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Hange was shaken, very rudely, out of deep sleep by a sharp finger prodding her side, shortly followed by a kick to her shin. She rolled over, twisting the blankets all around her and let out a slurred grumble, complaints dissolving on her lips as she floated back into the fluffy warm darkness.
“Oi.”
“Hmm?”
Another kick, this time harder, making her jolt.
“Wha…?” Heavy eyelids fluttered and she met a set of furious grey eyes complete with a scowl. An expression Levi often wore during the day while dusting her study with unnecessary violence, while dragging her to a bath, or shoving food down her throat when she finally allowed him near her after working on a new hyperfixation for twelve hours straight.
Her facial muscles arranged themselves to mirror his frown.
Because, apparently, it was night right now and this particular expression of Levi’s was catalogued nowhere in Hange’s mental archive of ‘Levi’s Behavioral Patterns and Their Meanings: The Nighttime Guide.’
This expression was always reserved for the morning when people moved around and the sun came up and did its business so Levi had an excuse to be annoyed by everything.
Gradually the night had taken down his defences one by one; what used to be a time of vigilance during their young years in the army had slowly descended into hours of rest and calmness after the war. The harsh lines digging into the skin between his brows would relax in the dark, the subtle tightness in his limbs would dissolve. She’d even seen him laugh sometimes, or wake up terrified after a too-real nightmare. There were a range of expressions levi displayed at night. But annoyance, by far, was the last thing she ever expected to see.
Fingers snapped before her eyes and Hange blinked.
“You still half asleep or what?” he glared, and she realised Levi had been talking to her for a while now. A while where she had been staring blankly at him with her mouth slack (thinking and assessing why he looked so pissed but he didn’t know that of course so it must’ve appeared like she’d passed out with her eyes open).
“There’s drool on your chin,” he said.
“Oh.” Only now that he pointed out did she notice the slight dampness. Maybe Levi was right, she really wasn’t fully awake yet. Her limbs were experiencing that familiar sensation of sinking into the mattress after all—something Hange only felt when slumber was starting to take over.
But that wasn’t important. Brushing aside any concerns about her current state of consciousness, she continued scanning the grumpy face of the man lying beside her, squinting because her glasses were lying god knows where—she remembered falling asleep with them so Levi must’ve taken them off later.
Perhaps he was angry over that little incident before bed when he told Hange it was her turn to do the dishes this time and that she has been avoiding her turn for weeks but now was the time to roll up her sleeves, in all the literal and figurative sense of it, and take care of her responsibilities.
Although Hange, true to her nature, had tried to bargain her way out of it and fled to bed under the pretense that she was exceptionally tired today. Levi’s curses had flown upstairs in their bedroom along with the clang of dishes for quite some time, all the while in which Hange made herself comfortable in their cushy pillows and blankets and got lulled into sleep by the colourful berceuse provided by her partner.
So yes, it was entirely possible that she had been kicked awake for her atrocities from a few hours ago. But then again, it wasn’t the first time she had done this and Levi always complained but let it slide later on. What could it be then?
A sudden swipe at her chin made Hange blink again. Levi was wiping the drool from the corner of her lips with the edge of his sleeve.
“You’re really out of it,” he sighed. Then grabbed the same chin he’d wiped clean and made her stare straight into his eyes.
“Four-eyes,” he said, dead serious. “I’m saying, get these goddamn cushions out of our bed.”
“Huh, why?”
“What do you mean why?” he fumed. “They’ve been poking at me all this time and you do this every fucking night. I’ve had enough.”
Ah. So that’s why he was upset.
A quick look around her and Hange saw a couple of small cushions stuffed under her back, one below her neck, a few others that she’d crammed beneath her had slipped out during the night and lay strewn between her and Levi at odd angles. And not to mention the pillow she used. It was quite a nest of fluffy bedding she made around her; one that felt extremely comfortable for her tired back and eventually led her to do this more often nowadays.
“This makes you uncomfortable?” she asked, confused, only to receive a nod.
“Your pillows are always digging into my back and messing up my sleep.”
A soft chuckle escaped her, “Don’t be ridiculous shorty, they’re just pillows. So soft and fluffy, you don’t even feel them in your sleep.”
Propping his head on his arm, Levi stared her down, “Yeah right. And that’s exactly why I haven’t been able to sleep well for a week. I’m taking these away, one is enough.”
Levi reached out to tug the cushions from under her but she slapped his hand away instantly.
“Don’t you dare touch them, it took me hours to find the best position to lie down!”
“You can find another position.”
“But my back hurts without these,” she argued. “It’s impossible to sleep otherwise!”
“Well it’s impossible for me to sleep like this, you moron.”
“You’re just being dramatic. I’d get it if it was something sharp but how can harmless little cushions disturb your sleep?” she retorted, adjusting said cushions around her so she could get more comfortable.
“By being woken up thrice every night with something poking my face or back each time, or getting in the way when I’m trying to turn over.” Levi sighed, “I know they’re soft and all that shit but it’s annoying and it wakes me up ok. I want these out.”
“I told you my back aches lying straight. Even if I want to, I can’t remove them.”
“Tch. You’re getting old.”
“What else do you expect at fifty-five? And like you’re getting any younger. You’ve been squinting around a lot these days, I don’t think I’ll be the only four-eyes in this house for long.”
“Whatever,” he turned over to face the ceiling and ran a hand through his hair. “Should I just take the couch outside from now on then…?” he said more to himself.
“What, no!” Hange suddenly grabbed his arm. “I can’t sleep without you either.”
He threw a doubtful look her way.
“I’m serious,” she insisted.
“Then do something about this,” he pointed at all her pillows.
A compromise was needed for this, Hange knew. She couldn’t have everything her way after all. Scanning around she came to a reluctant decision.
“Fine. I’ll remove these two—oh and that one. But the others stay, and since I don’t have anything for my shoulders, you’ll have to give me your arm.”
He complied and they both shuffled around until she had Levi’s arm as a substitute—a very nice, firm one, which settled wonderfully against her shoulder blades—and the bed was relatively less crowded.
“Better?” she breathed into his neck.
“Yeah.” He let his eyes fall shut as Hange sank into his warmth. Levi's arm was solid beneath her, and infinitely better than the cushions. Why hadn't she thought of this before?
His other arm sneaked up and wrapped around her waist, pulling her just a bit closer with a quiet sigh.
"Was this your ruse to get me to cuddle with you?" Hange smiled.
"Shut up," he mumbled, nestling his face into her hair. "It's warmer like this anyway. The night gets fucking cold."
"Aw Levi, you could've just told me if you missed me so much," she teased. "Didn't know you can't bear the one foot of distance between us."
His fingers dug into her ribs threateningly and she wheezed, "Ok stop—I'll stop! Don't you dare tickle me shorty!"
"Good," she could feel a smile against her forehead as he spoke, already drowsy. "Now sleep."
Hange's limbs were already going slack, sinking into him, her breaths matching the rhythm of his heartbeat. "G'night," she whispered.