you know it’s just you and your best friend in her house.

You haven’t told anyone about Eren’s infidelity. Yet, you open up to Amanda about the miscarriage and how Eren had rescheduled your wedding anniversary dinner twice and still stood you up for two hours. Amanda always tells you that she’s proud of you for being able to be vulnerable in front of Colt and Annie. Amanda is just as patient and sincere as Colt and Annie as she grieves the loss of your child with you.

She makes a group chat with Zeke, Colt, Hitch, Mikasa, Petra, Marcel, and Annie where they all agree with each other that Eren is a forgetful prick who takes you for granted.

Your parents have never approved of Eren. They’ll always love Eliza immensely. She’s their only grandchild. Still, they tell you that they would rather have no grandchild at all if it meant that you never had been in a relationship with Eren.

They defend themselves for telling Eliza that Eren is the reason that you’re both in California by insisting that your daughter deserves to know how shitty her father treats her mother. They tell you that it’s not your fault for marrying him. But you need to do what’s best for you and your daughter and leave Eren. They insist that you can’t let Eren trap you again with another child, especially since he wasn’t there to support you when you miscarried.

When you didn’t answer your cell for four days and he’s tired of Amanda’s voice, Eren tried to contact your parents to ask about you.

Both of your parents said it’s his fault for not treating you better and he’s an awful husband. They screamed at him that they should have tried harder to help Zeke and Amanda break up the two of you when you first began dating. They ranted that they knew from the start that Eren was never good enough for you then, is not enough for you now, and never will be. They emphasized that Marcel or Colt or even some random man off the street would have been a much better husband and the son-in-law they always wanted. They stressed that if only they had tried harder to help Zeke and Amanda set you up with anyone but Eren, then you wouldn’t be stuck with a worthless husband who wasn’t there to support you during your miscarriage and is too much of a selfish dumbass to check a calendar.

Eren stops calling his in-laws after hearing the same spiel on the eleventh phone call.

༄༄༄

Despite your best efforts, Eliza still finds out why you took her on an impromptu trip to California.

She was already upset at Eren when the normally docile Cyrus started to throw tantrums whenever Eren would try to hug him or ruffle his hair. Now her rage has only increased more, since not only did her father hurt her best friend, but also her mother.

Eliza will still FaceTime her father twice a day. But her one hour calls decrease in duration when your parents told her that Eren hasn’t been treating you well.

Even against your wishes and pleas, your parents still told her that he missed your wedding anniversary dinner and wasn’t there for you when her baby sibling died. Eliza has only talked about your miscarriage three times in total- with your parents, Amanda, and Eren.

She never brings it up with you. But you notice that she is more insistent on sleeping in the same bed as you, she’ll ask you every hour if you want a snack or want a glass of water, and will hold your hand whenever you both go to Disneyland instead of Amanda’s, Reiner’s, or Udo’s like before.

Amanda swears she didn’t mention the miscarriage or the wedding anniversary at all to her, and it was only your parents that explicitly told her what had happened. But she does confess that when Eliza asked her if it was true, Amanda didn’t cover for Eren and confirmed your parents’ statements that he hasn’t been there for you.

You’re still angry at Eren. Yet it still breaks your heart that your parents would try to turn your daughter against him. Especially when you overhear their exchange on the fifth day of your stay in California. She should be gushing about how awesome Disneyland was and how she wants to come back with Cyrus and Falco during the summer. She should be describing how her maternal grandparents and Aunt Amanda always spoil her with sugar. She should be happy to talk to her father.

Instead, you overhear how Eren expresses, “Hey, sweet pea. I miss the two of you so, so, so, so much. Even with 2,000 miles between us, that never stops me from loving you.”

A couple minutes of silence passes before Eren inquires, “Ellie, are you ok? You look upset. Did your mom do something to you? Did she hurt you? Is she forcing you to stay in California with her?”

Your daughter objects, “No, Daddy. I want to stay in California with Momma. You’re the reason I’m upset! You already hurt Cyrus and now you hurt Momma! It’s your fault that Momma was crying with Aunt Amanda.” Eren sputters out that he didn’t intend to hurt you and that he’s sorry and he loves the two of you so much and he wants you both to come home.

Eliza doesn’t seem to reciprocate his affection as she retorts, “Momma always says if something is important to you, then you won’t forget it. I know that you forgot your wedding anniversary. And I know when she was crying when my baby sibling died that you weren’t there for her at all!” The volume of her voice has increased to the point that Eren was stunned into silence for a few minutes. “It’s your fault that we’re in California because you weren’t doing a good job of showing Momma that you love her!”

