Ymir's Necklace: The Secret You Hold | Levi x Reader

Part I: Fight

Hey everyone!

Firstly, I want to thank all of you who have been engaging with this story. Your likes and messages of encouragement do not go unnoticed. I smile every time I get a notification from someone adding this to their reading lists. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Some quick notes before you begin reading

Y/n is younger than Levi in this story *around 28 years old*.

There is a lot of smut in this story, so beware! You will be finding warnings on the beginning of such chapters.

This story is very, very romantic and a slow burn!

Please feel free to leave comments, I love seeing y'all engaging with this story!

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LEVI'S POV

The sun was setting, its departure filling the sky with hues of pink and orange. Birds danced through the air, their chorus in perfect harmony, a symphony of nature. This was Levi Ackerman's favorite time of the day—how peaceful, how delicate, he mused, a stark contrast to the usual chaos ignited by the refugee camp in the wounded heart of Liberio.

Marleyans, despite their propensity for loudness, exhibited an outstanding kindness and empathy towards one another. To Levi, who often found himself wandering the camp alone or occasionally being wheeled around by Gabi, this communal warmth made sense. Throughout the three years he had spent in the regugee camp, things had not progressed much. The Marleyan goverment had decided to fund their military instead of building their cities back. And so, refugee camps prevailed to that day.

In some ways, Levi felt as if his physical and mental state had remained as stagnant as the camp itself - after the last war, he had not been able to walk fully without help, and that's where Gabi and Falco had come into play.

Gabi's company, though not particularly sought after by him due to her talkative and expressive nature—polar opposites to his own tendency towards introspection and profound silence—provided him with entertainment and, more significantly, a distraction from his troubled thoughts.

Or rather, memories.

Memories of fallen friends, of cadets whom he had come to consider family. Memories of destruction and loss. Eren Jaeger might have desired to erase humanity beyond the walls, but he certainly did not erase Levi's memories, nor did he erase his people.

"We should get going now, the sun is setting," he announced, breaking the contemplative silence. He narrowed his eyes as a way to take in the landscape one last time before leaving.

"Yes, Levi," the auburn-haired girl replied, obediently pushing his wheelchair back towards the tent that served as the former captain's quarters. He hated that wheelchair - it brought him shame, but walking had become more of a distant memory to Levi then.

Inside his tent, Falco awaited them both, finishing up the tea Levi always had before bed. The tent was remarkably clean, imbued with the comforting scents of lavender and cinnamon. Gabi bid them goodnight and retreated to her own tent, knowing well that it was Falco's duty to assist Levi with getting into bed.

While doing so, the blond young man handled Levi's left leg with utmost care, cautious not to inflict any unintentional pain, fully aware of Levi's numbness yet uncertain of its bounds.
The leg never fully recovered from the final battle, unlike his right, which had healed adequately.

Feeling so vulnerable, so dependent, was something Levi detested. The notion of being cared for by those who were practically children in his eyes, even if they weren't kids anymore, was a bitter pill for his pride to swallow.

Once Falco had left the tent, silence enveloped the space. It wasn't long before Levi closed his eyes shut, the numbness in his leg becoming lighter.

His body relaxed fully, sinking into the mattress until he could no longer tell where his body ended and the bed began. The scent of lavender wafted around him, lulling him into a deeper state of relaxation. It had never been easy for him to fall asleep - insomnia was still a nightly visitor in Levi's life. But even so, his body continued to relax as he stretched his arms behind his head.

That is, until a sound caught his attention.

Is that singing? Humming?, he thought to himself

The melody was ethereal, almost celestial—unlike anything he had ever heard before. It was eerie, since most of the camp was probably sleeping by then.

His body tensed as the beautiful voice continued its haunting song.

"For so long I've waited, Ymir, Ymir...I've been waiting for your call..."

Ymir?

Was he already asleep? Teetering on the edge of consciousness? That could not be true.

Was this all just a bizarre dream?

Levi Ackerman then pushed himself out of bed as best as he could, his movements hindered by the numbness. He fiercely and sloppily grabbed onto any stable surface to prevent a fall, until he held onto the edge of his bed to steady himself. He hastily opened his tent and peered outside, desperate to find the source of the mysterious and captivating sound.

Looking left, then right, he found the camp eerily deserted.