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Chandeliers dripping with crystals, gilded walls, great windows cloaked by velvet curtains. Light maple flooring, matching the ivory and gold theme of the elegant ballroom. A long table stretched across one wall, laden with countless delicacies—pastries, fruits, meats, and cheeses beyond Sasha’s wildest dreams. So this is life in the castle.
Historia’s coronation had been wildly successful, and now a celebratory gala was being held in her honor. Originally only the officers of the Scouts regiment were invited to attend, but Historia herself had invited you, along with the other members of the 104th training corps. You were quite nervous about attending—the prospect of humiliating yourself in front of every noble in the walls made your gut churn as you now stood among them. You couldn’t help but feel like an imposter, demure dress—although the fanciest you had ever worn—sticking out like a sore thumb among the flashy, colorful clothes of the noble women.
You could only assume the other cadets felt similarly, as you had all ended up clumped together with the exception of Sasha, who had beelined straight to the feast table, eyes glinting with a manic, feral lust. As time passed, however, members had broken off from the group—Jean and Connie had wandered off in search of a drink, Eren had been asked to dance by Historia and accepted, Mikasa storming after them, dragging along poor Armin to be jerked around on the dance floor as she kept a watchful eye on Eren. Now, only you remained, wallflower tendencies coming in full force.
A passing waiter had offered you a glass of wine, which you had accepted. The rich red liquid softened your mind, head lazily dropping back to gaze at the elaborate carved ceiling. Your lips curled into a smile for the first time that evening as you noticed that if you looked at the tiles just the right way, they resembled a giant bar of chocolate. Mmmm...chocolate…
Inhibitions dampened by the alcohol, you decided to join Sasha at the feast table and get your hands on some chocolate. You’d only had it a handful of times, but those few times were more than enough to ensure that chocolate would live in your mind rent-free for the rest of eternity.
Unsurprisingly, when you arrived at the table, Sasha was practically collapsed by the side of the table, eyes glistening with ecstasy. She lay unresponsive, a smile plastered on her stuffed face. You would have to enjoy your own company.
Examining the table, you narrowed in on a silver platter of pastries, familiar brown oozing out of the edges. You grabbed a plate and tongs, serving one onto your plate. A few smaller tables and chairs flanked the buffet table, so you took a seat on the fringe of the dance floor, right by a tea display.
Sitting by yourself was honestly quite pleasant—the chocolate pastry was heavenly, flaky butteriness perfectly complementing the semi-sweet chocolate. You lost yourself in the music, high strings carrying the sweeping melody as low strings accompanied them, with occasional interjections of the winds. The dance floor was quite lively, flashes of color whirling by as dancers twirled and swayed. Aided by the wine from earlier, you drifted out of your body, entranced in reverie.
The volume of chatter around you increased significantly as a blurry darkness filled your vision, pulling you slowly out of your daze. You jolted slightly upon returning to reality, seeing Hange’s face right in front of your own, grinning as they practically screamed your name.
“Y/N! You were really out of it, there. What’s got you so distracted? You should be enjoying yourself more, live a little!” They laughed, face bright red, indicating that they were clearly very intoxicated. They grabbed your arms and hoisted you out of your seat, spinning you around before setting you down.
“Such a pretty dress! Why don’t you wear dresses more, huh? Stupid uniforms... I’m going to get you on my squad, and then you’ll never wear it again... for everyone’s good.” Hange spun you around as they made their assessment, examining every part of your dress. With the wine still in your system, you raised no protests, simply watching Hange with a vacant expression.
“Tch, leave the brat alone. Should’ve cut you off three drinks ago.” Your squad’s leader’s voice broke in. Glancing over, you saw Captain Levi preparing a cup of tea at the table, standing with Commander Erwin.
“Awww, another party pooper. You guys need to lighten up, we’re here for a good time! For once, we get to celebrate, and you guys look like you’re at a funeral.” They griped, now dramatically draping themself over you. “I mean, come on, you’re at a ball, and you haven’t even danced! How lame is that? You hear that Levi? You’re laaaaaame.”
At this point, you were practically holding up Hange as they leaned all their weight on you. Not in a good way, either, as they were significantly taller than you and completely covered your face. Thankfully, they were pulled off of you, letting you see again.
Hange now sat on the ground, scooting forward until they were within your reach, then hugging your legs.
“Y/N!!! My sweet baby, Levi is being a bully. He’s not just a lame party pooper, he’s a mean lame party pooping bully. He needs to stop being a grouch,” they pouted. You were beginning to feel awkward—this interaction had dragged on for way too long and Hange was becoming increasingly clingy.