You hear her huff and can picture her rolling her (Y/E/C) eyes speckled with jade. Eliza probably has her arms crossed as Eren makes up a few excuses that he was busy at work and it wasn’t his intention to hurt you.

She cuts him off, snapping, “If you weren’t so stupid and so mean to her then I would love you too! I’m only calling you because Momma asked me to and because I love her. I don’t love you at all Daddy since you’re mean to Momma!” With her upper lip curled, she screams, “I hate you!”

You hear Eren trying to stammer out some final words of how much he loves you both before Eliza abruptly ends the call.

When you chastise her later that her words to her father were hurtful, she refuses to apologize to her father. She roped in your parents, Zeke, and Amanda to defend her.

Eliza will only continue Facetiming her father twice a day because of your insistence. Even then, she will sit the entire time in silence as Eren sputters apologies and reminders that he loves the both of you.

She always abruptly ends the call when the timer she set on her iPad for ten minutes goes off.

You and Eliza go back to New Hampshire after ten days.

You were planning on taking an Uber home. But then you see Eren that is there waiting for you two at the airport.

Eliza doesn’t run to her father or even greet him. Instead, she continues to cling onto you and even sticks her tongue out at him.

The walk back to the car is awkward. Eliza acts as a buffer anytime Eren tries to get close to you. Eren brushed his hand against yours when he tried to grab the carry-on. He was going to let his hand remain over yours until Eliza kicked him in the shin.

Eliza only lightens up when she sees Cyrus, Falco, and Annie waiting by the car. You and Annie sit in the back of the car, the three kids sit in the middle seats, and Eren is upfront alone as he drives. He keeps peering back at you in the rearview mirror every twelve seconds. His knuckles are white because of how tight he’s holding the steering wheel. Yet, he’ll tap his fingers anxiously on the steering wheel when he runs into traffic on the freeway and will sigh at every red light after reaching the side streets leading to your home.

Annie stays in the guest room right next to Colt’s upstairs. They sneak into the living room and crack open the door that divides it from the kitchen in hopes of hearing that Eren will offer up some kind of apology.

This time, it’s Annie that has to hold Colt back from decking Eren when they hear him yelling at you for being selfish when he’s the one that was never there. They both discuss the best plan of action to take care of Eren without you detecting anything when your husband screams obscenities at you and when he accuses you of cheating with Colt. Annie mumbles that she wishes you ended up with anyone but Eren. Colt agrees that Zeke and Amanda were in the right for being so adamantly against you and Eren’s relationship from the start and for their continuous interference, even after you both were married and had Eliza.

They both make a pact that night to do everything in their power to make you realize that you deserve so much more than how little that Eren offers you.

༄༄༄

Eliza’s face twists into a sour expression when all of you return home and her father tells her that he missed you both.

Whenever he tells you that he loves you both, she’ll retort that he needs to stop lying because he hasn’t been doing a good job at showing it. She takes a bath by herself and refuses to let her father brush her hair.

She screeches, “Uncle Colt, save me from this stupid meanie,” whenever Eren tries to hug her. And if Eren tries to approach Falco or Cyrus, that’s the only time Eliza will willingly step close to her father. Just to bare her teeth in warning that she will bite him both verbally and physically.

She doesn’t even let him read her a bedtime story. Even with the offer of ice cream or boba, Eliza doesn’t soften up towards her father. Instead, she hugs only you good night before dragging both Cyrus and Falco to her room and slamming the door in her father’s face.

You almost feel bad for how hostile Cyrus has been treating Eren the past month. You almost feel bad for Eren for how cold his daughter is towards him. You almost feel guilty for going to California when he rages at you in the kitchen.

Eren is pulling the roots of his hair taut as he paces around the kitchen. He makes sure to keep his distance from you out of the fear that his temper will take over and he might hurt you. He roars, “What the FUCK is wrong with you? You cut and run to California out of nowhere! You took Eliza to the airport in the middle of the night! I was worried fucking sick about the two of you!” After filling up a glass of water, you only direct your attention to him after you take a seat at the island.

You’re still making eye contact with Eren, and your torso is pointed at him to convey that you are listening. But your nonchalance and composure as you sip the water only elevate his fury. “Why the hell is it that everyone else but me, YOUR FUCKING HUSBAND, knows that you gallivanted off to California with our child! Even your Boy Wonder boy toy knew! But NOT ME! HOW COULD YOU BE SO FUCKING STUPID, (Y/N)! WHY ARE YOU SO SELFISH? It’s not just about you anymore! Eliza missed a week’s worth of school. Zeke had to cover for you on such short notice that even my dad was considering coming out of retirement because we didn’t know how long you would be fucking around in California!” Eren clenches his fists and takes a couple breaths.

