Chapter Text
Thunder and rainfall ruptured through the sky, as dark clouds encircled the areas of Paradis; the echoing pitter patter of the rain easily being able to put your mind at ease.
Despite the gloomy atmosphere that was now blanketing the scouts’ headquarters, you smiled, finding admiration in the darkening grim sky.
After all, in darkness eventually comes light, just as a rainbow soon overshadows the after effects of a brutal storm.
There. On top of the castle, sitting near the ledge of the roof were you and Levi. His head resting on your thighs as you gently brushed through his raven hair with your left hand. Your right hand remained interlocked with his, and you traced small circles on his soft calloused hands.
Levi closed his eyes, finding a sense of comfort when you were by his side. The booming sound of thunder relaying in the background was slowly tuned out by Levi; instead, all his attention was turned to you and the sound of your angelic voice, as you sang him the song he cherished so much.
For the longest time, Levi hated storms as it triggered his PTSD, suddenly giving him flashbacks to that foul night where he saw the corpses’ of his two best friends, in a shrivelled and distorted mess.
The night was brutally painful for Levi and brought memories he so badly yearned to forget. But how was such a thing capable of coming true? Not many people knew of the burden Levi carried on his shoulder- as to many people he was the stoic Captain Levi, One of Humanity’s Strongest Soldiers.
It was times like this, where sadness overtook his body, his mind resurfacing to the brutality of the darkest and loneliest memories he had to endure. Alone.
Despair filling the empty void of silence surrounding Levi.
Then out of nowhere, upon your arrival back from your monthly missions, the two of you were introduced; and it became the beginning of a sincere yet entertaining friendship.
As the two of you grew closer, Levi found himself rambling to you and telling you his life story. The stories of his past. The stories of his mother and uncle. The hidden weight on his shoulders. His PTSD and Insomnia. The Underground. Everything.
Words tumbled out of his mouth in a rapid manner, his lips occasionally quivering, as tears embellished his lower lash lines, slowly threatening to fall.
You remained silent and listened to each excruciating detail he relayed out. At the cracking of his voice, you looked up to the sky, silently – praying to take his pain away.
No one should go through such hardships in life, nor should anyone endure such suffering alone.
Tears cascaded down your face at the thought and Levi was quick to brush the tears away, as he kissed your tear stained face with a bashful smile.
You remember laughing at the gesture, considering he was the one that needed the most comfort. Yet, the action only made your heart swell and you fell that much deeper in love.
You looked at the man with such admiration, holding his face with both of your hands, as you too, gently wiped the tears outlining his waterline.
He didn’t necessarily know why he was telling you such morbid and excruciating details from his past, nor did he need to tell you. Yet, he found himself wanting to. Yearning for your comfort, and only your comfort alone.
“Being strong doesn’t suspend you from having any weaknesses, Levi. Everyone has them. You’re allowed to laugh, get angry and even cry.You’re more than humanity’s strongest soldier- you’re a human being too,” you said as he cried in your arms.
You even remember Levi randomly coming into your room- trembling in fear due to the sounds and grim colours associated with a murderous storm.
Levi. The stoic man who held up a facade in front of his comrades as he acknowledged their presence and put his best foot forward.
However, that mask quickly cracked the minute he walked into your room, as he sought out comfort in your arms.
To calm his rapid pulse and the uneasiness circulating within him during the war sounds outside, you softly sang to him that one specific song, holding him in your arms as you rubbed circles on his back and arms.
Eventually it became a habit for you two to be together during a monstrous storm, cuddling and singing to one another as you spoke about both deep and irrelevant topics.
The rain was no longer something Levi feared or despised, but something he looked forward to and embraced. The rain gifted him more opportunities to create with you, and although he didn’t say it out loud, he cherished the rainy atmosphere with you.
“Will you read to me?” asked Levi, slowly opening his eyes to face you, and you stopped singing, fully turning your attention to him.
You didn’t stop threading your hands through his hair as he spoke. Instead, you just raised an eyebrow at him, advising him to continue.
“I-I like it when you read to me. Maybe during storms, we can make a new tradition for the two of us to read to each other… or before we both go to sleep, i-it doesn’t always have to rain for us to read to one another though,” said Levi sheepishly.
Your voice was music to Levi’s ears, whether you were singing, speaking or even barking out orders at the scouts and cadets.
In all honesty, he loved hearing your voice, and that's why he asked such a question. He wanted your voice to be the last thing he heard before going to sleep.
Levi was the strongest and most stoic person you’ve come across- hell, to all of Paradis he came off as such an individual. But to you he really was a soft child when no one was surrounding either of you.
Selfish as it sounded, you were glad that you were the only person allowed to see him in such a vulnerable state.
