Capable of Loving You

Chapter 1: Pining and Teasing

Sophia watched Captain Levi Ackerman as he walked about and made sure everyone cleaned the grounds to his satisfaction. Autumn had just began which meant leaves turned a beautiful burnt orange and red color but also raking—lots and lots of raking. She continued watching him as he was attacked from behind by a much taller Squad Leader Hanji Zoe. He elbowed her in the stomach and wiggled out of her grasp. Hanji doubled over in pain but still had the usual crazy grin on her face which made Sophia think she was just over reacting. Same old Hanji. Levi scowled at her before walking away to inspect the other soldiers' work. Hanji ran after him, hollering at him to slow down. For such a short man, the Captain does walk incredibly fast, Sophia thought from personal experience. She giggled when she saw Levi walk faster, avoiding Hanji as if she were the plague. Sophia just stood there, leaning on her rake, watching the object of her affections glare at the eccentric woman. She sighed. How long had she been pining for the Captain? Before she even joined the Survey Corps that how long. She was in deep.

"Stop drooling. Levi will never like you back if you have dry spit on your face. You know he's a clean freak," Ymir teased.

Sophia snapped out of her reverie and glared at her friend, "Oh shut up!" Ymir only smirked.

"You know I'm right. When are you going to confess to him Soph, huh?" Ymir inquired, "You've been in love with him ever since you joined the Survey Corps."

"Before that," Sophia mumbled.

"What?" Ymir asked.

"I said I've been in love with him before that. I would see him riding out of those gates whenever they would go on an expedition and he would always have his head held high, ready to take on whatever was out there. I admired his strength so much and I loved his bravery. I wished to ride next to him, to one day be his equal. Aside from preserving humanity, one of the reasons why I joined the Survey Corps was because of him." Sophia finished longingly.

"You need to tell him that," a voice said from behind her.

Sophia jumped and Ymir laughed. "Holy shit Mikasa!" She exclaimed. "Can you not sneak up like that all the time? I swear you're like a freaking jungle cat."

Mikasa gave a small smile, "At least I don't have eyes like one. Sometimes I get uncomfortable when you stare at me too long."

Sophia ignored her, "Wait...did you just tell me to confess to Captain Levi? You hate him."

Mikasa shrugged, "It doesn't matter what I think about him. I don't have to spend the rest of my life with him. But if you think that way, you should be straightforward with your feelings." Ymir nodded in agreement.

"You guys are getting way ahead of yourselves. I'm not gonna spend the rest of my life with him. I doubt he even likes me that way," Sophia mumbled and started stabbing her small pile of leaves angrily with her rake.

"Are you kidding me?! What's not to like?! You're hot," Ymir winked at Sophia.

Mikasa laughed but agreed, "Definitely. And you're kind, clever, and a great fighter."

Sophia blushed at their compliments, even if they were just to boost her self-esteem, "Guys I'm serious!"

"And so are we," Ymir countered. "I mean look at you: long, dark hair, large amber eyes with the longest lashes I've ever seen—even longer than Christa's I might add—and though your uniform hides it, a very nice body." Ymir smirked knowingly and winked again.

Sophie's blush darkened and she punched Ymir on the arm, "You are such a pervert!" Mikasa laughed at her two friends fighting before she saw who was approaching them.

"Um guys we might wanna get back to work." They followed Mikasa's eye line and saw none other than a very pissed off Captain Levi approaching them and fast.

"Well it's been lovely chatting with you guys but see ya!" Ymir winked one last time and started speed walking away.

"I better get going too. Remember what we said," Mikasa winked too and walked away.

Sophia watched Mikasa's retreating figure in disbelief. She expected this from Ymir but not Mikasa! She left her to shoulder all of Levi's wrath. "You guys are bloody cowards!" she whispered-yelled after them.

"Cadet Falco," a voice called from behind Sophia. How Levi managed to sound monotone and angry at the same time she'll never know.

"Shit!" She hissed under her breath. She slowly turned around and faced the glaring Captain. Though it was autumn, today was surprisingly hot so Levi had opted to wear a white button down with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He wasn't wearing his usual cravat and instead had the first two buttons undone to showcase his magnificent collarbones. He looked deadly beautiful, as always. Sophia's breath hitched but she managed to salute him, "Captain Levi."

Levi sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Sophia tried not to break eye contact to watch the movement of his slender fingers as they weaved between the black tresses but failed miserably. She imagined what it would be like to run her fingers through his silky hair one day.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked, still sounding beyond pissed.

Though they were the same height, Sophia felt tiny under his intense, steel gaze, "Raking...sir?" she answered without much conviction.

"No. That is what you should be doing. Instead, you are lazing around. Get your ass back to work and if I see you slacking off again, I'll have you running laps past dinner," he barked.

"Yes, sir!" Sophia squeaked and hurriedly began raking again.

"Tch. Brat." Levi said and walked away. From a distance Sophia saw Ymir laughing at her. She flipped her off and instead focused on the Captain's behind. God did he have a stunning ass.

Sophia sighed for what felt like the billionth time today and stared longingly after Levi, "I must really be a masochist."

************************************************************************************************

A/N: Your comments and votes would be much appreciated! Hope you liked it! ^_^