“I am not being a grouch. I am enjoying this tea quite thoroughly.” Levi had taken a seat and was simply spectating as he drank his tea. He seems to enjoy watching Hange being a drunk idiot, as well.
“You drink tea, like, all the time. You need to live it up! Dance with me!”
“No.” Levi’s response was devastatingly blunt. “You’re completely shitfaced, you can’t even stand on your own.”
“Haah? I don’t need to stand on my own to dance, that's what the other person is for!” Hange slurred. “If you’re not going to dance with me, then, dance with y/n! Oh, where did Erwin go? I bet he’d dance with you, it would be hilarious. You’re so short and he’s so tall, I can see it now!” Hange cackled maniacally.
Levi’s eyebrow twitched. “No chance in hell.”
“Well fine, then, not Erwin. But that means you HAVE to dance with y/n. Wait, where did she go? She was just here, I swear.”
“You’re holding onto her, dumbass.”
“OH! Y/n, my angel! Dance with Levi! He rejected me,” they sobbed. Yep, I know, I was there. “PLEASE!”
At this point they were practically shouting, so you crouched down to their level and put your finger to their lips in a shushing gesture.
“Shh, shh, I will, just stop making such a scene.” You glanced around. The nobles closest to you were giving you looks so dirty even Levi wouldn’t be able to clean them. Right, Levi.
You carefully pried off Hange’s hands, turning around to an unbothered Levi.
“Please, Captain, we’re causing a scene. Can we please just dance?”
“Tch, fine. Just to stop hearing Hange’s annoying voice.”
Hange protested weakly, but at this point you had lifted them up into a chair. There they sat, completely plastered, watching the two of you expectantly.
“Well? You promised, now you gotta do it! Go, go!” They made a shooing motion, smirking.
Levi took one last sip of tea, setting down the cup and standing up. He started walking towards you, but to your surprise, passed you and kept walking. At the edge of the dance floor, he stopped and looked back at you, cocking an eyebrow.
“Are you coming or not?”
You squeaked lightly and rushed forwards. He held out his arms expectantly, to which you responded with a tentative motion.
“I don’t know how to dance,” you said meekly, standing like a limp fish.
“Should’ve said that before asking, then.” Levi grabbed your left hand, bringing it up to rest on his shoulder. Placing his hand on your waist, he grabbed your other hand and held it in his, raising it into position. “Just follow my lead, doesn’t matter how shitty you are. It’s just to get Hange off our asses.”
“O-oh. Okay.” The orchestra had finished their piece, getting in position to start the next. You were slightly panicking, not expecting that it would ever get this far.
The next piece started lightly, flowing strings rising in a gentle crescendo, peppered with light flute and building up into a triumphant flourish. After the piece’s introduction, the rhythm settled into a danceable beat, as Levi led you onto the dance floor.
Inexperienced, you stared down at your feet, carefully following Levi’s lead. That is, until Levi let go of your hand, tilting your chin up with his fingers.
“Just follow my lead. And relax, you look constipated.”
Ouch. But, he was probably right. You were focusing very intently on not screwing up, fear of humiliation in front of the most powerful people in the country consuming you once more, liquid courage worn off. It hadn’t helped when he lifted your head to look him in the eye—steely gray, normally so piercing, softened into a steady gaze.
You felt a squeeze of disappointment each time you misstepped or messed up, but Levi’s gaze remained steady and he made no sign of disapproval. Slowly, you got a hang of the steps, gaining more confidence in your movements. Suddenly, dancing was...fun! You couldn’t help your lips curling up into a soft smile as Levi twirled you around the floor. Exhilaration filled you as you stepped back, trusting in Levi’s lead.
You stared deep into Levi’s eyes, still silent, but not awkwardly so. For a second, you thought you caught his lips twitch into a smile, but his expression managed to remain neutral. His eyes, however, told a different story. They were truly different than any other time you’d seen them—relaxed, warm, almost inviting, and certainly entrancing. He almost seemed to be enjoying himself.
As the song reached its climax, brilliant strings and brass and woodwinds blending together into a mighty celebratory flourish, Levi increased his speed with the tempo—frantic accelerando accompanying the crescendo. Engrossed in the music, your feet glided gracefully along. Your stomach bubbled up with warmth and butterflies, surroundings long forgotten as you found yourself completely immersed in his eyes, feeling as though he and you were the only people in the world.
