Work Text:
"LEEEEEVIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"
The door to Levi's room slams open, and Levi closes his eyes, drawing in a long annoyed breath through his nose in an attempt to steady himself. "What?" he asks irritably, pushing the chair he sits in a tad further back from his desk and side-eyeing Hangi, who had just run into the room with a massive grin splayed across her features.
"Look what Moblit drew for me," she says excitably, passing Levi a piece of paper.
Levi rolls his eyes but looks down at the drawing in his hands. His eyes widen fractionally. The paper depicts a portrait of Hangi, and it is shockingly well-made. It looks as if her likeness was captured on the page perfectly, the charcoal shading every one of her features realistically and making her eyes appear full of life behind her massive spectacles. Levi's brow furrows, and his eyes narrow. Glancing back over to Hangi, voice slightly soft, though he cannot bother with that at the moment, he asks, "He drew this?"
"Mm-hm!" Hangi leans over Levi's shoulder, her hands clasped behind her back, happily observing the artwork again as her science-tuned eyes scan over each detail repeatedly.
"It looks exactly like you," Levi mutters breathlessly, gaze snapping onto Hangi.
Hangi's eyes shimmer at the compliment to the work. "I know! He even got my nose right, which is very important because I have an excellent nose," she raves as she pushes her glasses up on her face before tracing her finger over said appendage, gloating about its magnificence.
Looking back down at the page in his hands, Levi blinks quickly, trying to piece together his quickly racing thoughts. He has never met somebody so adept at creating realistic artwork. It...it could be an opportunity...one which he has never had before. "Where is he?" Levi snaps quickly and gruffly, eyes back on Hangi. Eyes which he allows to show his intensity but not the sadness and somber reminiscence he feels squeezing his heart tightly. Not once does his neutral frown leave his face.
"Moblit?" Hangi asks, head tilting in thought as she raises an eyebrow, turning back and forth toward the door as she ponders. "Um, I don't know. I think he's just in his—oh—" Levi stands abruptly, interrupting his colleague. "Okay, well, bye— Oh! Give me my picture back!" Hangi shouts after Levi as the man stalks out from the room, drawing still clenched carefully in his hand, an odd ambiance following him. He slams the door closed behind him without turning back, leaving a concerned teammate in his wake.
•••
At the knock on his door, Moblit looks up from his paperwork briefly, muttering a calm, "Yeah, come in." Someone steps inside, footfalls approaching Moblit's desk as he works.
"You drew this?" Levi asks blandly, holding out the drawing of Hangi, and Moblit looks back and forth from his drawing to the captain for a moment, not having expected the man nor this conversation with said man.
"Oh, yeah. Did you want one?" he queries politely.
"No," Levi says sharply, eyes glancing around the small room uncertainly as he opens and closes his mouth, unable to force out his next words for a moment. "Could you do someone if I described them to you?" he asks dourly.
Moblit looks up at Levi understandingly, voice soft as he replies with a smile, "Yeah. Sure."
Levi clicks his tongue, eyes still shiftily looking around the room until they finally settle on Moblit. "Do you have time right now?"
Moblit hesitates before nodding deeply a few times and motioning Levi over with an arm. Levi silently moves over to a seat by Moblit's desk, and Moblit pulls out a fresh piece of paper. "What does this person look like?" He asks.
Levi takes a deep breath before beginning, explaining shortly, "Um.... The first is a young girl." He pauses. "Short red hair. Pigtails," he adds.
Moblit's eyes, which had been on the paper, writing down the words, move upwards, landing on his desk in his hesitance before he turns to look at Levi. The sadness in his eyes shocks Moblit. Something about the man's attempt at a nonchalant tone...is all too saddening. Nobody knows much of anything about the captain, but Moblit can tell that this person...these people...mean or meant a great deal to him. His eyes find their way back down to the paper as he picks up on his writing again.
"And a man," Levi continues, turning his head away and closing his eyes momentarily. "lanky and tall."
It is quiet between the two for a moment, the only sounds filtering through the room being those of Moblit's pen scratching down Levi's words, the hardworking cadets' efforts outside, and chirping birds briefly flying by the window.
"Can you draw them together?" Levi requests, pulling his chin up.
Moblit nods. "Yeah," he says somberly.
The two sit in Moblit's room for quite a while, the time flying by as Levi throws detail after detail at the kind man as he draws. Moblit sits through this patiently, nodding along and making a mental note with each of the captain's additions. After forty-five minutes have passed, the picture has begun to take shape and fill in. Levi turns away, arms crossed over his chest as he folds his legs. Looking at the drawing as it takes shape so clearly.... It hurts to say the least.
"Is this right?" Moblit interrupts the most recent stretch of silence. He sits back a bit and motions toward the paper, allowing Levi to get a good look.
As soon as his eyes land on the drawing, Levi has to close them again. "Yes." He cannot say any more, knowing his voice would come out choked. He turns away again before opening his eyes and frowning at the wall across from him. What an interesting dot there is on that paint.
Moblit nods, setting back to work to finish the details of the piece. After that, the rest of the drawing practically flies together, and it is finished within the next fifteen minutes.
Setting down his pencil, Moblit announces, "It's done."
Levi gets up from his chair and walks over to better see the depiction. Moblit cannot help but notice the way his captain's eyes film over with a faint sheen of water. He does not know what he would have said, but, before he has a chance to say anything at all, Levi grabs the paper, uttering a quick thank you before departing, closing the door lightly behind him as he rushes off.
Moblit looks at the door sadly before leaning back in his chair, letting his legs spread out relaxedly as his head falls back. He stares at the ceiling, arms lax at his sides. Whoever those two were, they must have been very important to the captain. Moblit has never seen the man come close to even showing emotion. To see his eyes become teary? Even having seen it, Moblit questions his own sanity and the accuracy of his memory.
He cannot get his mind over the depictions of the two, though. Both seem so...bright. Massive smiles encompass their faces, eyes crinkled with glee...especially the young girl. Having Levi, the unemotional and terrifying captain everyone has at least a healthy amount of fear of, tell Moblit that the smiles should be bigger, wider, happier...in such a sad voice...was heartbreaking.
Maybe....
Maybe Moblit will make another drawing for the captain. This time with Levi in it as well.
Maybe Levi would even be smiling if he were with his friends.