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Chapter 32

Hi...
I know it's been ages! I can't apologise enough! I was really struggling for inspiration and honestly, I hit a wall. And I hit it hard Haha.

I probably could have updated, but I wanted it to be half decent, I don't want to post something half arsed when people have stuck by this for so long. You guys deserve better than that.

But! You will be pleased to know that I think I've got my mojo back! I've already started writing the next chapter to this and I'm hoping... HOPING I can get it up by the end of the week. Fingers crossed.

Sorry again and thank you all so so much for your patience

Enjoy!

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Illyria was slow to come to her senses the next morning, her foggy brain struggling to clear itself. She pulled the duvet tighter around her body, head rubbing slowly into the plush pillows. She felt so content, so comfortable. She slowly opened her eyes, blinking a few times so her vision could adjust and shuffled slightly, feeling the back of her body collide with something warm and firm behind her.

She froze, finally taking in her surroundings and remembering that she had stayed the night in the captains quarters. She bit her lip gently, noticing that one of his arms was locked strongly around her body, coming from around her waist, resting across her chest and his palm gently holding onto her arm that was pressed between her body and the mattress.

She didn’t want to move. Not only was she incredibly comfortable in his embrace, but there was a tinge of fear that crept up at the thought of waking him this morning. Her mind swam with memories of last night. It had been so different from any other encounter they had shared so far. So many new things explored, boundaries crossed, she was nervous of him waking up this morning. Of how he would react this morning now the desire had subsided.

She felt the man stir behind her and quickly closed her eyes, hoping to give the appearance of being asleep. She felt him lift his arm from her body and slowly move away, unable to stop the very small frown as his warmth left her. She thought she felt him sitting up, and then he was still again. Illyria felt her heart rate pick up slightly but she relaxed considerably when she felt him leave the bed.

There were a few small quiet noises from behind her but she forced herself to lie still.

Levi pulled on a fresh pair of trousers, eyes glancing to the apparently sleeping woman in his bed. Acting was really not Illyria’s strong point. He knew full well she was awake, he could tell by her breathing. It was more controlled than when she had fallen asleep last night, but he was deciding to let her have her moment for the time being, while his own mind cleared. He was unsure himself how to proceed this morning.

He had kissed her. That was the one thing that was ringing resoundingly through his head. And not only that, but she had responded all too willingly. He couldn’t make sense of it. It’s not as though he had never thought about doing so before, if he was being honest, he had thought about it a couple of times, yet he had always resisted. He thought it would just be too intimate, too personal. It was a strange concept, especially considering all the other things he and Illyria had engaged in over the last few months, but it was how he felt.

A part of him wondered why he had even done so last night. A part of him thought it had something to do with Nile. That seeing the man kiss her had sparked something inside him and made him act the way he had. But another part thought it had just been something that had happened in the heat of the moment, even though he had resisted doing such things in the past, regardless of how heated things had gotten. And then the terrifying thought that it had just felt right at the time, just something he had wanted to do and not fight this time, entered his mind.

Reaching for his shirt he threw it on, gritting his teeth and releasing a small sigh as he focused his attention back on the sleeping form in his bed.

“Are you going to keep pretending to be asleep or are you going to move your sorry ass?” his voice cut through the silence like butter. Illyria couldn’t stop the smile from pulling onto her face, though her eyes remained closed.

“I don’t know what you mean.” She replied, making Levi smile as he shook his head and approached the bed. Illyria heard him approaching and shimmied down the bed slightly, gripping the duvet tightly and tucking it under her chin. Levi shoved her.

“Oi. Get up.” She groaned in response, crinkles appearing on her forehead as she frowned.

“The commander gave me the day off Levi... I can stay in bed all day if I want.” Levi scoffed, reaching to finish doing up the buttons to his shirt.

“Not in this bed you can’t, get up.” Illyria tutted, letting out a loud exasperated sound, sounding awfully put out about having to move.

