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

Break

LEVI

A

fter Falco left the tent, Levi closed his eyes as his body rested on his mattress, feeling a weight settle over him. The brief encounter with you replayed in his mind, each moment dissected with a clinical detachment that belied the turmoil beneath the surface of his reaction to you.

Deep down, he understood many things about him had never changed, and would never change, not even after all these years, not even after war. But this sudden curiosity, this intrigue was new, a fresh feeling he couldn't quite decode yet.

Levi let out a big sigh as hecontinued thinking about your quick interaction that day. Your gaze had lingered on his injured leg then, a mixture of curiosity and something softer, something he couldn't quite decipher filled your youthfull eyes as you looked at his body.

It unsettled him, this look of yours (which was laced with thick layers of curious scrutiny) kept stirring emotions he'd long buried beneath layers of ice and steel. In true, it had been so long since he had quietly cared so much about what a stranger could think of him.

Underneath the surface of his stoic demeanor, Levi realized he was afraid. Afraid of your thoughts, afraid of what impression he might've had on you.

Did you fear him? Pity him, maybe? From your gaze he could tell you didn't particularly dislike his presence, though he continued to recall your expression when you observed his leg.

And the way you just stood up and left. No explanations, or excuses. Not even the decency of small talk. Fuck, why did he care this much? Levi himself hated small talk.

As he continued to lay there, lost in thought, Levi couldn't help but feel a flicker of something unfamiliar—a hint of longing, perhaps, or was it merely a trick of the light?

He pushed the thought aside, unwilling to acknowledge the unease it stirred within him. Such emotion felt so foreign to him, so absurd Levi had to shake his thoughts away.

______

With the dawn of a new day, Levi resolved to maintain his distance from you, a decision born of self-preservation more than anything else. It was easier to bury the memory of your encounter beneath a facade of indifference than to confront the complexities it unearthed. It had always been easier to behave like this for him anyway.

That noon, as he was sitting in the dining hall with Gabi, Levi found himself lost in thought, his mind drifting back to simpler times. Waves of nostalgia would hit him like that every now and then without warning.

He reckoned a specific spice in his food had triggered the memory: he is twenty five, having dinner at the Survey Corps headquarter's mess hall. It so loud - Hange is screaming nonsense about one of their titan theories. Erwin, sitting right across him, stays silent as he shares a knowing yet subtle smile with Levi.

But then, he is suddenly brought back. Something had abruptly changed in the air around Levi: you entered the hall, your presence commanding attention as you moved with confidence and grace.

Your presence took his entire focus and attention - he was so aware or the reaction you had caused in him, Levi silently hated himself for it. You were just a stranger.

And yet, for some odd reason, you were walking toward his table with palpable determination. He could not help but furrow his brow in slight confusion. Were you approaching him?

'(Y/n)?',Gabi exclaimed, breaking the silence that had fallen over the table.

You greeted Gabi with a nod before turning your attention to Levi, your eyes meeting his with a confidence that took him by surprise. There was something different behind your gaze that day. It was slightly unsettling.

'Hello, Gabi,' you said, your voice soft yet steady as you did not break eye contact with him.

Levi's heart quickened at the sound of your voice, a rush of emotion threatening to overwhelm him. He pushed it down, burying it beneath layers of indifference, but again, he couldn't shake the feeling that you had unleashed something within him—a feeling he wasn't quite ready to confront.