Deviate | Levi Ackerman x OC

Ch. 32

My bedroom was dimly lit by what I could only assume was the lamp on my desk, bright enough that I could make my way through without falling or knocking anything over. I took my shoes off by the door and walked over to my dresser to dig out something to sleep in.
"Hello," I greeted without looking over, feeling his eyes boring into me. "How was your evening?"
There wasn't an immediate response and I almost second guessed myself, but Levi finally spoke as my curiosity crept in. "It was fine. Yours?"
"As good as can be expected when you get Hange hyper fixating on a new project. You were lucky to have avoided that," I commented cooly, closing one of my drawers after I pulled out a shirt and bottoms. I finally caught his eye and I felt a twitch in the pit of my stomach; I knew it was stupid and reckless to fall too hard and fast in a situation like this, but damn, he made it hard not to. His hardened gaze relaxed as it met mine but he broke away quickly to glance at the floor. I raised my brow but walked to my bathroom instead to change.
After everything that had happened in the last 48 hours alone, I probably shouldn't have reservations about something as trivial as changing in front of him, but Levi seemed a bit more serious now than I'd seen him in a while. I took my time washing my face and otherwise preparing for bed, giving him a chance to either work through whatever was weighing him down or retire for the night altogether. Yet when I finally emerged again, he remained quietly posted up at my desk chair.

"What's the matter?" I asked plainly, dropping the clothes I'd changed out of into a basket on the floor.
"Why do you always think something is wrong?"
Anxiety mostly, I thought to myself.
"Because I just know. You purposely make yourself difficult to read but I'm getting better at it. At least, I'd like to think I am." I pulled back the blanket and sat cross-legged on my bed. "Am I right?"
He looked over at me again as he leaned back in his chair. The expression on his face was still mostly indifferent but something about our interaction felt off. Levi seemed to have loosened up a lot since we sort of gave up on fighting whatever this was, but things felt almost strained now. "I spoke with Erwin today."
The terse statement caught me a little off guard. "I know, I was there."
"In addition to that."
"Oh," I nodded slowly. "So that's where you disappeared to."
He hummed in confirmation. His reluctance to offer up any further insight made me uneasy.
"And how was that?"
"I told him."
"Told him?" I knew what he was alluding to but the question made its way out of my mouth before I could stop it. The look he gave me in response confirmed my suspicion and I took a breath. "And it would appear that didn't go well."
"Not necessarily," he clarified. "He just wanted to make sure I knew and understood the potential ramifications."
I rubbed my temples for a moment while I felt my emotions brewing inside, irritation quickly becoming the most prominent. "Why would you do that?"
Levi was the one caught off guard now, pausing before he answered. "Is that not allowed?"
"You're allowed to do whatever you want. I encourage it, actually. But... this involves me, too. And I wasn't exactly in a rush to clue the Commander that much into my personal life."
"Look, I respect your privacy, Ace," his tone was defensive now, "But I'm just as much an active participant here. I was consulting about something important with someone I respect who's not you or Hange."
"Whose first thought was to highlight the negatives of our situation," I reminded him, feeling myself getting riled up, too. "I didn't even get a chance to soak in the happy little bubble of whatever this is. That's exactly why I didn't want to let anyone else in yet."
"Well, it's a little late for that now."

In one swift motion, Levi was on his feet and out the door. It happened so quickly, I hadn't even gotten a chance to formulate my thoughts any further. My mouth fell open as I couldn't believe what was happening but I huffed and made a face he didn't see as my door shut behind him. I slammed my balled up fists against my bed; we might've come a long way from the first time I made it here but he still kept that knack for working my nerves up even after all this time.
Leaning my head back, I forced myself to take a moment before reacting further. Neither of us were necessarily 'wrong' in this situation – just approaching it from different sides of the same coin. As private of a person as Levi was, I was rather shocked to see he wanted it so public so soon. I could understand his point, as we'd already somewhat navigated these waters before; adding in things like Mike's over friendliness likely only enhanced this. As far as our work went, we weren't technically breaking any rules there, either – we were well within the same peer group, no imbalance of power or authority, etc. I felt my irritation dissolving away slowly but surely, giving way instead to what resembled regret.
I'd been prioritizing public appearances and opinions over what we shared. I had preoccupied myself with questions of 'What if?' and 'What will they think?' from people who didn't matter nearly as much to me as he did. Even if my own concerns were valid, it wasn't very fair to not allow common ground to consider his, too. He'd already been more than accommodating to my emotions through this entire process, too; I quickly affirmed that the very least I could do is allot him the same courtesy. Despite how much I wanted to bury myself under my cover and never emerge, I forced myself out of bed and into the closest shoes I could find. I opened my door as quietly as I could and peered outside to make sure the corridor was still barren. The hall to my right passed the test and as I turned my head to verify the left did, too, I startled unexpectedly and gasped a little louder than I intended.
Levi was propped up unassuming against the wall beside my door, not having made any sound at all to alert me to his presence. The lack of light hid most of his face but I could barely make out traces of a taunting expression. "Took you long enough."
My knees wanted to buckle but I remained upright. "You stayed."
His eyes softened and he reached out for me, taking hold of my hand. He pulled me out of the doorway toward him and I happily obliged until my body rested against his. Although my last attempt at affection earlier blew up in my face, I seized the new opportunity now, taking his face gently in my hand and lightly pressing my lips to his. This kiss was light and delicate, a much needed resolution to our somewhat tense disagreement. I felt his touch break briefly and heard my door click shut as he closed it the rest of the way. After a moment, he took hold of me again and led me away to turn in for the night together.