“Illyria...” she smiled at the sound of her name, though his voice was warning her to not test his patience. The sound made her heart swell and her blood boil in the most pleasant of ways. He had never called her by her name before. Not outside of their sexual activities anyway.

“You should have thought about this before asking me to stay the night.” She teased, before she immediately regretted her comment. Maybe bringing something like that up wasn’t the best thing to do right now, all things considered. She was half expecting Levi to snap, resort back to his withdrawn and indifferent persona. She cracked an eye open to steal a glance at him, noticing the emotions in his eyes were a strange mix of irritation and humour.

“A decision I am instantly regretting. Out of bed. Now.” And he grabbed the duvet, giving it a violent tug and ridding her of it’s comfort. She yelped, moving to rest on her elbows, her body half sitting up as she gave him a solid glare.

“You’re so rude!” Levi chuckled, dumping the blanket at the edge if the bed.

“Only thinking of you, you insolent brat. Have you forgotten that you didn’t come here in your uniform last night?” Illyria blinked and then her eyes widened as a look of horror replaced her features. Levi raised an eyebrow, a sly smirk present on his face as he reached for his cravat and fixed it accordingly.

“Unless you want someone to catch you walking through the castle in last nights dress, I suggest you get back to your room before breakfast is over. That means you have... five minutes? Give or take.” Illyria’s heart practically stopped and she leapt from the bed, now fully alert and realising the severity of the captains words. She most certainly did not want to walk through the castle in last nights clothes, considering the dress she had been wearing, and have to answer awkward questions from everyone she met.

Levi chuckled, watching her with amusement as she scrambled to find her dress, turning his back as he put on his jacket and boots.

Illyria took the opportunity to quickly slip into her dress, running a hand through her hair and picking up her shoes. Levi smirked as he stepped through the door and walked into his office, Illyria quickly following. He crossed the room, opening the door to the hallway and stepping through with ease, where as Illyria hesitated, unsure and very nervous about leaving the captains quarters. The visions of stepping out into the open and someone seeing her making her freeze in fear. She swallowed thickly.

Levi casually glanced along the hallway, discerning that nobody was around and turned back to the clearly terrified woman, small smile present as he gave a small nod for her to come out of hiding, indicating that the coast was clear. He noticed her shoulders relax, a sigh of relief escaping her lips as she stepped forward, finally leaving her sanctuary, clutching her shoes close to her chest.

She turned to face the captain, sighing again to ease her tension, Levi closing the door to his office and fixed Illyria with a knowing smirk. Despite her jitters her eyes narrowed at him, finding his smugness irritating right now.

“Shut up.” She whispered, making him chuckle though he did not respond to her childish insult. She shifted her weight between her feet anxiously.

“What are you going to do now?” she asked curiously. Levi’s glistening eyes narrowed slightly as he turned his head, averting his gaze from her for a minute.

“I need to see Erwin. And then training as usual. Some of us don’t get given days off for nothing.” He replied, dryly. Illyria smiled, shaking her head at his insult, pushing a strand of hair behind her ears. Levi couldn’t deny she looked radiant this morning. Her crumpled and creased up dress still highlighting all her assets, contrasting with her hair, complimenting her eyes, accentuating all of her curves and forcing him to think of the skin underneath. Her hair was messy and tousled, her face free of make up, eyes smiling.

“Can I come and sit with you later?” Illyria was worried about asking such a direct question. The last time she had tried to spend time with the abrasive man after sex, he had flat out denied her, rejected her heartlessly. She wasn’t sure she could handle another spurning like that. Especially now.

Levi thought about it for just a couple of seconds before giving her his reply.

“I’ll be in my office later this afternoon. Bring tea with you. Now hurry.” He nodded to the general direction of her room and a broad smile split onto Illyria’s features, giving him an eager nod before quickly turning and heading off down the hallway.

