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amyloudowning · 1 year

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Midnight therapy

LEVI X READER FLUFF

You laid alone in your bed, the silence keeping you awake. Usually when you couldn't sleep you would sneak into the captains room or he would join you until you fell asleep in his arms but you were unable to spend time together tonight due to the corporal having a late meeting with Erwin.

You and levi never got much free time together. You both had hard training most days and when you weren't learning new tactics or fighting titans you were cleaning, looking after your horses, doing chorses or had your head buried in a endless tower of paperwork. On top of that, you and Levi agreed to keep your relationship a secret so you had to deal with Levi treating you like he treated everyone else, you didn't mind though. After all, that was the man you fell hard for. Sometimes it was frustrating not being able to show the world how much he meant to you or show how proud you were to call him yours but Levi never was a lovey person and hated being spoken about so it was for the best that it stayed a secret.

Sighing, you threw your legs over the edge of the mattress and pulled yourself out of bed, hoping a little stroll would make you feel more relaxed. You grabbed the gray jumper that was laying at the end of your bed and pulled it on, the soft material instantly making you feel more settled. The jumper actually belonged to Levi, it was a small gift you brought him as a Christmas present and he'd worn it every time he spent hours sitting up late at his desk and the rare occasions you two got to just hold each other and relax. Grabbing a hair tie, you pulled your soft h/c hair up into a messy bun before tuning your doorknob and walking out.

The hallways were silent, dimly lit by the flames of the torches evenly spread out on the wall. The stone floor was sharp on your bare feet, pinching at your skin with every step as you made your way to the kitchen, tucking your hands into the baggy hoodie to stop them from getting cold.

You passed a few doors to the other cadets rooms, a small smile tugging at your lips as you realised they were all peacefully sleeping with full bellies and warm blankets. Since dating Levi, you've learnt to appreciate the small things alot more. You were even greatful for the air you breathed.

while you took the final corner, you noticed a dark figure sitting on the floor. A frown of confusion appeard on your face as you stepped closer, trying to make see any sort of outline of what was leaning against the wall. The orange flickers on the wall were just bright enough to catch two steal eyes and a sword that was clearly dropped to the side.

"Levi?" Your frown softened as you crouched down next to the male, worry soon taking over any confusion you had. "Whats wrong?" You questioned, noticing the sorrow in your boyfriends eyes. His face remained expressionless like always but that look in his eyes broke your heart.

Gently caressing your captains cheek, he leaned into your touch, his grey eyes not leaving the wall infront of him. Levi let out a sigh, his chest heavy and his heart aching. It took a few slow minutes before the raven haired finally spoke up.

"Its my fault..." he spoke quietly, his voice filled with guilt. You sat yourself down beside the male, crossing your legs as you gently rubbed your boyfriends soft cheek.

"Whats your fault?" You asked in a soft and patient tone. This wasn't the first time you'd seen Levi breaking down but it was the first time you've found him sat alone outside his office looking utterly broken.

"Their deaths... everyone's deaths..." he answered, the guilt in his voice growing stronger. "All of these people, they wouldn't be hurting so much if I did a better job at protecting them!" Levis voice started to raise as his fists clenched, his face now wearing a deep frown as he fought back a sob. "All these deaths, all these tears, all this pain... all of this because I ordered them to fight..."

Your e/c eyes widened as you listened closely to every word that left your boyfriends lips.

He was blaming himself...

Your heart tensed as your eyes shifted down to his balled fists. You could tell he was angry at himself for letting his soldiers die but deep down everyone knew it wasn't anyones fault. As much as it hurt, it was part of the war...

Frowning softly, you cupped both his cheeks in your hands and gently tilted his head so he was facing you, your e/c orbs locking with his darkened ones.