His eyes are currently a jade hue as he howls, “You didn’t even pick up the phone or open any of my messages! But you let Eliza call me every day and you couldn’t even spare me a minute of your time? You let your best friend and your parents curse me out and didn’t even bother defending me!” You’re taking another sip of water and he’s pissed that you don’t even seem remotely apologetic. “Even when they praised Colt and Marcel, and go on and on about how they would have been so much better for you, I didn’t hear a fucking word from you defending me and saying you don’t regret choosing me to be your husband!”

You sigh in disappointment that he didn’t even apologize for standing you up at the wedding anniversary dinner.

You tap your fingers on the counter and comment in a detached and matter-of-fact tone, “Don’t bring Colt or Marcel into this. They’re my friends.” You point at your wedding band on your left hand. “I’m married to you. I didn’t tell you to contact Amanda or my parents. You were the one that kept calling them though they repeated the same words to you every time.” Eren takes another deep breath before yanking the glass out of your hand.

You shrug as you continue, “The only thing that makes me stupid is thinking you actually care when you’re never home anymore. When you forget about the OB-GYN appointments. When you reschedule our anniversary dinner twice and don’t even fucking show up anyway.” Eren’s nostrils flare as he slams his palm down on the kitchen island.

You bet that everyone in the house is already awake at the volume of your husband’s voice. You have a feeling that Connie has heard Eren even though he’s in the next house over and he’s probably playing video games with noise cancelling headphones. You anticipate that he will text you later out of concern if you’re ok. He’ll probably tell your other friends about Eren’s rage, and you’ll be spammed with messages and calls from all of them.

You don’t even wince or make a sound when Eren continues screaming at you. “What?! You think that Colt actually sees you as just a friend? Amanda and Zeke and your parents from the start always put fucking Grice and Galliard on pedestals. They don’t know that Marcel would never love you! They don’t know that Colt doesn’t give a fuck about you! No, Colt just wants a quick fuck since you’re so fucking naive!” Eren’s jaw is clenched and you see him visibly shaking as if there’s a draft in the kitchen.

“Is that what you and that asshole have been doing every week when you’re supposed to be ‘training him’? God, (Y/N)! Did you fucking sleep with him? Is that where you two were when you both called in sick to work twice?!”

He throws the glass he took from you at the crowning of the ceiling right above the kitchen window.

You don’t flinch even when you hear the cup shatter. Eren has closed the distance between you. His face is a few mere centimeters from yours when he thunders, “How dare you fucking rope in Annie to call in sick too as some kind of a cover! I’m not stupid, (Y/N)! I know she would cover for you any day even though I was her friend first! Did you take that asshole Colt to our home and fuck him here? Or did you take him to Zeke’s place?” His wedding band flashes before your eyes as he uses his left hand to tilt your chin to look directly at him.

His hand is gentle. But his words are still venomous and spiteful as he grits out, “At least then you could sleep a little easier thinking that it didn’t matter that you were whoring around with that fucking prick because you didn’t defile the home you share with your husband!” Eren lets go of your chin but is rooted in the same place as he continues his tirade.

He’s so close that even your ears are beginning to ring from the intensity of his voice. “I’m sorry I keep forgetting shit! But guess what, I’m not perfect like Saint (Y/N) who always has to be composed and collected and always remembers everything!”

Eren throws his hands up in the air before taking off his wedding ring and tossing it on the counter. “I guess the nickname doesn’t fit anymore since you’re a cheating whore who just keeps her legs open for any guy that pretends to be your friend!” He scoffs, “That’s why you’re always with him, isn’t it? Is it even my fucking baby? Did you only come back here because Marcel didn’t want to play house? Or is it because it’s Colt’s love child?” Your palm stings after making contact with his cheek.

You hop off of the island seat and make sure to put a few steps of distance between you and your husband. You take a few deep breaths to keep the tears at bay. “It was your child, Eren. Colt didn’t even get to New Hampshire until I was six weeks pregnant. I haven’t even seen Marcel in a year.”

You pause trying to maintain your composure. “And the reason me, Colt, and Annie had called in sick on both December second and next week on December ninth was because I found out I had a miscarriage at ten weeks.”

You swallow the lump down in your throat and you fold your arms across your chest as you take more steps back from your husband.

There’s some satisfaction when the anger immediately leeches out of his eyes.

