Work Text:
The soft, cool breeze was what woke him up from yet another long and peaceful slumber, pulling him from the dark and dreamless void of his unconsciousness. As his eyes fluttered open, he found the scent of lilies engulfing him, a reminder of the life he was given back. The light from the window left open trickled into the room, illuminating the tangled, white sheets, and the articles of clothing that were hastily strewn across the floor. The very first thing he saw was her serene, peaceful face that was pressed against his right shoulder. Her right arm rested against his chest, her snores a quiet lullaby.
Levi felt his heart swell and he found himself gazing at her face -- from her long lashes to her hooked nose, and finally to her rosy lips. A single tear ran down from the only eye he had left. Air was still passing through her nostrils. Her chest still rose and fell in a rhythm. And most of all, she was glued next to him, never leaving his side. The happiness and contentment were overwhelming, and he wondered, after all the lives he had taken, after all the lives taken from him, how had the universe blessed him with such a beautiful gift?
He shifted his position and embraced her, the person he had loved and cherished for so long, the person who brightened his days and enabled him to keep moving forward -- the person who saved him, in every way a man could be saved. He buried his face onto the crook of her neck, hands sliding across her back, grasping onto the only anchor he had left in that world that didn’t seem as cruel as before. She smelled like lilies and lavender, still fresh from the bath he had taken with her last night. He closed his eyes and memorized the scent, memorized the feeling. Everything was okay now.
She stirred against him, instinctively wrapping her arms around him as well, “Good morning,” she mumbled groggily, voice still laced with sleep.
He didn’t respond. Instead, he started to place soft kisses on her neck and trailed his lips down to her bare shoulder. I love you , he thought as he hugged her tighter. He sighed as her fingers made their way to his head, carefully caressing his hair.
“Bad dream?” Hange asked softly, intertwining her long legs with his. The truth was, Levi didn’t dream of anything. The nightmares had been recurring and vivid right after the war ended, and he often laid awake every night, unable to get an ounce of rest. However, as time went on, those haunting images faded into nothingness, leaving him with nothing but blissful darkness.
When Levi didn’t respond again, Hange pulled away just enough to rest her palms on both of his cheeks. Her remaining eye studied his face, looking for any signs of discomfort.
“I’m fine, four-eyes,” Levi breathed deeply, their respective eyes meeting each other. He reached out and tangled his fingers in her hair, playing with the soft strands which normally harbored an ungodly amount of grease and dirt. Hange frequently kept clean now after they started living together. He let his hand caress her cheek, drawing tiny circles on them with his thumb.
Hange flashed him a small smile, the understanding coming to her at an unnatural speed. She pulled him closer until their foreheads were against each other, and said: “I’m right here clean freak.” her voice soft yet firm, “I always will be.”
Levi closed his eyes and they lay there, a mess of tangled limbs and sheets and beating hearts. He kissed her forehead, the touch a testament to his overwhelming love and affection for her. I love you, he thought over and over again, those three words consuming him. It had taken him such a long time to pinpoint those feelings and accept them, but he was there now, and he swore he’d tell her how he felt about her every day for the rest of their lives.
Hange pinched his cheek which made him open his eyes in surprise. She giggled and slid her hand to his arm tenderly. “You’re just the cutest .”
He knitted his eyebrows and pinched her side, causing her to yelp and slap his arm. “Hey! What was that for?”
“For ruining the moment,” Levi said, glaring at her, slightly annoyed.
“Aww, Levi,” Hange purred, ruffling his hair, “but it’s true! You really are the cutest. The cutest little--”
In a flash, he was right on top of her, his hands pinning her arms on both sides of her head, effectively cutting off her words.
“You better stop right there, four-eyes,” Levi said as the blanket slipped from his body, the playfulness evident in his tone, “Or I’m not making you breakfast.”
Hange pouted before her lips turned into a sly smile, “Why Levi,” she said, a knowing look to her face, brown eye glistening with amusement “if you wanted to finish off what we started last night, you could have just told me.”