"Levi, listen to me..." you ordered in a quiet whisper, pushing yourself off the floor with your legs and moving your smaller body onto the captains, gently sitting yourself down on his lap. Levi looked at you with saddened eyes, just waiting for you to keep talking. "This. None of this is your fault. " moving your face a little closer to his, he gently rested his forehead against yours, his eyes closing as you held his face. "Everyone that died, died fighting, just like you and I are... even if you told them not to, even if you ordered everyone to stay underground, they would have been by your side fighting for their lives and their lost ones." You reminded him, every word gentle and comforting to the males ears. "Don't beat yourself up over things you can't control." You whispered, tucking Levis bangs behind his ears.

Letting out a defeated sigh, your boyfriends eyes slowly opened, revealing the beautiful gray orbs you loved staring into.

"Thank you..." he mumbled quietly, glancing into your eyes and taking a moment to admire the way the flickers from the flames made them shine. The corners of your lips turned up into a small smile as you let yourself get lost in your boyfriends eyes, both of you enjoying the comfortable silence.

You were glad you managed to cheer the boy up but that wasn't enough for you. You wanted Levi to feel like he was in control of something.

The smile on your face grew as you reached for his hand, holding it firmly and standing up. Levi's eyebrow raised at your sudden actions, his eyes watching as you raised from his lap and lightly tugged his hand for him to do the same.

Levi didn't argue as stood up, picking his sword up from the floor before giving your hand a firm squeeze. The males small action made your heart flutter, it wasn't often he showed affection outside the walls of your rooms or his office, it was the only place the two of you got any privacy. You never minded though, it was the only place you saw the real Levi. The Levi that didn't always need a strong front, the Levi that wasn't just "the captain" or "humanities strongest soldier." Just Levi Ackerman.

Dragging your boyfriend behind you, you headed back to your room, smiling to yourself as you felt the captains eyes on you. The walk back to your door was slower than before, taking in every second with your boyfriend. Levi was silent as he secretly admired you in the dim lighting. He hadn't failed to notice you were wearing the jumper you'd brought for him or the way your h/l, h/t hair was pulled up into a messy bun with shorter pieces pulled out at the front, shaping your face perfectly.

Arriving outside your room, you twisted the knob before opening the door and stepping inside with Levi close behind. Levi expected you to drag him to the bed like you usually did so you could fall asleep in ea hothers eyes but his eyebrow furrowed as he watched you head straight to your bathroom with a happy hum.

You came out a minute later with your box of cleaning supplies and a broom, a cheery grin on your face. Your room was dark but you could see the confusion on the corporals face as he watched you with a questioning frown.

"Turn the light on, Levi" you chuckled, placing the box of supplies on your unmade bed as the room lit up. Levis steal eyes widened as he scanned the room. Bed messy, clothes everywhere, shampoo bottles randomly dropped to the side, the bedside table draw half open and overflowing with more clothes.

Levi stood speechless, how did Levi Ackerman end up with a messy girlfriend?

"Cadet, you have a room inspection tomorrow." He stated coldly, his eyes shifting over to meet yours, your innocent smile earning a small scowl.

You couldn't stop the small chuckle that slipped past your lips at his seriousness. The captain side of him was starting to show and you adored it. Levi was alot softer when you were alone and he treated you like an equal but there were a few times he were unable to control it. After all, he was your captain and it was his job to make sure you looked after yourself and got all your chores done, that including your room.

"Well then I guess you'll just have to help me clean" you grinned, holding a cloth out to the older male. You hadn't planned to be cleaning at almost 1am but you worked out long before you and Levi started dating that he liked everything immaculate because it made him feel like he had some control in this messed up world. From starving outside completely alone to watching his friends lives get taken from them, watching others lose their loved ones only to be in that position a day after made Levi feel many emotions that he's now learned keep deep inside him. Levi spent most of his life feeling like everything around him owned him, controlled him, life went out of its way to hurt the boy as the years slowly worsened. Only after he earned the respect of others and his living situations got a little better did he realise he could control one thing- how everything looked. Was placed. Was dusted. He had spent years in dirt, watching the world slowly crumble but as soon as he walked though his office door to find everything exactly how he left it his shattered heart got reminded not everything was out of control and if he kept fighting the world could eventually go back to how it once was.