She was utterly thrilled that Levi had actually agreed to let her sit with him for a while. She had been convinced that he would turn her down in some way, whether he rejected her outright in his usual brash way, or made some pathetic excuse. But he hadn’t. He had actually said yes.

She knew she shouldn’t be feeling this elated, this happy about it, but she honestly couldn’t help herself. She told herself she was being stupid, that it didn’t mean anything. But it meant everything to her. Especially since he had rebuffed her offer last time. It was almost like a silent admittance that Levi actually wanted her there, though he had not said those exact words. Or at the very least, he didn’t mind her company. That was enough for her right now.

She stepped into her bedroom, relieved that nobody was there and quickly slipped off her dress, changing as quickly as she could into some casual clothes. She wasn’t entirely sure how to spend her day off. Illyria was not one for sitting around and doing nothing, she liked to keep herself busy, but all of her friends would be training. She pursed her lips, looking around the room and gave a soft sigh, starting to tidy up.

She spent the day pottering around, tidying up her quarters and strolling through the castle. When she bumped into Hanji, the crazed scientist had literally dragged her off, insisting she needed her help with cleaning and organising her quarters again and Illyria had spent a good part of the day with the woman. They made idle conversation, mostly about experiments Hanji had in store for Eren, and how her current progress was coming along. They also talked about last nights events.

“Have you spoken to the commander? Was the book useful?” Illyria asked, flashing a curious glance at Hanji who was standing in the middle of the room and flipping through a book, biting her nails as she read. Illyria continued to organise her files, picking up a stack of unfinished paperwork and sliding it into her drawer, noticing that Hanji hadn’t finished off her previous stack. That is undoubtedly going to end up on Levi’s desk, Illyria thought, a soft smile finding it’s way onto her face as she closed the drawer.

“Hm? Oh yes. It was Illyria, thank you for asking. Unfortunately I can’t go into details, but the commander is very pleased with the findings. He is going to visit General Zackly the day after tomorrow to show him the evidence. He is confident we will receive the funding.” Illyria smiled, feeling a sense of pride swell within her chest, glad that she was a part of something that was so useful. All too often in her work, her efforts were for nothing. People still died. Titans still lived. People still lived in fear. It often felt like they were not making any progress, just sacrificing lives, so it was nice to be part of a successful mission for once.

At dinner time, she offered to help the kitchen staff wash up and scrub down the kitchen. Eren’s eyes lot up at her offer and he gave her a strong hug, thanking her profusely before they got to work. Illyria worked quietly, conscious of the fact that she would need to get the work done quickly in order to meet with the captain later. She didn’t want anybody suspecting anything, and so had offered her help to ensure the canteen was free to prepare the tea. Eren and Sasha were hardly a strong team. Eren himself, wasn’t too bad, but Sasha was easily distracted and could be quite lazy at times.

Sasha was placed on washing up duty, keeping her in one place was probably a clever move on Eren’s part. If she couldn’t get distracted, she would have no choice but to work. Illyria cleaned the surfaces, wiping down all the countertops and the tables, while Eren focused on scrubbing the stove and the service station. Eren stood, wiping his forehead with the back of his arm, sweating a little as he let out a huge sigh.

“Almost done, just the floor now.” He groaned, grabbing the broom. Illyria finished wiping the last counter, collecting everyone’s dirty cloths and throwing them in a small box ready to be out to wash.

“Sasha, if you go and take out the rubbish and put the cloths into soak, me and Eren will do the floor.” Sasha beamed happily, ecstatic that she had been given the easier jobs and headed to the waste bin, picking up the heavy metal canister and taking it outside. Eren smiled at Illyria.

“You sweep, mopping is the harder job and it’s not even your day today.” He offered kindly. Illyria gave him a warm smile, rubbing his arm affectionately.

“Don’t be silly, I’ll mop. You had your work cut out with that stove. Take a breather.”

“Are you sure?” Illyria gave a nod, picking up the bucket and began filling it with hot soapy water before the two got to work.

