100 Ways

41. Go back to Sleep

The nightmare is violent enough to pull Levi from his sleep, a situation he rarely finds himself in despite the actuality of the world he lives in. Imagery of blood and death and Titan smiles flash in his brain for a short amount of time after he wakes up, but fade quickly back into whatever corner he manages to shove them into the rest of the time. Soon he can't even remember why he was woken up in the first place. He just knows that he can't allow himself to fall back to sleep, his eyes staring flatly at the darkened ceiling above him.

A tired moan rolls from the person next to him and her arm shifts, moving from wherever it was before to wrap around his stomach. "Levi?" (y/n) asks, moving her arm again so it's resting his chest. "Are you awake?"

He sighs tiredly, his own arm moving to line up with hers and lock their fingers together. "Yeah," he answers reluctantly. "Why are you?"

She shrugs as best she can in her current position. "I felt your breathing change," she grumbles. "It was pretty obvious."

Against everything he feels, Levi manages a breathy chuckle at his fiancée's statement. "You're such a creep," he notes. "I wasn't trying to disturb you."

"If you didn't want to disturb me, you would've done a better job at hiding your distress," she counters, releasing her hold on his hands and shifting to look at him. "What's up?"

Levi shakes his head, gently dragging her back down to lay on his chest again. "I'll be fine," he assures. "I just need a second. Go back to sleep."

(Y/N) groans and shakes her head. "Your breathing is weird," she declares, her tired tone laced with a half-attempted layer of its normal venom. "I can't sleep like this."

Levi rolls his eyes and inhales deeply. "Suck it up," he says, moving his arm and using his thumb to rub circles into her shoulder. "I'll be right behind you." (Y/N) can't even offer a verbal response, instead releasing a tired moan and curling closer to his hold. A ghost of a smile floats on Levi's lips and he finds himself more relaxed, his eyes fluttering shut before he inhales again and falls back asleep.