He felt the blush dust his cheeks before anything else, “That’s not--”
It was his turn to be cut off as Hange pounced on him, taking advantage of his distraction and pinning his arms as well. She let out a boisterous laugh as Levi’s face fully turned red from their positions.
“Look at you,” Hange said, still chuckling at his constipated-looking face. “Humanity’s strongest, and humanity’s cutest .”
“Shut up,” Levi spat out. Though his annoyed tone indicated otherwise, he secretly loved being doted on by Hange. It was evident in how he didn’t even make a move from her grasp even though he was fully capable of doing so.
Hange laughed again before leaning down and planting a kiss at the corner of his mouth. She affectionately stared into his eye and smiled, “I love you too.”
Levi swore under his breath, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he took in her beauty. Not only was she beautiful physically, but every fiber of her soul was. She always understood him, befriended him, and stayed with him. She always fought for what was right and easily accepted others for who they were. She stood by her decisions and took responsibility for her actions. She was beautiful , in every sense of that word. Her eyes shone in amusement as she took in his lack of response. Carefully, she got off him and sat by the edge of the bed.
Shaking away his crushing thoughts, he sat up, took her hand, and kissed her knuckles. “Wash up. I’m gonna start making breakfast.”
Hange nodded, wrapping the blanket around her body as Levi got up and started plucking the strewn clothes across the floor before dumping them in the laundry bin by their bathroom. After getting a fresh set of clothes from the closet, he changed quickly, Hange watching his every move.
As he was about to leave the room, she called out his name.
He spun around, taking in her disheveled appearance, her brilliant eyes already covered by her glasses.
“Thank you,” she said, smiling even more brightly than before.
He finally graced her with a small smile of his own. “No, thank you , four-eyes.”
Thank you for staying with me.
He stared at her longer than what was deemed necessary, engraving her into his memory once again before gingerly closing the door. And because his eyes were clouded by her beautiful face, because his nose could only smell that of lilies and lavender, and because the only thing he could hear was her laughter -- he fell, not noticing the medium-sized box on one of the steps as he made his way down the staircase.
The curses he let out didn’t make up for the pain he felt throughout his whole body. He willed himself to breathe evenly, trying not to focus as much on the bruises he felt forming on both of his legs. He had felt immense physical pain throughout his life, but nothing had been as worse as this. Ignoring the protests of his body, he pressed his palms against the wooden floor and pushed himself up, choosing to sit down instead of standing. Once his heart was calm and his breath was even, he finally directed his gaze towards the staircase, surprised to see not only that stupid box, but as well numerous pieces of paper, clothes, and different types of clutter that littered about.
He cursed again as his old injuries started to bite at him, and he had to remind himself that this was one of the consequences of living with such an abnormal. Though Hange often bathed now because of him, she was still a messy person to the core. He could have sworn, however, that he wouldn’t have allowed such a mess to accumulate. On the stairs, out of all places.
Before he decided whether or not to go back up to reprimand her, the sound of heavy knocks against the front door made its way to his ears. He stared at it, perplexed. Just who would visit them this early in the morning?
He braced himself, leaning against the wall for support as he slowly got up from his position. He grimaced as he felt another wave of pain across his body. At the core of it, he was no longer the same soldier as he was before. He was more than okay with that, especially since he was finally liberated from people’s expectations of him. They were entering into a new era where Levi Ackerman was no longer needed in the front line. However, it was times like these where he wished he had his old strength back. Falling down the stairs like some old man was simply too embarrassing. It was a good thing Hange didn’t hear him or he would have been subjected to constant teasing throughout the whole day.
With a slight limp, he walked on over to the front door and threw it open -- annoyed at both his situation and at the person for dropping in at the perfect time.
Dressed in a dark suit and blue tie, Armin Arlert had become what it meant to be a young gentleman. With his neatly cut blonde hair held back, Levi could see those ocean eyes perfectly and so he didn’t miss how they widened when they finally faced one another. What in the world was he doing here? Especially this early in the morning?
Crossing his arms and leaning against the door frame, he asked exactly that.