After the kitchen had been successfully cleaned, they moved to the seating areas, sweeping and mopping, making idle chatter as they worked. There was only half of the room left to do now, they were making good time, which pleased Illyria greatly.

“So, I gotta ask...” Eren started, not ceasing in his work for a moment. Illyria hummed gently, just as focused on her own task. Eren was sweeping behind her as she mopped the area he had previously swept.

“Who is he?” Illyria frowned in confusion, dropping her mop into the bucket and wringing it out before splashing it back onto the floor.

“Who is who?” she questioned.

“The guy you’re seeing.” She froze. Her whole body going rigid at his probing question. She licked her lips, head snapping to look at Eren who had stopped mopping and was leaning casually on the broom handle, his eyes shining with a quiet smugness, knowing he had hit the nail on the head. He grinned at her reassuringly, happy with her reaction and continuing to sweep.

“I mean it’s obvious Illyria. This isn’t the first time someone has noticed hickeys on your neck.” Instinctively her hand touched her throat, memorizing exactly where Levi’s lips had been last night as she turned her back to her friend to hide her blush. She cleared her throat awkwardly, resuming her previous task.

“No one. I mean... no one important... it’s not what you think.” She heard Eren let out a tired sigh, his movements stopping again.

“You can tell me you know, Illyria? You’re one of my closest friends. I wouldn’t judge you.” Illyria knew he was trying to be nice, knew he was just trying to let her know that if she felt like sharing, he was there. But she really didn’t want it right now.

“Yeah I know. I need to change the water.” Her response was quiet, cold, and she picked up the bucket and headed out the back entrance, leaving the titan boy perplexed. She emptied the bucket down the drain, her mind spinning. She hadn’t even thought about it, hadn’t even fathomed that there might be a slight possibility of Levi leaving marks on her, yet alone thought about covering them up. But if Eren had seen them, who else had? She had sat with her friends at dinner, had any of them noticed? Had Hanji noticed?

She ran a hand through her hair. She would need to talk to Levi, tell him that he couldn’t keep doing this. It was arousing far too much suspicion for her liking.

She returned back to the kitchen a little calmer, refilled her bucket and went back to her spot on the floor, dropping the bucket down gently Eren eyes her carefully, very much aware of how volatile her moods could be.

“Are you alright?” he queried uncertainly. Illyria sighed.
“Yeah.”

“I didn’t mean to upset you.” His admission quelled her slightly, but she still didn’t want to talk about it.

“I know. You’re finished sweeping, you should go, I can finish up here. Go take a shower, you smell like shit.” Her attempt to lighten the mood failed due to the tone in her voice but Eren obliged, putting the broom away and approaching Illyria. His feet came into her view and she scowled.

“I just mopped there, Eren.” She hissed, finally looking up to glare at him. He smiled at her, reaching forward and brushing her hair out of her face before he wrapped his arms around her. Illyria blinked, surprised by the tender act but embraced him back with one arm, her other hand still holding the mop.

“Thanks again, Illyria, I really owe you one. See you at training tomorrow.” He slowly released her and stepped away, leaving her alone in the room. She got back to work immediately, finishing her task and putting away her equipment before she made a start on the captains tea.

She was mildly excited about seeing Levi, she hadn’t been able to get to him as soon as she would have liked, but the sky was only just starting to darken, leaving her with more than enough time to enjoy his company a little.

Balancing the tray in one hand she reached up to his door and gave three knocks. She heard s footsteps approaching from inside, increasing in volume as they grew closer to the door. Her heart fluttered. There was a soft click and she watched as the knob twisted and the door swiftly opened, smiling up at the eyes that regarded her with a small smile.

Eyes that did not belong to Levi.

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I would really appreciate your thoughts on this chapter? Is it OK? Too dull?
Boring?
I'm a bit conscious about the fact I may have lost the flow.

Let me know!

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All the love
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