Deviate | Levi Ackerman x OC

Ch. 7

As I waited for the others to return, I took a seat on the ground. The alcohol had created a warming feeling inside my stomach and the fire was soothing in front of me. Taking another swig from my almost gone bottle, I sighed and basked in the heat it provided, looking up at the sky above me. The twinkling of the stars was as captivating here as it was from my windows at home. Without thinking about it too much, I laid back on the grass behind me for a better view of their glistening. My eye caught and followed a star shoot across the sky just as I heard someone click their tongue.

"Tch, if you're falling over, it's well past time to call it a night," Levi scolded as he walked over to stand above me. "Not a great look."
I closed my eyes, breaking them from the beautiful sky above and took a deep breath before opening my mouth. "No one is falling over here. I was trying to get a better view."
"So you're purposely laying on the dirty ground?"
"Mmm," I hummed back. "You get the best visuals from down here."
"I'll take your word for it," he replied, looking up himself.
I smirked a little seeing him participate, patting the grass beside me in invitation. "Come on! You should try it."
"Hard pass," he looked back at me, furrowing his brow at the mere suggestion of the Levi Ackerman sitting on such a soiled space.
I sighed and propped myself up on my elbows, pulling my sweater off one arm at a time. I had already laid it down beside me when I grasped just what I was doing, but I was too committed by then to take it back. "Better, princess?"
Levi scoffed at my offer and I returned to my own stargazing, figuring he'd soon stalk off into the darkness again anyway. I smiled to myself and closed my eyes again, taking in every part of this moment; the warmth of the nearby fire and the alcohol in my system, the smell of the burning wood, the sounds of laughter, the noticeably more brisk breeze now that I didn't have my sweater on, the feel of the grass under my fingertips.

I heard some rustling beside me and assumed Abel and the others had returned, surprised at how much quieter they were coming back than they'd been when they left. I opened my eyes and involuntarily jumped when I saw Levi much closer now, sitting to my right.
"Oh," I squeaked out. "Hi."
"Hi? You asked me here – you even set it up," he sounded a little defensive, but that wasn't exactly new for him with me.
"No, I know. I'm sorry, I just didn't think you were going to accept."
"It's one way to kill the rest of my time down here," he replied, bringing a cup of his own to his lips.
I considered making a comment about his drinking, but decided against it. "Can I ask what exactly you'll be showing me during this training?"
"Work? That's what you want to talk about at a party?"
I pursed my lips. "I thought diving in and discussing our deepest secrets, hopes, and dreams was a little heavy in this setting."
Levi looked stoic as ever as he took his time responding further. I began to wonder if he was going to say anything else at all when he finally broke the silence. "Still being determined. Erwin's tasked me with picking my own team so we're working on the specifics of that."
"Ooh, pulling out the big guns," I commented, a small grin coming over my face.
"Something like that."
I sighed deeply and glanced at the vast sky above again. The way the little flickers of light shimmered against the darkness never seemed to get old.
"You really like doing that," he observed. It wasn't a question, but more like a statement of fact.
"I really do," I confirmed back. "It's one of the few things that you can count on to always be there no matter what; mostly the same everywhere you go. And it isn't half bad to look at, right?"
"It's okay," Levi replied. "If you like that kind of thing."
I stifled a chuckle; progress with Levi was admittedly a little amusing. I turned my head to face him. He was sitting up next to me but had been looking up toward the sky, too. As if he could feel it, he glanced down to meet my eyes. His steely greys lingered there for a moment.
"You have nice eyes," What should've been my private thought tumbled out of my mouth. I felt panic set in – surely we could blame that on the alcohol, right? I thought on my feet to correct myself. "So much less murderous looking in this light."
Levi narrowed them in response ever so slightly. He still didn't break our gaze but he didn't adversely counter my comment, either. "I'll have to work on that then. Can't be losing my touch."
I finally broke our shared look to finish whatever was left in my bottle. I laid it down between us and held my hands up victoriously.
"You're going to be fun tomorrow," he rebuked matter-of-factly. I gave him an unamused look as I watched him, too, take a drink of his own.
"And you already know you won't be? I see you sipping over there, too."
He scoffed like I'd just uttered the most absurd thing he'd ever heard. "I can assure you our tolerances are worlds apart."
"You can absolutely say that again," I snarked back. I turned my head to face the sky once more.
Except instead of the sky, there was Hange with their signature beaming expression above me. They immediately solicited a massive smile across my own face.