The Humanity's Strongest & The Graceful

Dé·jà Vu

Levi's POV:

After waking up this morning, I thought today would be a bad day, another day of accepting and realizing that Furlan and Isabel weren't here. Surprisingly, I didn't have a nightmare when I went back to sleep, but it was still fresh on my mind. However, my perspective changed when I saw Tessa sleeping in my arms with one of her hands resting on my heart while the other held my hand around her waist. I watched her slow breathing for what seemed like forever, realizing I could get used to a view like this every morning and night. Holding Tessa, the girl I love, in my arms as she dreams. The idea is too perfect for words. While looking at Tessa, I see the wing resting against her heart, making me smile because I thought about how much Tessa loved Vanessa's ring, smiling as she twisted it around her ring finger, just like Vanessa did whenever she was anxious. It didn't stop me from admiring her with it, which also didn't go unnoticed by Kenny because he would tease me about it, especially in front of Tessa, "I wonder if Levi will need your ring to propose to Tess when they get older, Nessa." Kenny had said to Vanessa, causing me to turn crimson from embarrassment. Yet Tessa was worse because she would fidget with her hair, one of her nervous ticks, to hide her blushing cheeks from me, but I saw them when our eyes met. Of course, Vanessa added her teasing into it but did it in silence. After Tessa looked away, I saw Vanessa wink at me, making me wonder if Vanessa and Kenny had already planned on giving it to me whenever it came time.

While gently running my fingers through Tessa's ebony curls, I think about how I saw her wearing the wing for the first time because it was after the massacre when she found me. Before looking into her beautiful sky-blue eyes, I saw the feather shining brightly in the mist, realizing Tessa had a different pair of wings than the Scout's symbol of being The Wings of Freedom. No one could see them, yet you felt them once you were around her because the warmth of her smile was the proof anyone needed. Tessa is light for the people, but she is my Angel, as I used to be the former King of Darkness. After she fell asleep last night, I vowed to protect her, be honest, and never let anything happen to her because I lost her once, almost twice, and I wouldn't let it happen again. No matter if it's Titan or human. Thinking about it, I wonder when Erwin will want to speak to me about my decision to stay with the Scouts since Lovof's arrest or return to the Underground. However, I already decided to stay because, though I hate to admit it, Erwin made a valuable point that Humanity needs my strength, but because I owe it to Furlan's and Isabel's memory to have a life on the surface with Tessa by my side.

Suddenly, I hear a light ticking noise on Tessa's nightstand, causing me to snap out of my thoughts to remember I need to get new clothes because today is our day off before planning the next expedition. As I slowly move off the bed, Tessa remains asleep while I cover her back up before kissing her forehead. After grabbing my shoes, I walked into the office to grab a piece of paper to write a note for Tessa assuming she woke up before I returned, only to notice the tea tray still on the desk. After placing the letter on the nightstand, I give Tessa one more kiss before walking back into the office, grabbing the tray on my way out. While walking to the kitchen, I notice it's still dark outside, making me raise a brow, 'How early did I wake up?' I thought as I looked out the window, only to see the morning light slowly peaking through the mountains, so I knew it was not too early. Suddenly, the kinks in my back start undoing themselves, causing me to groan before entering the kitchen as I think about perfect last night was with Tessa, realizing I'm a lucky man because I get to be with her. However, my thoughts stop after noticing I've been washing the teapot for over five minutes, causing me to shake my head and return to cleaning the rest of the dishes before heading to the men's barracks and then to Tessa's, hoping she will still be asleep when I get back.

Tessa's POV:

The morning light etches into the glass windows of Tessa's bedroom as her eyes flutter open, only to see Levi's bedside empty before noticing the blankets folded back perfectly on his side, but she's under them still. While running a hand across the pillow was cool to the touch, which meant Levi hadn't been here in a while, making Tessa bite her lip as she hoped last night wasn't a mistake because it didn't feel like that to her since everything was perfect. Tessa didn't have to hide her feeling about Levi anymore, but she still felt nervous because there was no turning back now. After all, she told Levi she loved him, which he reciprocated, making her smile while stretching out her sleeping muscles, only for her fingers to brush by a note on her nightstand, to see it was from Levi.