Blue and White - Levi Fanfiction

Ch. 14 - One Last Job

"Let me get this straight," I said, keeping my voice as even as I could, though there was certainly more than a little bit of emotion just begging to seep through. "Farlan pestered me for weeks about joining the group. He badgered me and badgered me and badgered me and when I finally expressed interest in it and agreed, you gave me a hard time about it and forced me to go steal my own gear! You made me prove myself."

"Mm-hm," he hummed absentmindedly, clearly prompting me to continue, which I did.

"I had to prove myself," I reiterated. "You made that crystal clear. And I did, and only then was I allowed to even learn to use the gear."

"Glad to see your memory isn't going."

I went on without even bothering to dignify his words with a response. "And all Isabel has to do is ask politely?!"

He let out a thoughtful sort of noise, considering it. "Maybe you should have tried that."

"Oh, please," I huffed. "It wouldn't have worked and you know it. I think you're just going soft." I got a swift flick to my temple for that one. "Ouch!"

"I am not going soft," he protested right away. He glanced at me sidelong to say, "And that didn't hurt. I know it didn't... Right?"

"It didn't," I assured him, though a frown still lingered on my lips. "But if it isn't that, then what is it? She's fiery, anyone can see that. And she seems like an incredibly sweet girl."

I nudged him with my shoulder as we walked, intending on teasing him. The way I saw it, he deserved it. For one thing, Isabel got an easier task to join the group. For another, the damn man just flicked my head! So, this was all due diligence, in my eyes.

"What, are you sweet on her or something?"

He scoffed, as though offended at even the idea. "Hardly."

"So, what was it, then?"

"We have an extra set doing nothing more than gathering dust right now," he explained, and I fought the urge to scoff at such a stupid reason. "And there was something about the look in her eyes. She wanted to..."

"To fly," I finished for him with a smile, finally getting it. Honestly, that was all he needed to say. I wasn't upset she was joining, just confused at the changing of his standards. "I swear," I continued, "you have this tough, hard front you show everyone but you're just a big old softie. You just don't want other people to see it. But it's too bad, because I do."

He rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

"For what it's worth," I said, "it's not that I disagreed with your decision. I think she'll make a wonderful addition to our family."

"Family?"

"Is that not what we are?" I asked. "Aside from Isabel now, I'm the newest one to the group but you two welcomed me in your own... special ways. And to me, it feels like a family. We're a team, sure, and a crew or a... a gang as Farlan likes to call us, but we're a tight-knit group like a family."

"I see." There was silence, for a moment. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Oh," I said, reminded of the very reason I had asked him to come out with me and that was, of course, about this morning. "Right. Yeah. Um... It's about this morning, but there's something else, too."

He looked at me sidelong, one of his eyebrows rising up, a clear indication that his interest was piqued. "It sounds important."

"I think it is," I said, almost letting my nerves take over. I allowed the words to gather in my mind, taking a quiet moment just to find the nerve I needed to speak. "Firstly, about this morning, I'm sorry."