You hardly noticed when the piece ended, finding yourself still captive to Levi’s stare. As you came back down to Earth, you became more self conscious.
“Thank you for this dance.” Levi’s voice broke you out of your thoughts.
“No, thank you. I very much enjoyed it.” Slightly flushed from the rapid pace at the end, you found that the ballroom was a bit too warm for your liking. “Would you like to go outside?” Why did I ask him that?! You facepalmed internally.
“Fine,” he responded in his typical manner.
You began making your way off the dance floor, grabbing Levi’s arm to make sure you don’t get separated by the vast crowds of people. How you managed to get to the middle of the floor, you did not know.
Once off the floor, you beelined to the doors leading outside. The cool night air was quite refreshing after the dance, a light breeze rustling the leaves of the garden. A line of hanging lanterns illuminated a path through the garden, so you tugged Levi forward, curious where the path led.
After following the trail, you came upon a clearing in the garden, lined by tall shrubs and flower bushes, giving the area relative privacy. A small stone bench sat in the middle, beckoning you forward. You sat down and pulled Levi down next to you. You were honestly still surprised at how compliant he was being—perhaps he had been drinking as well.
The cold of the stone immediately seeped through your dress, exacerbating the effect of the night air as well. You shivered and started to stand back up, only to be pulled back down.
“Here,” Levi removed his suit jacket and draped it over your shoulders, once again shocking you with his kindness.
“What’s gotten into you lately? You’ve been so...nice! It’s weird.”
“Oi, are you saying you’d rather I be a hardass all the time?”
“No! It’s just strange, coming from you. But not unappreciated! Anyways, look at the stars, aren’t they beautiful tonight?”
“They’re just a bunch of tiny lights, nothing special about them.”
“There’s the captain I know,” you joked, earning a hard stare, which you didn’t notice as you were still enthralled by the stars. “I think the tiny lights are special because people make them special. Sure, they’re nothing super fancy or anything, but there are a lot of myths and stories about them, and I think that’s what makes them special. On their own, they’re just little specks of light, but people group them into shapes, and give them identities, stories, lives. I don’t know. Looking up at the stars, and remembering how people gave them meaning, that’s what drives me to save humanity.”
You broke off your stare to glance over at Levi. He was clearly fixated on you, mulling over your words.
“Sorry! I didn’t mean to ramble on like that, it’s one of my bad habits.”
“Are you kidding me? That’s the most I’ve ever heard you say.”
“Ah, well, I guess I don’t talk much under most circumstances, but if someone just lets me talk...I tend to go pretty overboard. It’s a good thing most people tend to talk a lot themselves.”
“I disagree. You clearly have a lot to say, best to just say it. If you don’t let the shit build up, it doesn’t come out like explosive diarrhea.”
“What a...lovely analogy. But, thank you.”
You stared back up at the sky, losing yourself in them once again. Before you even noticed, the evening wound down, as you could hear people pouring out of the doors and into their carriages, hooves clopping as they drove down the road.
“Well, perhaps we ought to head back.”
“Sure.” Levi stood up, offering his hand to help you up.
“Thank you for staying with me. And, thank you for your jacket!” You pulled the suit jacket off your shoulders and returned it to Levi.
You walked with Levi back down the garden path, back to the street, where carriages were now being lined up, their occupants partied out and ready to return back to their homes and sleep off their drunkenness.
“LEVI! You abandoned me, you bastard! I couldn’t find you, and Erwin was off having some important business talk, so I was all alone.” Hange finally reached you and Levi. “Oh, hello, y/n. OH! Levi, you sly bastard, you were out cavorting with y/n here, weren’t you? Well then, I suppose I have to forgive you, having been the one to set you two up, after all. Just don’t forget to name me godparent!” Hange waved as they sloppily walked over to their carriage.
You blushed lightly at Hange’s implications, eyes following them as they walked straight into the carriage door before realizing it wasn't open.
You turned to address Levi. “Well, I suppose I have to thank you for such a good night. The food may have been good and all, but your company was better.”
“You say thank you a lot, I hope you know that. It was a good night.”
You heard Jean and Connie shouting your name. They had clearly found the drinks they were looking for. You turned towards them, as they gestured and hooted at you to ride back in their wagon. Well, it wasn’t like you had any other options.
By the time you turned back around to say goodbye to Levi, though, he was already gone, walking over to Hange’s carriage before it left. You watched as he climbed into the carriage and disappeared, smiling softly to yourself. The evening had truly brought out a new side of him.