“I love that idea,” you replied, “Any suggestions as to what you would like to read though?”
“Hm, we can start off with Shakespeare? Maybe read an act a night?” (A/n: Did such a shit exist in this world, prolly not but like we just gonna roll with it for the sake of this story LOL)
“I never pinned you as the type to enjoy something like that you know?”
“I’m not, but I heard Armin and Eren talking about how stupid Romeo and Juliet was. I wanted to see what the fuss was about,” stated Levi as he sat up from your lap.
“That book was actually pretty sweet,” you admitted. “Don’t get me wrong, the characters pissed me off a bit due to their stupidity, the boy’s were right about that. But it is kind of funny looking back at it. All things aside, the ending wasn’t exactly the worst...”
“The ending is tragic though. That’s what I heard from Eren. Or well he said it was bittersweet… and that he didn’t wanna experience going through that shit if he ever had the choice. ”
“I remember reading that to him,” you smiled, recalling a young six year old Eren perched on your lap as you read him the folktale of two lovesick idiots, his eyes wide in horror and lips trembling as his eyes scrutinized the words decorating the pages of the book.
“Hm… then you agree with what he said?”
“Do you care about spoilers Levi?”
“As long as it’s from you, I don’t care,” admitted Levi, a slight smile etching on his face.
“Well in that case… Long story short they commit suicide in order to be with the one they love,” you deadpanned, not even slightly phased by what you said.
Levi’s eyes widened processing what you said, considering you said it so casually, “And you’re telling me ‘that was actually pretty sweet.’ I thought you hated books like with a sad sob ending- or anything really that made your pathetic ass cry?”
You shoved your boyfriend, who was now slightly laughing.
“Hey I never said I loved the book, I just said it was sweet.”
“How?” asked Levi, utterly confused, “They seem like idiots, what’s there to like?”
You laughed at his response before you spoke up, “In all honesty… they are. But I thought the ending was sweet…. In their eyes, they died knowing they met the love of their life. They died knowing someone loved them with all their heart. They came to this mutual understanding that they weren’t able to survive without each other.
In my opinion, it would have been a tragic ending if they hadn’t met that one person who they yearned to marry. Everyone deserves to fall in love and have that feeling reciprocated– you know? They were soulmates and maybe in another life they found each other again.”
Levi was left speechless. He had to admit you had a point but he didn’t want to think of losing someone so close to him, especially you. Noticing his change in demeanor, your gaze softened and you pressed a chaste kiss onto his cheek.
“Hey, remember this?” you asked, as you held out both of your ring fingers, “We both made that promise four years ago. We’ve made it this far. You’re not getting rid of me that easily. We’ve been together for so long already, for years. Don’t you dare think I’m dying without a fight.”
That night in the garden, where Levi gifted you a promise ring was a memory that remained ingrained in your mind. Something you cherished deeply as the promise he made to you that day, meant so much to you. It only felt natural that you promised him something in return. So, in order to seal that deal you gifted him with a band of his own.
Levi smiled and hugged you once again, gripping you tightly, scared that if he let go, you would suddenly slip away from his grasp into oblivion for the rest of eternity.
“Hey speaking of rings… I don’t think I ever told you. That day, I gifted you the ring… Erwin briefly told me about your missions. And I was just wondering…”
“Mhm?” you replied, your face now hiding in the crook of his neck.
“Did you ever think there was life beyond the walls? I mean… you and your squad constantly left for months and you never found another community other than Paradis?”
“You’ve known me for years and you’re only asking this now?” you asked, giving a heartfull laugh, which automatically made Levi smile.
You pulled away from Levi’s grasp and now sat across from him.
“I should have asked a long time ago, but I guess I never had the chance to ask. I just assumed you were there scouting titans for Hange to test, or you know? Documenting some new species of an animal in the forest. It never… crossed my mind that you’d see people to be honest,” he continued.
“Honestly, same. You know how I came to Paradis… I was found outside of the walls at like four years old and was eventually taken in by Erwin and his father. I didn’t know shit other than fear and neglection beforehand. I don’t remember what happened before I came here.” You admitted, tears slightly brimming your vision as you recalled the loneliness and fear building up inside of you.
Levi kissed your eyes gently, and immediately wiped away the tears, “I’m sorry,” he said in a gentle tone.
“You don’t have to apologize, Levi. It’s not your fault.” You laughed, “But when Erwin decided to join the scouts, I couldn’t abandon him,” you admitted and took a deep breath. “I guess once you found your home , you would do anything to preserve it. At the time, Erwin was my home after our father died.”
Levi nodded in understanding, as he too felt like he had a home. Home was something or rather someone that anxiously awaited your arrival each and every single day. To him, home was you.
