Work Text:
It’s been years since the battle of heaven and earth and the loss of 80% of humanity. You were lucky enough to be one of the 20%, an Eldian from Marley. You had lived your life as house maid, and now you volunteer taking care of surviving veterans and injured folk and making sure they’re smiling. You pride yourself in being professional and not picking favorites, but you do have a favorite. It’s Levi Ackerman. You’d be lying if you said that you hadn’t grown attached to him. He doesn’t talk very much, but you enjoy the quiet moments. When he does have something to say or a story to tell, you know you’ve earned his trust. He’s not the type of person to give it away.
Hearing the stories and knowing what he’s been through inclines you to give him the best possible care. You give everyone adequate care of course, but with him it’s different. You do a little extra for him. You make his tea exactly how he likes it, you iron his clothes and help him change after his sponge baths, you wipe down his wheelchair at the end of the day, and you’ve even started shaving his face and giving him haircuts. As unprofessional as it is, you couldn’t help but develop feelings for him. Seeing him on a bad day breaks your heart. You want so badly for him to be happy. You would do anything for him.
After being around him so much, you now have a great sense of how he’s feeling just from the look in his eyes (mostly his left one). Today, you could tell his mind was wandering. He was thinking about his old friends. His eyes glistened with a deep, suffocating grief. You noticed the moment you lifted him out of bed this morning. He must’ve had a bad dream.
You help him sit in his chair and go to pour his tea which you had already been preparing before he woke up. As you hand it to him, he looks up at you with large, sad eyes. They seem even more grateful for your gentle care than usual. You smile softly and bend down next to his chair, placing a hand on his shoulder and rubbing softly as he sips his tea.
“How does your leg feel today?”
You ask as he finishes his tea and sets aside his cup. Your hand drifts up to his face and pushes his hair aside then rests on his cheek, your thumb lightly brushing against his soft skin as you search for answers in his expression. He simply shrugs and gazes at you. He’d never admit it, but you are of course his favorite nurse. Your delicate, warm touch was something he didn’t know he needed. He admired you greatly.
“You know you can ask me for anything, right? Even if it’s a want, not a need. Do you want me to massage your leg? It’ll feel good.”
You smile warmly, encouraging him to say yes. He nods and you nod back, positioning yourself beside his leg. You roll up the leg of his pants and begin to gently maneuver his injured muscles, watching his face carefully. He seems content, leaning his head back and closing his eyes.
As you continue, Levi feels a significant release of pain. This intense relief paired with his lingering grief causes him to well up with tears, something you rarely see from him. You notice a change in his expression and pause what you’re doing.
“Levi? Am I hurting you?” You ask in a concerned tone. He doesn’t respond.
“Levi?”
You slowly get up and move towards his face. Once he feels you next to him, he opens his eyes and tears run down his cheeks. Your heart aches for him.
“Oh Levi…” you frown and wipe away his tears with your hands. Seeing him cry has you on the verge of tears as well.
“Come here, honey.” you place a hand on the back of his neck and guide him to your chest, embracing him.
Most people would hesitate to call a former soldier who was known for being humanity’s deadliest weapon “honey”, but you’re not most people. And in this moment, he wasn’t a soldier, he was someone’s baby. You knew he’d never ask you for a hug, but you also knew just how much he needed one. Everyone does. He returns your embrace and holds you tight.
As you feel his breathing steady, you pull back and look at him. He looks a bit better now.
“Are you okay?” You ask and grab his hands, holding eye contact with him.
He takes a few seconds to collect the words he wants to say in his mind.
“I don’t feel like humanity’s strongest today.” He says.
You nod in understanding.
“Well…sometimes, you just need to be Levi.” You smile at him reassuringly and give his hands a squeeze.
His lips curl up into the smallest of smiles, yet it lights up his face a thousand times more.
“Who knew the best part of titanless life would be getting pampered by pretty nurses when you’re old and crippled.” He says.
Your cheeks flush in shock and you let out quiet, nervous laughter. Is he flirting with you right now?
“Oh, you must mean Maryanne. She is very pretty.” You tease him.
“Tch. God no.” He rolls his eyes and you laugh.
“It’s too bad, you’re just gonna get even older and you won’t have a bunch of pretty nurses taking care of you anymore.” You sigh dramatically and stand up, releasing his hands.
He narrows his eyes and asks,
“Why’s that?”
“Because you’ll only have me.” You reply, biting the inside of your cheek to keep you from blushing more than you already were.
“Is that so?” His small smile evolves into a small smirk.
“That doesn’t sound so bad.” He says, eyeing your left hand where a wedding ring would be.
Bashful silence lingers in the air for a few moments. You bend down to fix his pant leg and roll it back into place. He watches you carefully. You look up at him and catch his gaze, his eyes drifting across your features and spending a questionable amount of time on your lips.
“I have a want.” He says.
You perk up, pleasantly surprised to hear he wants something from you. You’re eager to provide.
“Yes?” You respond.
“I want a kiss from a pretty nurse.” He states plainly and you blush hard, struggling to keep eye contact with him.
“Well I…I can go get Maryanne-“ You start and he cuts you off.
“(y/n).” He groans.
“I’m just kidding.” You laugh and slowly stand up. The two of you examine each other for a moment before you begin to make your way in towards his face.
“Wait.” You mutter and stop a couple of inches from his lips.
You pull back and bend down, gently taking his feet off of the footrests of his wheelchair and placing them on the ground. Then, you stand up and hold out your hands. He understands and takes your hands in his. You carefully pull him up and bring him in close to you, giving him the proper support to stand up as well as a loving embrace.
“Is this better?” You ask as your faces are dangerously close now. He nods.
“Yes, thank you.” He replies, his eyes glued to your lips.
You finally lean in and press your lips against his, closing your eyes and melting into him. The kiss is tender and sweet. You both take your time with it and make it last.
Outside of Levi’s room, Gabi and Falco are making their way down the hall to say good morning. They approach the door which is slightly ajar and see you and Levi kissing.
“Oo-“ Gabi starts but Falco covers her mouth with his hands and quietly leads her back down the hallway, retreating.
“Did you hear something?” You say, pulling back from the kiss and looking towards the door. Levi follows your gaze. He attempts to lift his leg to kick the door shut, gripping your shoulders for support. Just as his foot almost reaches the door, his leg cramps and his foot falls to the floor. He lets out a disappointed huff.
“I miss kicking things.” He frowns and you chuckle.
“Let me help.” You say as you hold him tightly against you, lifting your leg and shutting the door with a swift and surprisingly powerful kick. His eyes widen and his gaze returns to your face.
“That was attractive.” He states.
You laugh and grab his face, pulling him in for another kiss.
There will be many more to come.