The captain gave you a "tch.", snatching the cloth and shoving it into his pocket. "You should know dusting comes last, brat. You have clothes all over the floor" he scolded as he pushed his sleeves up to his elbows. You rolled your eyes playfully, copying his actions before lightly falling to your knees and starting to pick up the clothes scattered all over your floor.

Levi crouched down beside you, picking up your shirts and laying them down on your bed. Not saying a word, Levi started to neatly fold each one, completely unaware you were watching his lips as a small smile threatened them. You smiled to yourself and continued picking up the items of clothing, placing them next to the neatly folded material. Levi glanced over at you, his smile soon disappearing. "Really?" The male sighed, realising just how much he had to fold. "When was the last time you tidied your room?" He questioned, his eyes narrowing making you look away from his intimidating glare.

"Last time you came here..." you admitted quietly, pulling the sleeves of your boyfriends hoodie back down and sinking into it as much as you could.

Levi rolled his eyes, giving you another 'tch' as his eyes went back to folding your shirts and trousers. "That was almost two weeks ago." He spoke in his normal cold tone, adding another shirt to the pile. You stayed silent, feeling a little guilty as you watched his hands work. Everyone knew how much of a clean freak Levi was, was it selfish of you to let your room get this filthy?

Noticing your sudden silence, the raven haired rolled his eyes and pulled you closer so you could wrap your arms around his waist while he worked. "Maybe ill just need to come over more often to make sure you're actually doing your chores" he whispered in a much softer tone before placing a gentle kiss to the top of your head. Smiling, you wrapped your arms around your boyfriends torso as he went back to folding, slowly working his way though the mountain of clothes you'd dumped on the bed. Your eyes fell shut as your head gently rested against his arm, a soft blush spreading across your cheek as your stomach filled with butterflies. Many people saw you as a strong, independent soldier with little to no weakness but just like levi, you were different around him. Levi made you feel safe and warm, he made you feel smaller and always reminded you not to have your walls up around him. He reminded you that better days were coming and it was okay to break down when needed, he reminded you how much he loved you with his whole heart. Even though your relationship was a secret and you didnt have much alone time together, he always left subtle gifts for you, took extra time to make sure your tea was perfect, he was always willing to stay up late just to make sure you went to sleep feeling loved. Ever since he asked you to be his girlfriend, he's always made sure your ODM gear was working before checking his own, made sure you went to bed with a full stomach and even brought you expensive shampoo on special occasions.

Once the final shirt was folded and added to the pile, Levi looked down at you half asleep on his arm. the small smile slowly came back as he carefully moved out of your grip, gently shaking you awake. "If im going to clean your room youre going to be keeping me company" he hummed, amused by the big yawn that left your lips followed by a tired whine.

"bu-" you started protesting but quickly got cut off by the handsome male "no buts. You're lucky i'm not making you clean." he stated simply, earning a huff from you as you plopped down onto the bed, crossing your legs with a tired smile "I'm very lucky, i have you." you mumbled under your breath, smiling to yourself.

Levi heard your comment but decided to ignore it as he picked up the pile of clothing and neatly put them away, his heart feelng warm. Levi wasnt one to make comments like that but he still appreciated yours, it was one of your cute little ways to show how much he ment to you. once your clothers were finally where they should be Levi started picking up the two random shampoo bottles you had clearly thrown to the side and a wash cloth, taking them to the bathroom and placing them uder your sink.

You heard more bottles being moved followed by the sound of scrubbing. Leaning over to peek around the doorframe, you saw your boyfriend scrubbing the counter, a smile spreading across your face as you noticed his content expression. Your eyes admired him happily, your chin resting comfortably in your palm as you sat there peacefully watching your captain work.

"what are you looking at, brat?" Levi spoke suddenly, cathing you off guard and causing your entire face to turn a dark shade of red.

"N-nothing!" you stuttered, looking away embarassed, your ears heating up.