“But once I found out my capabilities and strength… I knew I had to explore the world outside, documenting every little detail and slicing titans along the way.
I literally didn’t know my own origins in explicit detail until we got to Eren’s basement. I had no recollection of Marley. Grisha was constantly telling me stories about a land filled with innovative technology.
Seemed out of reach.. Like a fairy tale. Little did we know, that shit really was the life he held at Marley.” you stated, taking a deep breath before you continued, “You know those sets of journals we found, and how one was directed to me? I still hadn’t read it- Hange did but I refused to listen to what she had to say…. I guess I’m not ready to know the truth about my own home.”
“But you do know your own home,” said Levi with a tad bit of confidence.
“Oh yeah? How so?” you questioned.
Levi intertwined his hands with yours, and the both of you smiled at how easily they pieced together.
“Marley… isn’t your home. You were raised there for four years of your life, but i-it’s like you said, home is where the people you love are located. I-I can be your home, if you’d let me that is.”
You laughed at Levi’s slight stuttering. All these years together, and he still became bashful when it came to sentimental things, you honestly found it quite adorable.
“You’ve been my home Levi and I’ll always come back to you,” you said, pressing a kiss to his hands.
Levi smiled at your response and laid back down again. The two of you sat in silence observing the droplets of rain hit the grounds.
“Hey Levi?”
“Yeah?” he asked, turning his head to the side.
“Can we dance?” you asked, now turning crimson, “As corny as it sounds, I wanna do what those people did in those fictional books Armin showed me…. I wanna dance with you...”
“You know… people might see us?” said Levi cautiously, before his eyes widened as he registered his words, “N-not that I-I’m embarrassed to be with you or anything. I just don’t know if you want the whole scout regiment knowing we’re dating?”
“It’s been what? Four? Five years now, since your squad caught us? I think we’re okay if more people find out other than those who already know … So long as you’re okay with it?”
Levi hesitated for a bit. For so long the two of you kept your relationship on a low profile, as neither of you wanted to be a part of the bustling news. But the more he thought about it, the more he didn’t mind the thought of people knowing you two were together.
It wasn’t necessarily like he was gonna shout you two were exclusive. More like, the two of you would say you’re dating, should anyone else ask. Plus, it was inevitable that the two of you could only hide it for so long.
Deep down, he wanted to show you off and brag to other soldiers that the strongest soldier in Paradis was his – someone no one else had the privilege of saying.
“Ok,” said Levi automatically, “But what about the music then?”
“We can sing to each other?” you suggested, “The rain can act as our instrumental music?”
The idea seemed odd, yet romantic nonetheless and the two of you were willing to try it.
The two of you walked back inside the castle, and left through the main entrance in order to get to the flat grounds, not even glancing at the random bypassers who gave the both of you questioning looks.
Levi’s hands rested on your waist, and the other held your hand up. He slowly led the way and softly began singing the song you’d constantly sing to him,
“ Not sure if you know this
But when we first met
I got so nervous I couldn't speak
In that very moment
I found the one and
My life had found its missing piece”
Your heart softened once you heard Levi singing to you, and you swore you fell in love all over again. Levi wasn’t one to sing, since he felt shy and had a low self- esteem when it came to some of his natural talents (other than slicing titans that is). But, with you he was more than willing to sing to you at every hour of the day… so long as no one was watching but you.
As the melodic sound left Levi, you couldn’t help but let out a smile. The song did represent Levi when he first met you. He was a stuttering mess and soon tripped over his own two feet. While you were busy laughing your ass off with Erwin, who was trying his absolute hardest to suppress the laugh he was currently muffling with his hands. Levi eyed the two of you with great annoyance, not even bothering to hide his emotions as he walked away and stuck the middle finger.
It wasn’t ‘till later where Erwin suggested he be nice to you, considering you were a high ranking officer and his sister that Levi apologized to you and befriended you.
Not wanting Levi to get sick and lose all of his voice, you thought it was only fair if you began to sing the following verse,
“So as long as I live I love you
Will have and hold you
You look so beautiful in white
And from now 'til my very last breath
This day I'll cherish…”
Before you could finish the song, Levi twirled you around, causing your words to come to a halt as he dipped you ever so gracefully in a matter of seconds.
As he pulled you back up to face him, he put his finger on your lip in order to prevent you from speaking.
Confused as to what was happening, you softly bit his finger, laughing softly.
Levi rolled his eyes at your childish actions, and rubbed his finger on his now already drenched pants. “That song… you know I think it represents us. I still remember that day those damn brats found out about our relationship…. The dress you wore that day. You really do look beautiful in white.” admitted Levi.
