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It wasn't hard to see how you became Levi's right hand and confidant. You were strong, direct, a quick thinker, and above all else, loyal. To him and only him. A fact that both annoys him and tugs at his not yet stone heart. Although, if anyone would ask, he'd merely state that he tolerated you for your cleaning capabilities.
You were currently stationed with the new recruits, under strict orders to oversee their sanitization of the cafeteria space. Your sharp, analytical eyes swept over the rookies, inspecting their performance with the intensity of a bomb diffuser looking over a nuke. You personally couldn't care less about how clean or unclean a space was. You grew up in the underground after all, dirt was a given. In fact, the cleanliness of the Survey Corps still threw you off every so often. However, Levi cared. He put all his effort into keeping this space tidy and making sure others did the same. It's important to him. So it's even more important to you. Your eyes caught on Eren and Jean arguing over the way to wipe down the tables. After waiting for the fight to diffuse on its own and being sorely disappointed, you pushed yourself off the wall and marched over to the two boys. Jean noticed your arrival first and immediately shut his mouth, standing straight like he just got slapped. The shift in behavior made Eren glanced over as well, face paling as he caught sight of yours.
“Lieutenant! Hi! Uh, were we being too loud? Super sorry about that, really. Jean was just-” Jean interrupted, appalled at the blame being thrown at him.
“I was just?! You- … Sorry Lieutenant. It won't happen again, I promise.” Your eyes flicked between the two, narrowing as you took in their nervous apologies. Finally, you pulled out your pen and usual notepad, jotting a single word down and turning the page towards them. Separate. Eren and Jean mumbled a few more snide insults at each other before Jean decidedly stalked to the other side of the room. You walked back to your spot against the wall, satisfied with the outcome of your intervention. There wasn't much else of note that happened after, most being too scared to act out while you were staring holes into their necks.
Levi arrived once alerted that the group was finished and began to examine every inch of wood and stone for a single crumb or spec of dirt. His eyes shifted to yours, a silent question of behavior and work ethic. He trusted your report (and you) completely. Your hands released themselves from their spots at your sides to respond. “They cleaned adequately, following your instructions and advice. Only the usual chaos between Eren and Jean ensued, although I stopped it before it went too far.” His eyes stayed glued to you as he followed your hands, mentally translating the signs. Only once your hands fell back to their rightful place did he turn back to the others.
“This is as mediocre as usual, however, it is as acceptable as it can be from you lot. You are all dismissed.” The rookies were a little confused by his leniency, as this was practically the first time they've ever been let go the first time they cleaned an area, but they weren’t about to question his sudden good will. Without another word, they all escaped the room as quickly as they could muster without actively running away. You, of course, stayed put. He hadn't dismissed you nor summoned you closer, so you had no reason to move. Levi's eyes found yours once the last person left, not making a single sound while he observed you. The lack of autonomy without his orders seemed to ever so slightly dishearten him, like he was hoping you'd make some kind of move on your own accord. But, knowing you and your servitude, he relented quickly and beckoned you over. Now with a direct command, you nearly teleported to his side and bowed your head in greeting. He tapped your shoulder to free you and began his descent to the field. You waited until you would be behind him, then followed suit.
The silence seemed to stretch on for eons between the two of you. Levi, with his stoic mask, and you, with your “don't speak unless spoken to” mentality, didn't make for a very talkative combo. Neither of you minded much though, not needing a constant voice to keep the energy high when all either of you really needed was a quiet, steady rock to lean on. Eventually however, Levi did make the decision to speak up. “You handled yourself well. Eren and Jean are an extremely difficult combination to deal with, especially alone.” His voice was stiff, compliments not a common thing for his mouth to form. But he was trying with you. For you.
“It wasn't hard. I am used to fighting and yelling. They're squabbles are petty in comparison.” Your words only seemed to darken Levi's mood, much to your confusion. He is well aware of your past, and you of his, having spent a lot of it together. The mention of it never got any lighter against his heart. “Did I say something wrong?’ Levi shakes his head, running his hands down his face.
“No. You're fine. I was just… wrapped up in my mind.” You didn't like that answer. Not because you didn't believe him, you'd always believe your dear savior, but because you knew how dark of a place his mind could be.
“... Would you like to train? Your schedule should be free for the next few hours.” You memorized his schedule the first day he joined the Survey Corps and have continued to mentally update every single time he rose in rank. Your own schedule wasn't nearly as necessary to remember, as all it consisted of was following Levi's orders.
“... Yeah. Alright. I suppose I could work in a few more hours of training.”
After a mere hour of hand to hand combat, you were once again met with defeat. It wasn't like you were expecting anything different; you knew just how powerful your captain was. It wasn't a quality of his that scared you by any means, but it also wasn't what made you so devoted to him either. His strength is merely an aspect of the man you adore. This particular loss has found you pinned under him in a tangle of arms and legs. The only way you'd ever admit failure is if you had no way to continue to fight, so restraining is the only route he can take. The two of you stayed like that for much longer than necessary, panting to catch your breaths and slow down your heartbeats. Not that it would do either of you much good while you're this close. Levi's hand found itself slowly trailing to your mouth, fingers barely brushing over the scar across your cheek and cleft lip. For the first time in weeks, an emotion finally presented itself onto your face.
Shame.
The hand he let go to touch your face grabbed his, pulling it away. “Please don't.” Your voice rasped, barely audible even to the person inches from the mouth projecting it. You weren't ashamed or even that concerned with any other part of yourself, even your other scars, but this one… Your face and voice are a part of yourself only shown to Levi, and barely even that. The history behind it was too much to be reminded of. Levi let his hand rest beside your head instead, respecting your words with a heavy feeling deep in his chest.
How he wished he could find the words to comfort you, to express how much he admired the internal strength you had to keep moving after the pain you experienced. How he believed your scars to be a physical representation of said strength, and admired them just as deeply. But he couldn't. Those words were not ones able to leave the lips of Levi Ackerman, Humanity's Strongest Soldier. So he kept his mouth shut tight, instead praying for his thoughts to somehow transfer to your own, his vision of you becoming how you saw yourself. His forehead pressed against yours as if the physical connection would better support the transmission.
You stayed completely still underneath him, your breath catching in your throat. How were you supposed to react to this? There was no command to follow, no rule book dictating what to feel about his actions, only your heart pounding in your chest long after your body settled down from the combat. Your eyes stayed glued to your dearest captain, afraid he'd vanish if you even blinked, while his fluttered shut in an act of hesitant relaxation, finally able to allow himself the comfort of safety. The moment lasted forever and not nearly long enough, being broken by the shouts of the newest additions to the team. Levi groaned, pulling himself away and rising to his feet once more. The peace he let wash over him dissipated in the whirlwind that is the Survey Corps, and he steeled his face to his usual cold, somewhat judgemental expression while he hiked his way back to the main area to yell at the commotion. And you, with your loyalty above all else, quickly followed in turn.