Levi rolled his eyes playfully, letting out a rare chuckle as he folded the cloth and placed it next to the bottles before walking over to you, his body standing next to the bed.

"are you sure about that, Y/N?" he questioned, leaning down to whisper in your ear. "i could feel your eyes on me, brat" he whispered teasingly, a smirk tugging at the males lips as he felt the heat coming from your cheeks.

leaning back on the bed, you playfully pushed the boy away and shook your head. your e/e eyes locked with Levis grey ones, your blush slowly fading as you gave him a loving smile. The usually intimidating man returned your smile, leaning down and pressing his soft lips against your forehead.

you felt your heart warm as soon as his lips touched your skin, the butterflies now alot stronger.

Levi placed one more kiss on your face, this time on your nose before pulling away, earning himself a cute pout from you. "Leviiii come to bed" you whined, propping yourself up on one elbow as we went back to cleaning, now tackling your bedside table.

"if you weren't so messy id be able to" he replied, stripping the draw from all the items that were carelessly stuffed inside. letting out a huff, you sat up properly and watched, slightly embarassed by the state of everything. Levi had no complaints as he carefully oraginsed everything, taking the extra clothes and neatly putting them away, re-organising the paperwork you had been assigned and neatly placing it back into the draw before putting your hair brush, a few hairbands and a book he had brought you next to the pile of papers ready for you to just reach over and grab in the morning.

The male gave a small nod of approval at the now tidy draw before cloing it and scanning the room. Everything had been put back where it belongs, the only thing that needed to be done was the dusting.

you sat quietly watching Levi. You were glad he was feeling better, the captain had a habbit of blaming himself alot and you were the only one awear of it so whenever Levi would blame himself you made it your personal mission to cheer him up.

It wasnt long before evrything was dusted, everything freshly wiped down just the way Levi liked it. A smile pulled at your lips as Levi finally finished. Leaning back, you held your arms out for Levi to lay in. Turning his head to face you, Levi flicked the light switch before heading to the bed and collapsing in your arms.

You wrapped your arms around yoour boyfiend, feeling him lay his head on your chest as you gently stroked his hair.

"Thank you, y/n" he mumbled gently, tiredness finally hitting him. Your heart fluttered at his words, him confirming you managed to help the poor boy.

"youre welcome" you ehispered, just holding Levi close to you as you placed a small kiss to his forehead.

only 3 minutes passed before you heard the boys gentle breath pass his lips, his eyes closed and his whole body relaxing as he drifted off intoa peaceful slumber. You stayed awake for a while, just taking in the night you had with Levi. You were truly inlove with this man and just like him, you were willing to stay up extra late just to run your fingers through his hair or place small kisses over his face.

"I love you, Levi." were your final words, gentle and full of truth as you let your eyes close, falling asleep almost immediatly.

Feel free to check out my anime store!! It would truly mean the world to me 🥺Ohayoangels.com!!

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im-ragav · 2 years

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Eren Yeager supremacy...

Hi guys I'm an artist on Instagram and this is my first post on tumbler hope you like it

#anime #anime art #art #anime aesthetic #eren yeager #eren jeager x reader #eren x mikasa #shingeki no kyoujin erwin #singeki no kyojin #attack on titan #aot fandom #eren aot #gaming #comics #levi aot

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itsnathateasy · 3 years

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based on this prompt list!

43. “your hands are so cold” 27. “are you bleeding?” 32. “you’re everything to me, can’t you see that?”

warnings: blood (other than that, i guess none)

word count: 968

modern au // hange x fem!reader

summary: you and your s/o hange seem to be facing every single obstacle on what started as a chill day in the countryside

-Author’s Note: Don’t hate me, this is my first work!

Taking a few days off work to spend with your favourite person was the best decision the two of you had made in the past months. Hange definitely needed a break from her beloved research and you were more than glad to work remotely for a few days. What could be better than renting a cottage for a week? The weather was amazing, the air so fresh and the place even had its own, admittedly small, pool!

“Hey y/n jump right in!” Hange excitedly screamed as she raced across the garden and dived into the pool, splashing you with water as she fell inside.