“It’s your favourite colour, I’m glad I was able to pull it off. Plus your tie matched my dress, I say we looked like a pretty hot couple- even if only our closest friends knew.”
“We are… I know another time where we can match those colours?” Levi questioned, scared that you might reject his answer.
“Enlighten me, captain,” you smiled at him, kissing his cheek once again to reassure him he had nothing to fear.
“When we get m-married… you’d look pretty in a white dress. A-and I can match my tie again like we did that one night,”
“W-what?” you asked in disbelief.
“Marry me, Y/n?” asked Levi.
“Wait, you're serious?”
Levi was trying his absolute best not to stutter as much, in his current situation. You had to applaud him for his effort. In reality, however, Levi was currently shitting breaks and had to stop himself from panicking any further.
Seeing you in denial, he knelt down on one knee, “I’m in love with you, Y/n. As much as I hate PDA, it kind of makes me happy… that everyone would know you’d be mine. I-it makes me happy that you’d be carrying my last name or even our children. I was gonna ask this over dinner… but shit, I don’t know why I even decided to ask now. I had this whole thing planned out and here I am asking now of all moments...” rambled Levi.
Levi fumbled around his pocket trying to find the engagement ring he handpicked for you from the market all those years ago, as he was absolutely sure he wanted to marry you a long ass time ago.
“Shit where is it?” hissed Levi, as he fumbled around his pocket a bit faster, eventually pulling out something . That something being a small piece of rope he was using earlier to tie some shit in the shed.
At this, Levi’s eyes widened and he remembered he left the ring underneath his pillow. He internally groaned and smacked his head. You watched the scene in amusement and did your best to suppress the giggles that were escaping your mouth.
Levi knew you weren’t laughing at him per se, more like you were laughing at the situation. Yet, that didn’t stop him from feeling humiliated and embarrassed that he was proposing with a lousy piece of string, “I hate to ruin the moment… maybe I can ask you again inside w-with the ring. And I don’t know, with a candle lit dinner? That was my actual plan…. Guess I just got caught in the m-moment,” confessed Levi, who was now red as a damn tomato.
“Nah, I think this is more romantic and memorable if you ask me. Continue,” you replied and you dabbed the corner of your eyes.
Levi looked at you in bewilderment, before relaxing once again, “I love you with all my heart. I’m not commanding you to say yes. It’s more like a r-request or a plea if this weird ass confession can even be called that.” said Levi, slightly getting sidetracked and he cleared his throat before he spoke up, “So uhm if you w-will, Y/n Smith will you please marry me?”
Tears were now streaming down your face as Levi finished his confession, and you meekly nodded and kept whispering yes.
Expecting a no from his lack of grand gesture, Levi just shrugged in defeat. But his eyes widened once he heard your soft whispers.
Quickly, Levi tied the lousy piece of string right above your promise ring. His hands snaked around the back of your head, bringing your head forward in order to have your lips meet his. The two of you smiling at how the events played out.
Levi was the first to pull away in order to regain his breath, speaking shortly after, “I promise that I’ll replace the ring before we go to bed tonight.”
You laughed, “Nah I’ll wear both of these so-called rings with pride. It doesn’t matter, you could have confessed with a piece of grass and I still would have said yes, you know?”
“Damn would’ve saved me a shit load of money then,” teased Levi and you playfully smacked him.
“Are we sleeping in my room tonight or yours?” he asked, changing the topic.
“Hm, it’s easier to sleep in yours since we’re already going in there.” you admitted.
Even before the status of your relationship delved deeper than friendship, sleeping with one another was already a part of the norm, due to the insomnia that kept Levi awake and restless during the early hours before dawn broke out.
At your words, Levi nodded in agreement and the two of you silently made your way to his room.
“I can’t wait for the day you walk down the aisle, you know?” he suddenly confessed.
“You think you’re going to cry, cap?” you laughed.
“Yeah… because reality is gonna hit me and I’ll realize that I met the love of my life before death knocked on my door you know?” he said.
You whacked him. “That was sweet, minus the ending.”
With both of your hands still interlocked with one another, Levi rolled his eyes before speaking up once again, “We’ll grow old together, that is a happily ever after. That's the reality I want.”
“Oh yeah? Kids too?”
“Hm… it’s your body. So A-as many as you want…” Levi whispered, ears suddenly becoming red as you guys spoke about the future. However he soon covered it with a scoff, “Even though you already took several brats under your wing.”
“Several brats that you would risk your life for,” you retorted back, “Just like how you’d do the same for me”
Levi only smiled and shook his head as the two of you reached his bedroom. Moments later, the two of you were wrapped in the blanket cuddling. A smile etched on both of your faces from today’s events.