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The stars were abundant in the sky, like glitter sprinkled onto a dark canvas. I smiled fondly to myself as I waited for the kettle to whistle. Tonight reminded of that night. The night I met the captain for the first time.
He’d looked me up and down as I visibly shook with nerves beside my fellow, newly recruited scouts. The look in his eyes was clear—tired, unamused; like he had seen the tell-tale sign of a specific breed of “fresh meat” countless times before and had already judged me. It was clear how he initially perceived me: a frightened cadet who had lucked out their way to graduation, and would die on the first mission.
I proved him wrong.
The following day, we had our first practice course in preparation for an upcoming mission. I could feel his eyes on me as I surpassed my peers in speed, agility, and reflexes. In fact, I was keeping up with the most experienced of scouts, much to his surprise.
That day, I earned his trust.
Two years later, I sat in the shared kitchen of the Levi Squad, not only as one of his most trusted teammates, but also as his friend. Although, I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to be more than that.
Unfortunately for me, the touch resistant and stand-offish Levi Ackerman had never been known to have had romantic feelings of any sort, so I was out of luck. But sometimes, there were moments that gave me hope, moments that seemed to differ from every other experience I’d heard about peoples’ interactions with Levi. During our frequent late-night talks as we’re both unable to sleep. During our sparring sessions when he’d hold me to adjust my form. During those times when I would do small acts of service, like buying him more of his favorite cleaning supplies if I saw he ran out.
At these moments, I would be blessed with a whisper of a smile on his face when he thought I wasn’t looking, and I would think that maybe—just maybe—there was a chance he liked me too. But I had to be sensible. Levi would never like me in that way, and that was okay.
“Tch. Does the whole damn house have to hear the kettle for you to turn it off?”
I spun around with a jump at the sound of Levi’s voice cutting through my thoughts. He stood by the stove with the kettle in hand, pouring the hot water into the two cups I had prepared. He looked tired. Then again, when did he not? Yet despite the clear fatigue in his eyes, he still managed to look effortlessly attractive in his weird little button down, long-pants pajamas.
“God Levi, you almost gave me a heart attack,” I said, my hand laying heavily on my racing heart.
“Well tell your heart to grow a pair and sharpen your ears next time brat,” he responded, as he placed the kettle back down on the stove with an unbothered look on his face. Yet, though his words seemed harsh, his softer tone betrayed them. It was clear he was trying to be gentler after my words, despite his attempt to cover that up.
“It’s no wonder you couldn’t hear me with how loud the kettle was whistling. How didn’t you hear that?”
His eyebrows knit together, looking genuinely concerned when he asked that last part. Honestly, I didn’t know whether to feel more amused or embarrassed at that fact.
“I was just… you know...” well I can’t say I was thinking about whether or not I had any shot with you.
He raised an eyebrow.
Shit. I know he was just anticipating my response, but why did he have to look so damn hot while doing it?
“Uh never mind that. Here,” I grabbed one of the mugs next to him on the counter. “I made this for you. Earl Grey, loose leaf. I figured you would be coming down to make a cup soon anyway, given the time.”
He gave me a look that said “nice job changing the subject” but took the cup anyway. He offered a nod of gratitude before taking a sip. I could see some of the stress radiate off of him as he closed his eyes in content at the taste of his favorite tea.
“Perfect as usual y/n.” He spoke in a slightly more relaxed tone than before, and I beamed at the praise.
“Thank you, Captain,” I said as I took my own cup, sipping from it as well. However, over the rim of my mug, I saw him shoot a half-hearted glare my way.
“I told you already… we’re almost the same age, and we’ve passed the stage of private formalities. Call me Levi out of work hours.”
I felt a blush spread across my cheeks, and I just prayed my cup hid most of it as I held it closer to my face.
“Right right, sorry Levi. I guess I’m still getting used to that. Two years ago, I would have half expected you to pop out of nowhere and end me if I spoke your first name,” I laughed into my cup.
He rolled his eyes at that, but I could see the slight smile he tried to hide behind his own cup.
“Good,” he said, “fear keeps new scouts in their place.”
“And it keeps you from admitting how much you actually care for them,” I countered.
He scoffed.
I smirked. “That wasn’t a no.”
“It wasn’t a yes either brat,” he bit back.
I leaned on the counter next to him, looking forward triumphantly as I sipped my tea.
“Oh, so it was a maybe. Got it.”
He placed his now-empty cup down and covered his face with a hand in exasperation before speaking. “You’re draining, you know that?”
I finished my cup too, placing it down next to his as I responded. “Yeah, but I know you love me.”
“Oh?” Levi turned his head toward me, eyes unimpressed, eyebrows raised. “Is that what you know?”
There was a beat of silence, my response time slowing as I processed how close our faces were after his recent movement. Then I scoffed out a laugh, turning my head away and covering my face with a hand as I felt my cheeks flush.
“Why’d you say it like that?” I spoke, finally.
“I said it in a way?” He sounded genuinely perplexed as he reached for my jaw to turn me back to face him. “For God’s sake- look at me brat. How did I say it?”