“I will later love, I’m busy sunbathing now” you stated and applied one more layer of sunscreen.

A few minutes passed and Hange was surprisingly quiet while in the pool. You figured it was because you hadn’t joined them yet, otherwise, they’re the bubbliest person when relaxed. You lazily sat up from your seat and removed your sun hat and glasses before laying them on your sit.

As you turned around to walk to the pool, you noticed Hange wasn’t quiet: She wasn’t there. You’d only turned your back for a moment, where could they have gone?

“Hange where are you love? I’m going into the pool!” you half yelled, half spoke while scanning the place, looking for her.

As you were stepping into the pool, Hange surprised you from behind some bushes with a bucket full of water that she oh so gracefully poured all over you, making you lose your balance.

A few moments must’ve passed, you thought. Why am I on the floor?

“OH MY GOD Y/N ARE YOU OKAY?!?!?!”

Your head was spinning. You tried to speak yet no words came out of your mouth.

“BABE ARE YOU BLEEDING? OH MY GOD YOU’RE BLEEDING!?!?!”

You felt a pair of hands cupping your face, holding it upwards. Only then did you realise that you were sprawled on the grass, the merciless sun sending hot rays directly into your eyes that were blinding you.

“Your hands...” you began to say but what with the bleeding, what with the sun and your own confusion, your words trailed off to nothing.

“What? What about my hands? Can you see me? How many fingers am I holding out for you?”

Hange was wide eyed. You could tell that whatever happened, she was agonised. You did your best to focus your vision and answer her.

“It’s four fingers Hang. And your hands are cold.”

“Babe you scared the heck out of me! Don’t ever do that again!”

“You did come at me with that bucket and made me miss my step though babe. Don’t do that without warning me first. Especially not when you know I’m looking for you.”

Hange was gazing into your eyes. Only then did you notice that her eyes were red and pooling with tears. Her lips were quivering and her entire face was flushed.

“Don’t you think I’ve already regretted that stupid prank? It was a mistake and I apologise. You don’t know how scared I was. I was shaking you, gave you Heimlich and you wouldn’t respond. You gave me the heebie-jeebies before you finally spoke.”

You knew she wasn’t lying. Hange isn’t one to lie. It was just a joke gone terribly wrong.

You heard Hange sniff, face turned to the floor, deeply staring at it. You put your hand on their chin and lifted their to face you. At this point, they were crying uncontrollably. They began to sob after making eye contact with you and fell into your arms. You held them there for a bit, soothing them by gently rubbing their back with your hand, patting their hair down and giving them kisses atop their head. When they’d calmed down, they pulled away, not letting go of your hands though.

“Now, to get you cleaned up.” She gave you a forehead kiss and walked inside the house, coming back out soon, carrying some cotton patches and rubbing alcohol.

“Again, I’m sorry about what happened. I really never meant to make you trip” they began to explain while spraying the piece of cotton with alcohol. “You had a bad trip there, landed on your temple” that they gently patted with the cotton, cleaning it of the mess the blood had made.

“Does it seem serious?”

“Not really, it’s a superficial cut. Would’ve been worse though, had you fallen on your ear. You’d need a hospital for sure.” They kept patting you clean for a few minutes, making sure there was nothing left. They put such care in the task, eyes fully focused, tongue slightly sticking out of their mouth because of how much thought and concentration they were giving to the care of your wound.

“There you go. All set” they said and gathered what was left of the medical supplies, before walking towards the house once again.

“Where do you think you’re going?” You exclaimed and reached for their hand, stopping them from moving any further away.

“Aren’t you mad at me?”

“Just a tiny bit. Can’t stay mad at you for more than a minute or two. You’re everything to me, can’t you see that? You could’ve killed me and I would’ve thanked you.”

“Don’t say such things! I’d never kill you!”

“Even though you almost did?” you said playfully, an eyebrow raised.

