Work Text:
You knock softly on the wooden door.
"Captain?"
"Come in."
The office is lit by a single lamp, the golden hues spreading across the desk. Maps are strewn about, reports piled high, the teacup abandoned and long since gone cold. He barely glances up as you set a fresh cup beside him. The weight of the upcoming expedition was taking a toll on him.
"You'll end up reading the same line ten times if you keep going."
"I've only read it seven."
"Levi, that was almost a joke."
"It wasn't."
You smirk at him before taking a handful of the maps and moving to the old couch in the corner of his office. You sit cross-legged and turn to him.
"Come sit."
You can practically feel the annoyance radiating off of him. But he listens anyway. He approaches with reports in one hand and his tea you'd made him in the other. As he sits he rests his leg against yours. Your smile only brightens. It had been a few weeks since things had changed. Developed even. The way he would talk to you, look at you, how his hand had found yours in quieter moments. You both knew what it meant but neither of you could find the words.
You turn your attention back to the maps and spread them out across the floor in front of the couch. You talk through possible routes, then contingency plans, then somehow you've wandered off onto another tangent entirely because that's what you do. Levi doesn't interrupt. He just listens, as he always does. At first he answers every so often.
"Hm."
"No."
"That could work."
Then he goes quiet. You keep talking. Your brain swirling with ideas, anything to take some of the burden off his shoulders. You assume he's thinking it all over until your words begin to sound very loud in the silence.
Then you feel it, the tiniest bit of extra weight against your shoulder. You glance sideways. His head has tipped just enough to rest there. His dark hair falling across his face, casting shadows across his features. His eyes closed. His breathing slow. Even. Rhythmic. He is asleep. Your breath catches in your throat. You can't take your gaze off him. For the first time since you'd met him, he looked peaceful. You don't dare move. You hold your breath without even realising it.
After a long while you reach down and carefully place your empty teacup on the floor. You lean back, adjusting your legs carefully, knowing he is a very light sleeper. He shifts. His face nuzzling against your shoulder. His body leans into you more, his weight pressing you back against the couch. Your heart thumps harder in your chest. You move your head to the side to rest on the soft hair on the crown of his head. Before you can think about it your hand comes up, your thumb brushing his cheek in a ghost-like touch. His skin was warm and smooth. Your stomach does a flip. You let your hand rest gently on his leg before taking one last look at the man you had fallen head over heels for, the Captain with the hard exterior, as you were beginning to find out, the softest interior.
You sit there quietly for some time. The only sounds you could hear were the wind tapping the window panes and Levi's soft rhythmic breathing. His breath ghosts over the skin of your neck sending chills through your bones. The lantern glow illuminating his office in a warm, ethereal golden glow. You feel your eyelids drooping. The last thing in your mind before sleep finally claims you is Levi's face.
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Levi's POV
The sun is only just beginning to rise through the office window. Levi wakes first. His eyelids slowly open, the first rays of dawn hitting his face with a warm wave. His body freezes up. He had not expected to sleep. He hears a heartbeat, slow and rhythmic, beating in his left ear. It's not his. He realises where he is. The heat from your shoulder pressed against his cheek. The quiet breaths leaving your lips. The way your head is slumped against the back of the couch. You are asleep. His breath wavers as the dots join up, he had fallen asleep on you and you had stayed. Perfectly still. All night. For him. His heart slams against his ribs, a warm sensation flooding his senses. The same one he feels when you look at him. When you laugh. When he sees you safe after an expedition.
He doesn't move right away. The feeling of your sleeping frame next to him had erased the constant noise in his head. You smelt sweet. Like honey and tea. His breath falters. He had never fallen asleep next to someone. Let alone on them. His eyes look down to your hand resting on his leg. Your fingers softly holding onto him with the gentlest of pressure. His nerves felt like sparks shooting from a growing fire. He feels frozen. Unable to decide if he should move before you wake or stay a few minutes longer.
Eventually the thought of you waking to him still leaning on you scares him. He sits up carefully, your face finally coming into view. His eyes immediately soften. Your lips slightly parted. Your eyelashes fluttering as you dream. Your cheeks flushed a gentle rose. Your hair messily framing your jaw. You look peaceful. Calm. Safe. And in this golden light, beautiful. He runs his hands through his hair and averts his gaze. To look any longer would be dangerous for his sanity. He stands and collects a small blanket from the cupboard. He unfolds it and places it over your sleeping frame with careful, precise movements, afraid to disturb your peace. His lip tugs at the corner as he admires you one last time.
"Thank you for letting me rest."
The words are so quiet they barely drift from his lips more than an inch. He turns swiftly back to the maps and reports scattered in front of the couch, picking up anything of immediate importance, plus your notes from the night before. You always helped him. He didn't know why for such a long time. Why you would bring tea. Why you would help with paperwork. Why his gear was always laid out ready for him. As he sat down in his chair at the desk it all clicked. That the warm sensation in his chest wasn't just felt by him, it was shared by you also. He placed the notes on the desk and began to read.
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You feel yourself beginning to wake. Your neck is sore. Your mouth is dry. Your body warm. Slowly your eyelids squint open, bright rays pour in through the window. A silhouette broke through the light. A small smile spread onto your face as you realise it's Levi, sitting at his desk. He is looking down at the maps and reports, steam swirling up through the glow around him. The fresh scent of tea hits your nostrils. You glance down seeing a cup on the small side table, steam rising. The blanket rustles as you reach for the cup. That wasn't there before. You wrap your hands around the warm cup, letting the heat seep into your fingers.
"Morning," you murmur, your voice thick with sleep. Levi didn't look up immediately.
"Morning."
You smile over the rim of the mug.
"Did I fall asleep?"
"Hm."
"Did you?"
His pen stopped. Silence.
"Don't make a habit of asking stupid questions."
You laugh softly.
"So that's a yes."
He sighs through his nose, the faintest pink creeping over the tips of his ears.
"I was tired."
"I noticed."
"You should've woken me up."
Your face softens.
"You looked like you needed it, Levi."
His hand tightened around the pen. His knuckles turn slightly white. The pink flush moving from his ears to the apples of his cheeks. He looks down at the paper, dark strands covering his eyes.
"Tea's getting cold," he mutters.
It wasn't a dismissal. It was his way of changing the subject before he said something he couldn't take back. You knew him too well. You took a sip, your gaze unable to break away from him.
"Thank you."
Levi lifts his head to meet your gaze, one eyebrow raised.
"For what?"
"For trusting me."
His eyes linger on yours for a heartbeat before he looks back at the reports.
"Don't mention it."
But the corner of his mouth betrayed him and the warmth spread through your chest once again.