When our eyes met, my heart skipped a beat. He’d brought our faces even closer than before, but this time, he’d noticed, and it showed. It showed in the way he suddenly went silent, in the way his typically stoic expression softened, in the way his eyes darted to my lips before returning to my eyes.
“I-,” I started, subconsciously leaning in closer. “I just thought-,” I was now mumbling as he drew nearer too.
And our lips met.
It was tentative at first. A series of gentle, experimental brushes that sent a small shock wave through me with every fleeting moment of contact.
Then, I felt Levi’s hand move from cupping my jaw to holding my chin, and he started planting longer, more confident kisses on my lips. I started kissing him back, and he immediately melted. He let out a soft hum that let me know he was enjoying this, and I felt my cheeks heat up even more than before.
We began kissing for longer intervals, his lips moving against mine and me following suit. My heart raced at the thought that this was actually happening, but that again, this felt better than any fantasy I could ever imagine.
As if my mind wasn’t reeling enough, the captain’s free hand, which was previously propping him up on the counter, now found its way to my side. He first rested his hand on the curve my waist, then he slowly trailed it up my side, making my back involuntarily arch a little. His breath hitched, and my face burned from embarrassment, but the way he kissed me more intensely after that told me he liked it.
Finally, Levi let his hand trail down to the curve of my back and wrapped his arm around my waist. He gently pulled me in until I could feel the heat radiating from his body, then, he hesitated.
He brought his hand back up from my chin to my jaw to break the kiss, and admittedly, I chased his lips before opening my eyes at the amused scoff I heard from him.
“What’s wrong?” I asked softly, hoping I didn’t do anything to mess this up.
He looked at me, eyes taking in every detail. I had never seen them with a look of such raw care before, as if he had let his filter fall, allowing me to look through the windows of his soul.
“It’s nothing, just,” he took in a shaky breath. “You seem to be… enjoying… this,” he blinked frequently as he spoke, his gaze directed away from mine. My heart lurched. I had never seen him like this before. Who would have thought that the Levi Ackerman would get flustered from kissing someone?
“But,” he continued. “Things happened a little fast and I never got to ask you, are you okay with this?” His gaze now conveyed a more serious look as he met my eyes again. “I am your superior, and I wouldn’t want you to feel obligated or forced into this. I understand if you’d prefer to stop now.”
I couldn’t help but smile fondly at him. This was so sweet and respectful it made me want to kiss him all over again. So, I did.
I wrapped an arm around his neck, and placed my other hand behind his head, pulling him down for a kiss on his lips. He kissed back almost immediately, and I basked in the moment as he pulled me closer, now allowing our bodies to touch. Goosebumps spread throughout my whole body at the contact, and I clutched at his hair, deepening the kiss. Levi let out a suppressed moan at that, and I couldn’t help but take the opportunity to let my tongue explore his open mouth.
This time, we both let out a tiny sound as our tongues made contact. I could taste the bitter flavor of Earl Grey on his tongue, but that somehow just made me want even more of him. I dragged my tongue on the underside of his, catching him off guard so that this time, he wasn’t able to suppress the moan that escaped his lips.
We tangled out tongues in a heated kiss for a while, occasionally breaking for air just to dive back in almost immediately. At one point I tried to break the kiss, but Levi chased my lips and repeatedly licked the roof of my mouth, causing me to let out breathy moans as he held me in place with his firm grip on my jaw.
When I was finally allowed to pull back, I was pleasantly surprised to see a light blush on his cheeks, accompanied by a slightly dazed expression. I took a second to catch my breath, then, moving my hand from the back of his head to his jaw to get his attention, I began to speak.
“I like you, Levi. A lot. I’m more than okay with this, and I’m not just saying that because I feel obligated to.” I said with an earnest look in my eyes.
Then he smiled. Smiled. My eyes widened. I swear my heart stopped altogether. Not only had I never seen him smile before, but no one else from the survey corps had. We weren’t even sure if he could. Yet here he was, doing it for my eyes only, and it was breath takingly beautiful.
“I like you too, y/n,” he said, still smiling. Between his smile, his confession, and that kiss, I was surprised my face hadn’t erupted in flames with how much I was blushing.
After a few seconds of simply staring at him while he looked at my flustered state in amusement, I simply let my head fall onto his shoulder.
“You could have warned me before you did that. Maybe you not smiling often is best for all of us. You look way too attractive,” I said.
“Tch,” he said. “Don’t exaggerate, brat.” Despite his deflection, I felt his skin heat up underneath my face, and I knew he was blushing at the compliment.
We stayed like that for a while, just enjoying each other’s company. His arms around my waist, my arms around his neck as my head rest comfortably on his shoulder. Eventually, he decided it was getting late, and advised me to go rest while he washed the cups.
As I was leaving though, I heard him call out with his back turned to the sink. “Meet me by the horses at dawn. I’d like to take you somewhere… just us.”
I could see his red ears from the doorway, and I had to hold back a giggle.
“Of course, Levi,” I responded. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
<3