“Oh, now you’re asking for it” they stated in that deep, coarse voice of theirs, quickly proceeding to tickle you and place soft kisses all over your face, giving you kitty licks here and there that they knew would get to your nerves.

“You can put that mouth to better use, you know. A use that won’t irritate me.”

Hange’s face flushed once again for the day.

“Oh. You know I will.”

#aot #attack on titan #snk #singeki no kyojin #hange zoe #hange #hange x reader #hange x y/n #hange au #hange zoe au

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superhero--imagines · 3 years

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I’m going to write a love story between a writer and a musican-is it a shameless self insert? No I have shame, I’ve just chosen to conceal it for now thanks for coming to my Ted talk-

#singeki no kyojin #harry potter imagine #harry potter #harry potter headcanon #harry potter hogwarts mystery #george weasley #charlie weasley x reader #george weasley x reader #charlie weasley x jacob's sibling

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astralwaifu · 2 years

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I want to start a sort of series where I write xReader fics based on random songs I shuffle on my playlist. Since my requests are still open, send characters u want to see (from MHA, AoT, JJK and I’m adding Chainsaw Man) and maybe songs!

#bnha #mha #bnha imagines #my hero academia x reader #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen x reader #aot x reader #attack on titan #snk #singeki no kyojin #reqs open #send requests

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clarkesrifle · 3 years

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Title: The Forgotten Day Pairing: Levi Ackerman x nb!reader Warnings: None, no spoilers Genre: Fluff Word Count: 2.2k Summary: The Survey Corps had no time to remember birthdays -- it was a miracle that anyone knew each other’s name, really. Imagine your surprise when you found a crudely-wrapped item with your name on it on your forgotten day. Ko-Fi | Requests! Notes: Unedited, written when I was lonely.

The Survey Corps had a high turnover rate, as was natural with the profession. How many had died since its establishment? Were any of them remembered, or was all that was left of them was a tiny inscription within the seemingly endless book of those that died in the service to humanity?

Birthdays were unimportant. For some, remembering that comrades were human beings with families, lives, and histories made their duty too difficult. It was decidedly easier to ignore those things. Comrades, at the end of the day, were a means to an end. A partnership doomed to fail. It was easier to forget about them when you didn’t know their important days.

It was hard for you to grasp at the beginning of your tenure. Despite your family’s economic status within the walls and regardless of your experiences with your birthdays, you found it difficult to trust the people around you when you knew so little about them.

Where are you from? Have you seen a titan before? Why did you enlist? Have you killed one before?

Sometimes, it was difficult to discern whether your friendships were born out of genuine care for each other or rather the respect that was necessary to function together as a unit.

Captain Levi had intrigued you from the start -- so many rumors about him lingered throughout the walls. He was a bonafide celebrity and a mysterious one at that. How many families told stories of him? How many children’s nightmares were soothed by the mere mention of his name?

You remembered the first time that you had ever seen him -- the Scouts marched through the quad on horseback, passing through Shiganshina’s marketplace. You crawled on top of the fruit stand’s fabric canopy, feeling it dip underneath your weight. You were so small then, it feels like.

Levi walked his horse into the quad, directly behind Commander Erwin. How could so much strength and resolve lie within such a small body? He didn’t strike you as overtly handsome at first glance. No, your appreciation for his appearance grew slowly over your years wearing your wings.

Admittedly, the years that you did remember your birthday were lamentable. Days off within the corps were few and far between, and when your birthday didn't matter, you couldn’t exactly do anything for it.

Your body felt as though it was about to explode; training only grew more intense the longer that you were enlisted. You supposed this burning pain was worth it -- the Scouts couldn’t risk any more people than necessary, and the best way to prevent deaths was extreme preparedness.

Your squad leader, the infamous Levi, pushed you harder each day. Keeping your cool, both physically and mentally, was difficult whenever he was around. Impressive was the least you could say about your captain.

He seemed peaceful whenever he trained, as though he were relaxing lakeside -- you allowed yourself a quick moment to picture Levi lakeside -- without a care in the world or a titan to slay. It was mesmerizing to watch him use the ODM gear; it was as though he were performing a beautiful and intricate dance.

