𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐲 | 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐢 𝐀𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

✥𝙸𝙶𝙽𝙾𝚁𝙰𝙽𝙲𝙴 𝙸𝚂 𝙰 𝚂𝙲𝙰𝚁𝚈 𝚃𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙶✥

≫ ──── ≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫ ──── ≪

"Stop peaking outside the damn window, Jaeger," Violet growled.
A carriage ride with Zeke Jaeger was by far the most pleasant experience they could be having all together, yet it was not. Levi and Violet sat on the other side from Zeke Jaeger, waiting in thick silence as their prisoner watched outside like a little kid who was only now allowed to see the outside world with his eyes.
Neither of them wanted to be here, but here they were. The universe had a sick and twisted sense of humour that roared in pleasure when the circumstances were far from pleasant.
Zeke sat back on his seat, hands leaving the railing in the window, and stared at them, his grey eyes piercing straight at the two captains. His eyes were blank, nothing to read in them. And then he opened his mouth. "You guys are calling it a victory." He paused. "Isn't ignorance a scary thing?"
"If I send your dead body to Marley and reveal your little plot." Levi countered, his crossed arms not moving from his chest. "Your gramps and granny are done for. But if this secret plan of yours is real, I can wait to chop you up. Either way works for me."
Zeke hummed, such an empty sound to Violet's ears. "I appreciate your graciousness. But don't I get to meet Eren first?"
"Don't overstep your ground, Zeke Jaeger. Hospitality to you is limited." Violet said.
"Don't be in such a hurry, hairball. We've got the finest hotel for you." 'Hotel' was a far nicer word than the one that would describe the reality of where they were heading, but it was not like Zeke needed to know the truth. Or anything, really. It was better if he didn't know a thing. "You can stay there and relax awhile."
Violet took that as her cue and knocked on the wall behind her, noticing the driver to start moving, and the carriage did just so, taking them right where they need to go. She leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes, taking this few minutes that was the ride as a moment to rest. It may not be the most convenient time to rest her eyes, and body, but it was better than being awake. Because the silence in the carriage was painful, the tension so thick that maybe not even one of her sharpest daggers could be done with it. So, yes, sleeping was better than avoiding awkward stares and silence.
"Hey...Can you please stop glaring at me?" Zeke spoke up.
"Shut the fuck up, Jaeger," Violet said.
And that was that.

✥

"This is my hotel?"
Surprise. It was all that rang in Violet's head as she looked down at Zeke Jaeger from high-up in her horse, coming face-to-face with their who-knows-how-long stay: The Forest of Giant Trees.
She didn't miss this fucker at all.
"You got a problem with it?" Levi asked. "It's a Forest of Giant Trees. I can't think of a better place for you."
She would've been grinning at the fact that Zeke was to suffer here, was it not for the fact that she, too, would suffer alongside him. The itchiness that would come from mosquito bites and the grass, the awful heat when the sun managed to sneak past the leaves, the lack of privacy and being around a bunch of sweaty, smelly men was not the living conditions Violet wanted to be in. No matter that she had lived in much, much worse conditions than itchy grass.
And maybe Zeke Jaeger had lived through worse, too, because he said, "Might be lots of fun with ODM gear."
"Yeah, wouldn't it be?" Violet mused. "But I don't think we have one that'll fit you."
Zeke hummed, nodding his head not at her, but at his thoughts. "Hey, Captain Levi, Captain Grey. Think I could show Gabi and Falco this natural wonder?"
"Tch. Whether they see the sights or not depends on you."
And once again, the conversation was over; and they walked further into the Forest of Giant Trees, Zeke walking his way in. 

✥

Violet tied the last hammock to a tree. "There you go, Cadet. Should be good for you to sleep in."
"Thank you, Captain Grey." The young girl smiled, such an innocent look for how much had happened.
Violet wished she could smile like that, too. If she ever had. "Don't mention it. Be ready to watch, your team starts at dawn."
"Yes, Captain!"
She gave the girl a nod and walked away, heading over to her and Levi's tent. Fuck whether people knew or didn't know of their relationship. Whether sleeping together would give the obvious away. If Zeke Jaeger was able to put two and two together, why wouldn't the rest? And maybe they already did, sooner than either her or Levi gave them credit for.
"Hi." Her voice was soft as wool, stepping into their tent. She walked up to Levi, who gave her a smile as his eyes landed on her, and her arms automatically wrapped themselves around the warm figure of her husband. She buried her face in the crook of his neck, inhaling deeply his scent. He smelled like faint cinnamon, probably from the soap she bought for herself yet Levi used it as if it was his own, and vanilla; the sort of the scent nobody would expect the Levi Ackerman to smell like. But he did, he smelled like a bakery. Which made her deepen the embrace and let out a sigh of relief, because in his arms did Violet feel more than safe. As if the impending doom was never coming.
"Hello, brat," Levi said, his hands running through his wife's hair. His wife. That was something he still could not believe, could not wrap his head around. "Are you tired?"
She nodded her head. "Yes. Very much so." Her voice was muffled. "Who knew that tying up hammocks and setting up camp can be so fucking difficult."
"I'm sure it's not worse than dealing with the Jaeger brat."
That made her chuckle. "Now there's two, huh." She lifted her head from where it hid in his neck and looked him in the eyes, at his handsome face. "How is he, by the way? I didn't have time to check on him."
"He's sleeping in the tent near us, guarded all the time. There's no way for him to escape."
Violet hummed. "Good. Not the fact that he's sleeping next to us, but that there is no way for him to escape."
"Tch. Do you think I like the idea of hairball sleeping next to us?" He narrowed his grey eyes.
"Well, that just means we will have to be extra loud tonight, don't you think?" The mischievous grin on her lips had nothing innocent in it.
And neither did Levi's, whose own grin could almost mirror her own.

This. These were moments she treasured with her whole heart. Moments with him, Levi, the love of her life, her husband. It was the only time she felt she could truly be herself. That she could allow herself to forget reality, forget what's really going on and what's going to happen, and purely focus on him. On their time together. Their interactions.
It was the times like this, these rare few moments they almost never got lately, that she loved with her heart of wildfire so fiercely.
"Get some sleep, Grey," Levi said, sitting on their makeshift beds. "You need to rest." He patted the floor next to him, signalling her to come, and she obeyed. Not before saying, "I don't think you can call me Grey anymore, Mr Ackerman."
"Oh? I'm sorry. Come get some rest, Mrs Ackerman." Levi said, looking straight into her eyes.
Those words shouldn't make her as giddy as she felt. That name, which now was hers, too.
"That's much better." She grinned.
She slid into the covers as Levi did, too, and she tangled her limbs with his defined ones, stealing the heat that emitted from his body. It was going to be a cold night, she could tell. And Levi burned like a furnace, so she wanted him as close as she could have him.
Her head was against his chest, listening to his heart as it created the melody that was the only thing that could soothe her to sleep nowadays, and her arms were tangled across his torso, holding him close. And he held her, too, just as tightly as she did.
And they both laid there, looking up to the tent and listening to the silence outside, the faint walking of cadets as they moved around camp, trying not to wake those who were deep in sleep due to the time.
As awful as being in the Forest of Giant Trees was, the night was peaceful. And with Levi running his hands through her hair, soothing her further into sleep, it did not take her long to close her eyes and leave far, far away from the lands that held her in this never-ending nightmare. It did not take much for Levi to follow through, the last thing he saw was the calm face of his beautiful wife. 

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100K...that's so insane.
thank you so much for everything!! it makes me so happy to see so many of you here!!
thank you for reading, for giving this book a try!!
thank you so much <3