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“what’re you doing out so late, lieutenant?” a voice questioned from behind you, nearly causing you to flinch from the shock you had just experienced.
once you had processed the sound, you knew exactly who the voice belonged to. the familiarity of levi’s low, slightly monotonous way of talking brought a sense of warmth rushing through your chest. it almost felt like a fireplace had been lit within you, which was quite lovely on a chilly night like this one.
“evening, captain.” you greeted politely. “i couldn’t sleep, so i thought i’d look at the sky instead.”
the ravenette nodded in understanding, warning you not to stay outside for too much longer. he was about to turn on his heel to leave, when you stopped him.
“would you like to join me?” you asked, excitement seeping through your undertone at the thought of spending some time alone with your captain.
the hopeful gleam in your eyes made his heart skip a beat, not that his face or body language would give that away. his expression remained stoic as he took a seat beside you on the ledge of the balcony. he kept an appropriate distance between the two of you, fearing that he’d make you uncomfortable if he sat shoulder-to-shoulder with you. if only he knew that you secretly hoped he would sit a little closer.
you couldn’t contain the grin that spread across your lips, subtly glancing at levi’s immaculate side profile, before diverting your gaze back to the night sky. it truely was a pretty sight. it resembled a navy blue blanket adorned with a million silver gemstones, which strangely made you feel like you were home again.
“do you come up here often?” levi’s voice broke the silence of the evening, becoming part of the sounds of chirping crickets, rustling of leaves and light breeze.
“considering i often have trouble sleeping, yes. i’m up here almost every night.” you said jokingly. “i enjoy watching these burning spheres of fire.”
the moonlight illuminated your face so ethereally, highlighting each of your gorgeous features. levi could see your sincere smile clearly in the dim light, and he wondered how someone in this fucked-up world could be this angelic.
“the stars look especially beautiful tonight.” you sighed in admiration, turning to look at levi with a playful expression on your face. “maybe it’s because you’re here, captain.”
he couldn’t help the way the apples of his cheeks burned a soft shade of pink, praying to the heavens that it was dark enough that you wouldn’t see it. he scoffed under his breath, hating the effect that you seemed to have on him.
“is this your shitty attempt at flirting with me?” levi said in a deadpan tone, desperately trying to keep his composure from breaking.
when he saw your face fall, your lips dropping into a frown and the glow disappearing from your eyes, he immediately regretted the lies he frantically spewed out to save his enigmatic image. he let out a prolonged sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb.
“…i never said i didn’t like it.” levi murmured truthfully, hiding his face from yours to spare him at least a little bit of the embarrassment of openly admitting to something he often kept private.
you gasped audibly, a mischievous grin painted your lips. you gleefully laughed, ensuring to poke fun at the captain’s soft spot for you, enjoying the way his entire face glowed red. you’d never let him hear the end of this surprising confession, even around the cadets.
and thanks to you, for the first time in a long while, levi ackerman genuinely smiled.