Much to your chagrin, he ordered you to clean the muck from the stables and care for the hooves of the horses following training, a task that would surely take you hours. Levi, in all of his mysteriousness, was particularly anal about cleanliness.

Being alone with your thoughts was particularly distressing on your birthday. You couldn’t help but wonder about the people you’ve lost -- how many birthdays had they lived? How many more would there have been? Why were you given the privilege to live when they were gone?

For some faces that lived behind your eyes, you regretted not knowing them more. You noticed with anguish that many of those faces lost their sharpness in your memory, the years replacing their features with blurs and blobs.

The moon was rising by the time that you finished your appointed task. Your lower back throbbed, your calves screamed as you climbed the stairs towards your lodging.

Your room was perfectly modest -- only a bed, a dresser, and a desk were provided to you. The pillow was flat; you were not the first nor the last to use it. The blankets were made of a course and itchy material but did its job well enough.

Blinking, you noticed a horribly wrapped item sitting upon your bed. It seemed to be covered with the same paper the captains write correspondence with, tied with twine. Written on it was your name in nearly illegible chicken-scratch, but still, it was your name.

“Um,” you mumbled under your breath. Sitting before the present, you undid the complicated knot with your calloused fingers. Inside lay a book; it was leather-bound, old, possibly expensive. The inside of the wrapping paper had a small note written on it, which read: It's your birthday. Congrats on not getting munched on for another year.

You gasped quietly. It was your first birthday present in years, possibly ever. After the initial shock had worn off, you hungrily opened the book, skimming through pages after pages of incredible drawings, information about a world you'd probably never see.

You flipped back to the beginning, noticing that whoever gave you this gift had left a small note just under the first chapter heading: I keep hearing about the world outside of the walls. Thought you might be interested.

Closing the cover, you held the book tightly to your chest. Thank you, you thought to yourself.

Hearing Armin speak of the sea intrigued Levi. Throughout his life, he had never allowed himself to think of the world beyond the walls. By the time he went on his first expedition outside of them, he could only think about titans.

He had first noticed you upon your entrance to the corps. Erwin had given a rousing yet truthful speech, as he did at every graduation. Levi stood offside the stage, taking in the group of cadets that had stayed.

The Captain had long become used to seeing the fearful faces, the determined faces, the strong, the angry ones. Yours, however, intrigued him.

You looked resigned.

You looked incredibly aware of the sacrifices you would have to make, the people that you would lose. You looked so painfully aware of the trials and tribulations to come. It seemed as though you were the only cadet that understood the reality of being a Scout.

So he pushed you. He knew deep down that he pushed you harder than the others. Levi had even requested you to be apart of his squad. Erwin had looked at him with curiosity at that, only Levi, who could read the man better than anyone else, could see it.

It had been Erwin who had first noticed your feelings for your squad leader. You had been subtle, truthfully, and only a man as detail-oriented as the Commander could see.

He had noticed it after you delivered tea to his chambers, where he, Levi, and Hange were having a meeting to discuss the budget for the next quarter. You had lingered a mere millisecond when you handed Levi his cup, skin grazing against each other so gently. Levi had been surprised at just how much he felt at that slight touch, how much heat erupted on his hands.

You did not stay long after that, wishing Hange a goodnight with a gentle squeeze to her elbow -- Levi was unaware of the friendship that you two had.

Levi glanced at his Commander, who smiled over his teacup, looking pointedly at him. "What?" Levi asked. Erwin shook his head, a low chuckle coming from him. "What?" Levi asked again, impatiently.

"Nothing," Erwin replied, a soft smile gracing his features. "Just don't let yourself get too distracted, Captain."

He refused to elaborate.

Hange was the next to notice. You volunteered your extra time, particularly on your loneliest days, to help her with various experiments. Most of the time, you were on standby, looking out for Erwin. It was very clear to you that these experiments were largely unapproved.

