𝔇𝔢𝔣𝔦𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔢 (𝔏𝔢𝔳𝔦 𝔵 ℜ𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔢𝔯)

CVIII - Three Strikes

cw: sexually explicit scenes

"No promises," I respond before closing the door and enjoying a nice hot shower before heading back and returning to the warmth of Levi and his bed.

***

~Six days later~

A week went by far too fast. A week since our victory. A week since we lost majority of the regiment.

But for some reason, everything felt fine. There was a subtle emptiness within us due to their permanent absence, but even then the ache wasn't nearly as bad as it was. It felt far too soon to be this stable after what had happened.

But I feel I owe it all to Levi, Hange, the boys and the kids for coming back home.

The boys and the squad all returned to Headquarters two days ago, bringing the pup along with them. Even then, everyone had a strange aura about them. Grieving, perhaps? I wouldn't blame them, because even in silence I find my mind wandering back to the haunting memories from the retake. The smells lingered in my nose, the taste of sweat and bile tainting my tongue, horrifying images staining my eyes. And yet I find myself accepting what has passed.

Maybe it was the plans Hange brought forth for future expeditions, or perhaps it was the nights of every single day of the last week I'd spend in bed with Levi, allowing the darkness to surround us as we stared at the ceiling talking about nothing and everything all at the same time. There was something so comforting in nights like that, like with the night comes a time where we are allowed to be vulnerable. Open up to each other, give ourselves to each other.

Since that night, Levi's affection was more obvious. Only in the absence of the squad, when we were in the company of each other and only then, he'd find any excuse to touch me. Things as simple as handing me a cup of tea would often lead to his fingers brushing over my hand, his eyes adorned with a sense of adoration I hadn't experienced before that night.

Now? I laid in bed with him, just like all those nights over the last week. Eyes roaming the pitch black ceiling with the sound of the rain clinking on the glass panes behind those thick curtains. The door to the office was slightly ajar, the glowing embers of the fireplace barely illuminating a small radius beyond the fireplace, a fresh log on the glowing remains of another to keep the office and bedroom nice and warm. He laid on his stomach, one arm tucked under the pillow his head laid on, his free hand running fingers lightly up and down my arm.

"So there's civilisation outside the walls?" I ask quietly. Levi hummed quietly, the sound being enough of an answer as his fingers continued to work their way up and down my arm. The motions made my skin tingle, somehow raising goosebumps but simultaneously setting me on fire.

"I would say supposedly, but all of the evidence was right there," he murmured.

"But if Grisha had all that information in the first place, why didn't he think to tell anyone about it all?" The question stayed unanswered, my voice ringing out into what looked like the void above. The fireplace crackled, a log shifting as one beneath it was crushed under its weight.

"Questions and no answers. One can only assume it was to reduce raising suspicion from the Military Police," he said after a short while.

"But even then, there's so much we could've done since that information was recorded in those books. Imagine all the time we could've saved if Grisha told someone sooner, everything we could've achieved in the last few years," I sigh, brows furrowing as I stared ahead. I feel Levi shift in the bed, the mattress dipping as he came closer to me. I just manage to make out his silhouette in the dark, his hair falling down towards my face and tickling my cheeks and forehead. Soon his lips were on mine, his hand reaching up and tilting my chin up towards him. He tasted like mint, a hint of chamomile amongst it all. I reach my arms up, one hand curling around the back of his neck and the other just on the side of his ribcage.