Deviate | Levi Ackerman x OC

Ch. 6

"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes!" Hange greeted as they opened their door for me.
I scrunched my nose up at their words and smiled; I firmly believe my life in any universe is infinitely better with a friend like them in it.
"I could certainly say the same," I reached up and cupped the side of their face, giving their cheek a light squeeze. "Ready to go?"
"Almost!" They disappeared back inside as soon as they said so. I heard them rummaging around before they re-emerged, sliding something into their back pocket with one hand and holding a couple of bottles in the other. I extended a hand to help and Hange handed me one of the bottles. As they shut their door, they glanced over at Levi's and gave me a questioning look.
I shrugged my shoulders. "He told me he doesn't do parties."
"Levi says a lot of things he doesn't mean. Take it from me," they chirped back, knocking on his door anyway.
"What is it, Shitty Glasses?" A low voice could barely be made out from inside.
"Just wanted to extend the invite one more time before you resign to your post as buzzkill for the evening!"
There was no response to that for a long minute. Hange looked at me and shrugged back.
Just as they reached out and linked their arm with mine to lead the way, the door opened. Their eyes lit up and they turned around to greet him. "I knew you'd change your mind!"
"I never said I'd go," Levi countered, looking at Hange briefly before his eyes flickered over to me. I smiled at him and though he didn't offer one back, he didn't scowl at me any more deeply than usual.
"Well the invite still stands!"
"And you're already out here with us anyway," I added, soliciting surprised looks from them both.
He glanced down at the bottles we held. "That is what you guys are drinking?"
"Unfortunately this isn't exactly a tea kind of setting, so we had to make due," they clarified. "Unless you have something better for us?"
"Anything would be better than that," he scolded. He shifted his weight from one foot to another, catching my eye again briefly before looking away.
Hange sighed, likely accepting their defeat and turned to head out again when he quietly added, "I'll meet you down there."
They looked at me and winked. "Sure thing, Clean Freak."
I stifled my giggles and fell into step with them as we headed out.

Beautiful shades of orange and pink painted the early evening sky as the sun began to set. It was cool and quiet enough outside. A low but building buzz began to grow the closer we got to the established meeting place. The glow of the fire they'd built guided us as we quickly closed the distance.
A new wave of Hange's high energy kicked in as they made their way around to greet everyone. I recognized many of the faces and offered my own friendly hellos but I couldn't help but still feel a bit awkward. I was basically meeting these people for the first time who somehow already knew me; something about that felt like it was going to be more challenging than usual to navigate.
Besides Mike and Nanaba, the first person I recognized was Moblit. He smiled at me from his spot near the fire and held up his drink in salutation before tipping it back.
"Having a good time?" I asked, making my way over to him.
"Of course," he remarked. "Some might say this is as good as it gets around here."
I nodded back. Moblit had a relaxed air about him this evening, which I knew was not a very common occurrence in this neck of the woods. "We need that every so often. I think it's good for you to unwind and relax from time to time."
"Honestly," he seemed to hesitate as he pondered what he was going to say next. "I think you've helped me relax more than anything."
He lost me now. "Me? How on earth have I done that?"
"I love them in ways that words can't properly express, but man - trying to keep Hange out of trouble can be pretty taxing. I don't know how you make it look so easy."
A laugh escaped my lips involuntarily. I couldn't say he was entirely wrong. "I might make it look good, but I can see where you're coming from. It isn't for the fainthearted, that's for sure."
He chuckled in agreement. "I'd do anything for them and they know that. I'd just be lying if I said I wasn't a little less on edge ever since you came back and resumed that post, that's all."
Ever since I came back? I had no idea I'd ever left, but I wasn't prepared to interrogate him about that here. "Happy to be of service. The things we do for love and Hange, right?"
He nodded and took another swig of his drink.