Levi visited Hange's laboratory one day, a ration bar in his pocket. You may not have noticed him slip the bar into your bag's pocket, but Hange surely did.

It had taken plenty of prodding on the scientist's part to get Levi to admit a certain level of care and affection for you. You had been hurt slightly during an expedition. It was nothing serious, and yet the Captain insisted that you stay behind on the following day's adventure. You had fought tooth and nail to convince him otherwise, which landed you a day's worth of paperwork for insubordination. He strategically picked the following day, forcing you to miss the mission to finish the massive pile of work that was needed in a short amount of time.

"Y/N'd just be dead weight," Levi grumbled to Hange after she had cornered him. "I'm not going to babysit someone just because they got hurt and were too stubborn to heal."

Hange scoffed at her shorter friend. "It was only a twisted ankle, y/n was cleared for the mission immediately."

"I'm not going to risk another brat being killed because of a stupid, unhealed injury. That's final." Levi looked below them, taking in the four-meter titan underneath them. Easy.

He triggered his ODM gear, rearing his arms backward and slicing forward at the beast's neck, grinning as the nape fell off of it towards the ground. The titan fell, mouth agape, onto its side. Landing onto a tree limb, he scoured the forest floor for more.

Hange was not far behind. She landed beside him, intent on harassing him until she was satisfied with his answer. He rolled his eyes. Maybe it would have been less of a hassle to keep Y/N in the game. Babysitting didn't seem as awful as being stalked.

He hadn't meant to overhear Armin one night, but the conversation intrigued him. The sea. A forest that not even with fifty gas reserves could he traverse. Small pieces of white, cold fluff falling from the sky like a gentle rain.

A strange warmth built in his chest -- he could picture it all easily, but he couldn't picture any piece of the world without you being there with him. Levi wasn't sure how he felt about that.

He had crashed into an abandoned home after slaying a titan. He needed a moment to refill his gas tanks, and he needed a place under cover to do so.

Levi had landed in a library. Books covered most of the floor, the walls, the tables throughout the room. Besides the dust, the new debris, and the vines growing into the building, it seemed as though life had been suddenly paused and could start again at any moment. Strangely, he felt like he was intruding on something.

He found himself drawn to a book, hidden at the back of a shelf. The books that had once been in front of it had been thrown to the ground in the mad dash to escape the titan-infested city.

The spine of the leather-bound book had a portrait of a snow-capped mountain imprinted into the material. A mountain. He hadn't heard of one before he had overheard Armin that one night.

It had been covered, hidden.

Illegal, he realized. Interest built in his chest, he grabbed the book and flipped through it quickly, looking at the intricate drawings. He thought of you.

Slipping it into his waistband, Levi left the library through the way that he came.

Shamelessly, Levi dug into the records in Erwin's office long after the Commander had retired to bed. Y/N L/N, he read, yanking the file out of the cabinet and searching.

Six months away.

He made a note of it before slipping the file back into the cabinet and pretended he never did anything at all.

In the days leading up to your birthday, he found himself busier than he had expected. He had hoped to wrap the book days in advance, but life never turned out how he wanted or expected. He waited until after training and bought himself time by asking you to clean the stables and care for the horses.

You were just as fastidious as he was when it came to keeping things clean, something he was impressed by and thankful for at this moment.

He hadn't the time to go into town to buy proper wrapping, so he improvised.

Being a soldier was about improvising a bad situation into something better.

Something better was wrapping the book in stationary. "It looks like shit," he mumbled to himself. He attempted to save it by tying it with twine, but he looked out of his bedroom window and saw that you were already heading back towards the barracks.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, he thought to himself. Undignified, he ran up the stairs towards your bedroom -- which he knew was yours based on how pristine it was -- and dropped the book onto your bed without much thought.

The next day, he watched with a rare smile as you read in the mess hall. Happy birthday, brat, he thought to himself. He took a sip of his tea, savoring it.

He wasn't sure if the warmth in his chest was from your appreciation of the gift or the heat of his drink.