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When they returned from the mission, Mikasa was finishing a report. She expected them earlier in the morning, not when the sun was hiding. With every hour, her overprotective nature had nested a strange sensation in her guts, and the girl stared at the window, waiting for them. She never stayed behind, but this time, it was a simple experimental mission and Erwin requested her help with more immediate matters. Eventually, her work distracted her enough to stop watching through the window.
As soon as Sasha told her they were at the headquarters, Mikasa went to their barracks; Armin sprained his leg and Eren looked tired, but nothing serious. Her breathing relaxed for a second, however, her eyes searched for something over and over. She couldn’t say what, though.
“We were lucky, no casualties thanks to Captain Levi,” Eren explained and kept talking, but she didn’t hear the complete story.
Captain Levi!
Her brain connected the dots; after every mission, he accompanied Eren until Hanji checked him. He would reprimand her for her stubbornness, make bad jokes and explain their orders and plan’s importance.
“He saved Eren and me,” Armin told her and her wide eyes searched once more even if she knew he wasn’t there; the blond lowered his voice and made a subtle pause, staring at her and waiting for her reaction. “He’s wounded.”
“Wounded?” She questioned with a slight concern –nothing too obvious, yet it caught Armin’s interest.
“A titan grabbed him and…”
Eren was speaking, she knew it because his lips were moving, but an inexplicable sentiment invaded her and she didn’t pay attention.
“Where is he?” She interrupted Eren and her hand grasped Armin’s arm.
Her friends shared a meaningful glance between them and the pause they made increased the swirling of her thoughts.
“Hanji thought it was better to take him to his own room, considering his condition,” Armin answered.
“I have to go,” her words came out in a hurry and without further explanation, Mikasa rushed out of the room.
She needed to get to the other side of the castle and she didn’t understand why. For the first time since she arrived at the Survey’s headquarters, that distance seemed infinite and the young soldier quickened her steps. Would she be able to explain the sudden restlessness in her chest? And why was she so desperate to get there? Mikasa dismissed every question, nothing mattered. She just needed to move faster, she had to; so, she ran.
She ran so fast her chest ached.
A bunch of recruits jumped to avoid her and she didn’t care at all.
When the agitated soldier saw her Captain’s door, her heart hammered. The fear in her bones hurried her steps and Mikasa entered the room, opening the door without knocking and startling the people inside. Her gaze landed on him; Levi was sitting on his bed, his bare chest exposed while Hanji secured a bandage over his ribs.
“They said…” she mumbled, searching for words in her head to clarify her presence in his room. “I thought…”
She closed the distance between them and hugged him, the air filling her lungs and the strangest happiness dazing her mind. “You’re okay… You’re okay, I was so worried.”
Her arms tightened around his shoulders, resting her face on his head. No more than five seconds passed between her dramatic entry and her hug.
The people in his room stared at them with wide eyes and open mouths. Hanji drooled, grabbing Erwin’s arm in excitement and screaming in silence; the Surveys Corp’s Commander grinned and tried to control the over-thrilled scientific. Moblit looked away, with a soft second handed blush.
It took a long moment before Levi realized what was happening. With the warm embrace, her heart hammering against his chest and her voice whispering her relief, Levi’s respiration quickened and his heartbeat darted. More than astonished, he was thunderstruck. If any other time noisy people annoyed him, in this moment —with his usually quiet and unattached protégé, sharing an intimate moment with him— their presence irked him beyond words.
“Get out!”
His words, harsh and rude, shocked her.
“I’m so sorry, Sir,” Mikasa said, stiffening her body. Little by little, she started to disentangle her arms from around his neck. “I shouldn’t—”
Unwilling to lose her touch, Levi stood, putting his hand on her lower back and pulling her against him; his fingers took her jaw, lifting her face. She didn’t miss the subtle caress he made, and her heart jumped.
“Not you. You better leave your hands where they are, brat,” Levi murmured with a flat voice tone, but she felt his heart and the faint stroke on her back.
Her Captain’s eyes spoke to her and the stubborn girl obeyed his order, her arms wrapping him again and resting her face on his neck; too caught on the moment to protest, or think, or anything but hugging him.
A murderous glare made his comrades move out of the room. In the way out, Hanji gave him thumbs up and Erwin nodded as encouragement. Moblit’s eyes wandered the room, focusing on the floor, door and the window, avoiding Levi and Mikasa. He even dragged Hanji with him, closing the door behind them.
Once they were alone, Levi trapped Mikasa between his arms.
Both unable to speak and conveying their feelings. What was happening? They argued every two seconds, and even if they had talked more the last months, it was for missions, training, and working stuff. They had spent hours talking about nothing; hours alone, nonetheless. Mikasa didn’t deny the sudden peace he gave her or the many moments she laughed with his sass and stupid bad jokes. Maybe she could describe it as perplexing, but Mikasa didn’t reject the unexpected realization of her feelings; neither had she ignored the delighted sensation of his caress. This man emanated cleanliness despite his condition, and the soapy aroma contented her. She wasn’t fighting against him or her emotions. If something, she wanted more.
She wanted everything.
“I thought you hated me,” Levi whispered to her ear and she melted into his arms. Mikasa never imagined her Captain’s voice so soft and intimate.
Her face shined in red and she struggled to find the right words to express herself. She wanted to explain to him how different from hate was what she was feeling, what he made her feel. Every second, she discovered deep, unpredicted and strong emotions. They must’ve been there for a long time, she understood that much. Still, how could she put in words something so unique? Talking and expressing was uncharacteristic of her, but she knew this moment would change her life and she had to say something to him. She was hugging him… She hugged him in front of his closest friends; friends who were her Commanders. Mikasa wanted to roll her eyes at her own attitude, after her public demonstration of concern and obvious interest.
The girl moved her face, defeating the unwelcome shyness and locking her eyes on his. The way he stared back sent a bolt of electricity through her body.
“I hate you,” she said in a silky and alluring voice. “Isn’t it obvious?”
“I don’t know Mikasa.” The playfulness in his eyes complemented his actions. Levi moved his head even closer and removed a lock from her face. His arms securing her against him, his lips rubbing her lips softly, and his hand cupping her cheek. “I’ll need further evidence.”
“I think,” Mikasa spoke, pausing as his nose and lips moved, tempting her. “I think I can help you with that.”
“Yeah?”
Her legs lost balance and she pressed her body even tighter —but gently— to him. “Yeah.”
With that, Levi closed the distance but her lips found him first.