Armin observed him carefully with wide eyes. The surprise, however, quickly morphed into an expression Levi couldn’t exactly pinpoint. After a couple of seconds passed, the younger man finally cleared his throat and spoke, “I wanted to see how you were doing, Captain. And--” he paused, his voice harboring a slight edge to it, “Uhm, Hange-san.”
Levi raised an eyebrow in confusion. “This early in the morning?” he asked. He didn’t really mind -- it was a nice surprise to see one of his old squad members since they all lived in the capital and helped run the island. He couldn’t even remember the last time he saw Armin. Or anyone else for that matter. They could have just picked a better time to do it, especially since the sun still hung low in the sky.
With a pained expression, Armin opened his mouth to speak, about to tell him something significant, but immediately decided against it. Instead, he swallowed those words and replied with a simple, “Yes, Captain.”
Levi let out a sigh. Hange would love to see him anyway. He could already hear the incessant chatter from the two about all the technological developments in progress, and how everyone was doing, and so forth. As he was about to let the young man in, he finally noticed something odd about the situation. “Where’s Eren and the gloomy brat?” he asked, looking around for those wild, green eyes and those steely gray ones that mirrored his.
He missed how Armin’s face hardened at the mention of his two friends. He missed how those ocean eyes became that of ice, and he missed how Armin breathed in slowly and deeply. The young man tore his gaze from Levi and peered behind him, directing his eyes towards the inside of the cottage. “They couldn’t be here today.”
Levi raised an eyebrow at that. Those three had always been inseparable, so where had the others gone? Shaking his head, he opened the door wider, allowing his former squad member to finally come in. However, instead of going in further, Armin merely stood by the entrance, his shoulders stiffening as he stared at his surroundings.
“Captain…” Armin said incredulously, not even turning around to face him. Levi heard a shallow intake of breath which was followed by a deep sigh. The young blonde stood there unmoving for a couple of minutes, each second unbearably silent. Finally, he made his way to the dining area and sat down on one of the chairs, bowing his head and cradling it with his hands.
Levi stood by the door the entire time even though his legs were throbbing. He couldn’t understand why Armin had been acting so strange the moment their eyes met. The young man was obviously troubled, so perhaps it had something to do with the situation at the capital. After all, most of the burden now fell on him and Jean, as well as Historia, to lead Paradis towards a better future. He’d seen Hange crumble numerous times throughout her term as the commander, so it was most likely Armin was feeling the same way.
Even though he wanted to, Levi knew he wouldn't be as much of a help to him as much compared to Hange. She’d be able to understand his burden much better and tell him exactly what he needed to hear. Besides, he was never really good with words anyway. Armin was a good kid with a good heart. Levi had seen him grow up along with the others. Hopefully, they could all figure it out.
“I’ll make some tea for you,” Levi said, moving towards the small kitchen, still harboring a small limp. Though his voice was gruff, there was a soft undertone to it that many people wouldn’t be able to hint out. “You can drink it while you wait for Hange.”
At this, Armin slowly lifted his head and turned his gaze towards Levi who was struggling to reach for a clean pot stored away at the top shelf. The young man stood up, face devoid of any emotion, and helped his former superior grab both the pot and the tin of black tea from another cupboard overhead. Though Levi was embarrassed at not being able to reach it himself, he grumbled a small ‘thanks’ nevertheless.
He sat back down on his chair, hand on his lap and nails digging into his palm. “Captain,” he spoke nervously, staring into the space right in front of him. “Where’s Hange-san right now?”
“She’s still upstairs, getting dressed,” Levi answered without missing a beat. He made sure to boil a bit more water for all three of them. “She should be down soon.”
Armin nodded slowly, now looking at the cluttered staircase. He started to remove his jacket as he spoke: “Why don’t I help you clean, Captain?”
Levi didn’t see any problems with that. Though he’d like to personally do it himself so that everything could be up to his standards, he’d may as well let Armin do a headstart for him. Besides, he still needed to cook breakfast. And so, he agreed.