You scoff when his right hand begins tenderly stroking your arm to try and comfort you when he was just accusing you of cheating just seconds prior. “I called you. Left voicemails. I texted you countless times saying that I needed you. Both before and after every appointment and every exam. And you weren’t there. You left me on read and didn’t even bother with a quick 10-second phone call of how you’re tied up at work. Not even a message of ‘no, can’t make it’ would have been enough.” Your voice wavers and when you avoid his gaze, Eren takes the hint to let go of you.

You murmur, “I get it that the deadlines with your so-called work wife are important. But I’m your wife too.” Eren follows your gaze to his wedding ring he tossed on the counter.

Your lips are trembling. “And I just wish I was considered important to you as well.” Eren is trying to stammer out another burst of apologies and more bullshit excuses and tries to embrace you.

You shake your head at him and continue, “I can’t count on you for anything, Eren. You’re never there for me. You’re never home anymore. You never respond to my texts or my calls or my voicemails. Why would I trust you with our daughter if you can’t even make it to one appointment or at least tell me that you don’t want to celebrate our wedding anniversary?” You point again at his wedding band that’s still at the counter.

When his gaze returns to you, your voice is barely above a whisper when you ask, “Why does it matter that I didn’t tell you that I was leaving or contact you when I was gone since it’s obvious that you don’t even love me anymore?”

The house is finally silent for the next few minutes.

You see Eren is just staring at you and his mouth is twisted into a grimace. You shake your head at him. “I’m done. I’m going to bed.”

You step around him and open the sliding door separating the kitchen from the living room. You then begin to head up the steps to one of the guest bathrooms.

You’re grateful that Eren doesn’t impede your path. You’re grateful that as your tears mix with the hot water from the shower that Eren has never seen you this vulnerable.

A/N: if you want to join my tag list, change your username, or would like to be taken off my tag list (it’s fine I’ll just be crying myself to sleep if you no longer want to be notified of when the next chapter comes out) you can shoot me a DM, leave a comment, or fill out the Google form.

That’s a wrap for Book 1. Thank you to everyone who has continued to stick by this series this far. We pick it up in Fall where it only gets worse from here. It’s ok though because summer is MUCH more lighthearted though, promise. I needed to make myself laugh because the angst to come was getting a little bit too much for me to handle. Sorry but chapters are going to be coming out slower since I’ve been having bad writer’s block.

𝚝𝚊𝚐𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝: @wakatvshi @pichara @izukine @emepe @ihatelettuce @didiyogo @trumpettay @unicornlover25 @6sakusa @lukepattersin @rein4r1 @educationalandphysicalmess @deadflowerd @bbylime @ackerfem @littlemochi

[killerbananas]

Zeke x Reader x Colt HCs

🔞 mdni | prompt | masterlist | Zeke afab!reader x Colt

Warnings: smut; poly dynamics, Dom/sub dynamics, light cucking, impact play, inexperienced Colt, ropes/restraints, jealousy, masturbation, voyeurism, exhibitionism kinda, home videos, "babyboy", light dacryphilia, ??lmk

AN: For the lovely @blondboyfiend Happy to oblige my friend ♥️

🔶 I don't usually see Colt as pushing Zeke's buttons, but I think the man has an underlying need to really move him when he seems unflappable in bed. He'll watch how Zeke responds to your movements, whisper comments in his ear that make him think they were really his idea all along. For example, Colt watches Zeke manhandle you plenty so he idly points out some attractive ropes to bring into the bedroom and definitely agrees they'd look so perfect wrapped around your curvature. Sometimes, this ends up coming back on Colt too because he'll eventually have the pretty red ropes tied around the very delicate parts between his legs. Zeke has his number exactly; he enjoys giving this moment to Colt and then some as just recompense for thinking he can be sly.

🔶 Of the two, Colt's jealous and needy streak is a bit higher. Sometimes babyboy just requires a little more attention when he feels left out. It's an easy fix and tell to Zeke, but he'll play it up teasingly until poor Colt's about in tears because he loves seeing the sheer elation when he puts all the pieces back together from such a depraved state. Might even include a little cucking to rile him up more. This is where you can come in to soothe his aches too, sit right on his aching cock and tease Zeke back with the pretty picture you make stuffed full. It'll make the man drool.

🔶 Zeke is someone that likes to watch you two interact while he sits back and masturbates. Not so much in a self-cucking kind of way, but in watching his favorite people come together to fuck and think about how he wants to bring himself into it. Could even get into directing you both, especially for a few home videos. Colt definitely has to push his sweeter side to give you that smack you want even with Zeke's influence. Colt strikes me as the sweetheart kind of person that would slap your ass too hard the first time he does, rubs it, apologizing and asking if you're okay while Zeke sniggers like a little shit about it before coming up to nearly purple the other cheek to show him it's totally fine, go harder.

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