Before Midnight

11:59pm

It was a particularly cold December and Commander Erwin had allowed cadets and superiors to take the evening off and relax. The snow outside slowly layered itself making the castle look like an enchanted dream.

Everyone seemed asleep except for one room which flickered in the pitch-black sky just like a firefly. Levi had just trudged out of his bathroom, wearing a baggy tracksuit with an oversized shirt. His thick woolly socks were just a bit too big for him, but he didn't seem to complain.

He sat on his bed with a tired sigh, the crackles of the fire echoing throughout his silent haven. The glow and warmth illuminated itself onto him as he sat in silence. His elbows rested on his thighs as he clasped his hands together and stared into space.

His birthday was just an hour away. He wondered what Hange and Erwin would plan this year, as much as he hated the idea of being the centre of attention, he knew he didn't have much of a choice when it came to his friends.

There was a knock on his door which brought Levi back to his senses. With an irritated sigh he got up and walked towards his door, opening it fully. He watched you get startled, he himself was surprised to find you here so late in front of his room door.

You were holding two mugs of what seemed to be hot chocolate and had a woolly throw blanket over your shoulders. You stood there, unsure of what to say and Levi stood there staring at you. Even after being with him for 3 years, you never managed to figure out all his expressions.

Levi knew he'd been staring for too long, but he didn't exactly look away, not until you started fidgeting. He cleared his throat and stepped aside, inviting you in. You whispered a small thank you before setting the drinks down on his coffee table and dropping yourself on his sofa. Levi had closed the door and now was staring at you with his arms hanging loosely by his sides as you tried to take your combat boots off.

You yourself had the same appearance as Levi, after all it was late and freezing. Finally taking your boots off and placing them near his door you stood next to him with your hands stuffed in your pockets - you were cold.

Clearing your throat, you decided perhaps you should start the conversation. "I brought you hot chocolate, I practically had to snatch it out of Sasha's hands, haha, she somehow nearly dropped all the powder and good thing Connie was there because he had to jump to catch it and it was all happening in slow motion and thank god he caught it because if he didn't then-, right anyway I uh made you a cup with some of the remaining powder I had left." Crap you didn't realise how much you started babbling.

Levi secretly loved that. You talking about the things that excited you, your day or how you found out something interesting and "just HAD" to tell him. It brought warmth to his heart.

He smiled tenderly and you finally relaxed; you hadn't realised how tense your shoulders were since you walked in. He gestured to the sofa and so you sat with a couple of inches between you both. The silence became more comfortable as you both sat there drinking your hot chocolate.

You had your knees up to your chest as you held your mug and Levi's arm was lazily slouched around the top of the sofa with one leg over the other.

"Did you have a good day?" Levi's silky voice broke through the silence. It caught you off guard, nevertheless you grinned up at him.

"Yes, yes I did. We snuck off an hour ago, me and the gang. Snow was pretty deep, so we decided to have a snowball fight." You placed your mug down as you looked back up to his amused face.

"And how did that go?" Levi asked with a raised eyebrow, as he brought his mug up to his lips.

"Ohmygosh you wouldn't believe it! So, Jean and I secretly teamed up. We managed to grab Armin and convince him to help us bring the rest down but guess what!" - you didn't realise how you started jabbering about your evening outing to Levi, clearly oblivious to the fact that he might not be interested at all to hear about it, you mindlessly continued anyway. Crossing your legs and tucking the strands of hair on both sides of your face as you continued your rambling.