And because he turned away, and because he was too engrossed in making those rosy lips turn into a smile, and because his senses aren’t like what they used to be, he didn’t notice how Armin didn’t even go to the staircase first. No, the young man went around the living room and the bathroom, plucking each dirty shirt and each crumpled piece of paper and organizing things as best as he could. A couple of tears slid down from those ocean eyes, and it was then he decided that it would be the last time he’d do this. He had been so hesitant before, so afraid of the consequences and the implications that he’d turn a blind eye. But little did he know that his ignorance would bear much more negative results. He should have known -- his old self certainly would. But like the old captain, he was no longer the same person he was as before.
Armin hated how he knew where the cleaning supplies were hidden. He hated how he knew his way around the small cottage so well. Most of all, he hated himself for allowing this to go on further.
He finally made his way to the staircase and started picking up the trash from there. As much as he wanted to, he knew he couldn’t go upstairs. If he did, he’d have a repeat of the incident from two weeks ago.
He didn’t know if he could deal with seeing that again.
He finished and had placed everything where it should have been just as Levi was placing the tea on the table.
“Hange-san seems to be busy again, captain,” Armin noted, his voice still slightly on edge but much more controlled. Levi placed three plates of omelets on the table before finally sitting down himself and letting out a small huff of air.
“Tch,” the older man said, grabbing his cup of tea. “You’d think she’d be a little tidier these days. But, she wouldn’t be herself if she wasn’t at least a little bit messy,” he shook his head and sipped his tea, a small smile evident on his lips. “Though I could’ve sworn I cleaned some of this shit up or something.”
No , Armin thought miserably. He looked down and stared at the misshapen shape of eggs, knowing full well how they were about to go bad, that was me .
“Thank you for the food, captain,” Armin said instead, digging into his plate and his tea. It wasn’t as bad as he had initially expected, but the captain shouldn’t be allowed to do such activities anymore. After finishing, he grabbed the empty dishes and made his way to the kitchen. It had taken a ridiculous amount of time, especially with the pile that already accumulated on the sink, but he managed to wash everything his eyes laid upon. The soap was scarce, the sponge was dirty, but Armin made sure every plate and bowl and cup was clean and ready to use. He organized them neatly, leaving them on the cupboard below for easy use. He also went ahead and cleaned the pans and spatulas that had piled up on the stove. Captain Levi didn’t even glance at him once, much too preoccupied with his tea and his thoughts. Thoughts of her .
Ignoring his aching hands, he went back to the dining table and started to put on his jacket. Levi finally looked at him, and said, “Aren’t you going to wait for Hange? She’ll be down soon.”
“I’ll come back tomorrow, captain. I just remembered I needed to take care of something at the capital,” Armin spoke, determination now evident in his tone, “Thank you for the food and tea. I’ll come back tomorrow to speak with Hange-san.”
Levi pursed his lips, a little displeased with both Armin’s sudden arrival and departure. “I’ll tell four-eyes you stopped by. Bring the others too, why don’t you? She’d love to see everyone.”
Armin studied him carefully before nodding once. If only the dishes were clean, if only the eggs were fresh, if only his dark hair didn’t reach his shoulders, if only there weren’t any littered paper or strewn clothing -- if only those things were true, then he would have allowed the captain to dream on. He was indeed coming back tomorrow, just like how he did every day for the past two weeks, but this time, with people who would help the old man much better than he ever could. He wasn’t going to succumb to his ignorance anymore. He was going to get him out of that cursed cottage and to somewhere he could be taken care of properly. He had already started on the paperwork. All he needed to do was to finish it.
As he grabbed the handle of the door, he allowed himself to look back -- not at the captain, but at the empty chair across from him. He saw her perfectly as he did. From her gleaming glasses to her messy hair, and her loud laughter. He understood his feelings more than anyone could. He had dreams too, you see, about running across the streets with those green and gray eyes, about flipping through books about oceans, about what life would be like outside those walls. Dreams he could never get out of his mind. He shook his head and opened the door, welcoming the cool, evening breeze. He looked at the moon and hoped he wouldn’t have those same dreams tonight.
But he’d let the captain bask in his. One last time.