Because Of You

Chapter 51

Her routine continued for months, she worked hard, trained herself and the recruits while battling her demons with the help of Levi. She couldn't express how thankful she was for him, even when he finally lay down beside her instead of sitting up. Whenever she awoke before him, she'd stay completely still, waking Levi up was something she hated doing, he worked late and it was best for him to gather as much sleep as he could.

Today was one of those mornings. Usually, she would have been up bright and early to train the recruits, but with the next mission being so close, Erwin took over the session to assess their improvement. Carmen knew she had done a good job when training them, she might even go as far as saying that some of them were better than normal scouts.

Floch and Marlowe, in particular, displayed a resolve that she didn't see in the others. Though, she feared that theory could only take them so far - real life experience with titans just didn't compare to the dummies they trained with.

Sighing, Carmen looked at the clock on Levi's desk, it read 6 AM, which meant that the two really ought to get up before breakfast was over. The woman let her eyes linger on the man beside her, finally lying down and beneath the blankets. It had taken him a while to get comfortable around her, probably because he was scared she wouldn't approve.

He looked so solemn, unbothered by the harsh reality of the world as he breathed steadily and let his hair fall over his face. If Carmen couldn't see his muscular arms gripping the blanket, she might have even said he looked delicate, like one wrong move could make him shatter.

She wanted to stare at him more, to let him finally get the rest he deserved, but she knew that it was time to wake him up. "Levi." She whispered to him, seeing him flinch slightly at her words. "Levi, you need to wake up, it's six." The man groaned, turning his body to the side.

Carmen rolled her eyes, he wasn't usually like that at all. But, she took the opportunity to climb over him and quickly change into her uniform before moving towards the small tea station in the corner of his office. "Black tea?" She asked, but already knew it was his favourite and began making it nonetheless. "I'll go and get breakfast before they run out." She told him. "Rumour has it they've got something new, since the expeditions so close, Erwin's decided to use some of the funding on our meals."

It sparked little excitement from her, she was trained to make do with what she had, so food wasn't the top of her priorities. However, knowing Levi's desire to experience the luxuries of the rich, she figured he'd appreciate it more. "I'll be back soon." She informed him before leaving him to his own devices.

As soon as she was out of sight, Levi turned, burying his head into the pillow. He'd been awake most the night, distracted by something that Hange had said to him previously. Lately, they'd been meddling with things that didn't concern them, and it was getting out of hand.

While he changed into his uniform, his thoughts wandered back to the events of the previous day. Everything Hange had said ran though his head on a rampage, he couldn't shake them, and as much as he wanted to, he couldn't deny them.

"You've been living together for months, and you still haven't admitted you're in love with her." It wasn't a question, they were stating it. "You're just as bad as her." Hange complained, having been punched a few times by the blonde woman.

"My love life isn't your business." Levi rejected their words, watching Hange quirk a brow in his direction.

"What love life? You haven't even made a move." The scientist argued. "Look, I've been waiting patiently for months, and both of you are just stalling."

"What?" Levi questioned them, a look of aggression plastered onto his once calm face.

Hange sighed and muttered a few things to themself before finally answering him again. "Look, the next expedition is close. We don't know who we're going to face, or how many of us are going to make it. So grow a pair and at least ask her out."