{Attack on Titan | xReader One Shots}

{Levi x Reader | Stay Beautiful}

{SPOILER ALERT | If you haven't watched the anime I suggest that you do so before reading}

It had been two months after the death of Petra, Gunther, Oluo, and Eld. Enough time to grieve for their deaths and move on. At least, that’s what you thought. It was easy for you to recover after a large blow—and it was one of the reasons Levi admired you. Your life had hardened you so that every loss was just a minor cut, nothing big. But apparently Levi didn’t have the “bounce back” ability like you. Every day you would walk by his office late at night to hear crashes and cries of anguish. It hurt you to see your loved one be haunted by the death of his squad.

He would always repeat the words, “They’re gone” over and over again—like he was doing now.

Your face was buried in Levi’s shoulder and you could feel his pulse underneath his clothing. The captain—and your lover—pressed you closer to himself, breathing in your scent. He loved the smell of you: white chocolates and white roses. You were silent. 

He grabbed a hold of your shoulders, revealing red eyes and a tear stained face. 
“[Name], promise me you won’t leave. Promise me.” The pleading look in his eyes was unbearable. It broke your heart, really. Everyone expected your boyfriend to be emotionless and invincible—the exact opposite of what he was. 

“I-I, promise,” you murmured, reaching up and planting a soft kiss on his cheek. You were shorter than Levi by five inches or so, making you the shortest [living] soldier of the Corps. Whenever you wanted to kiss your lover, he would have to let you step lightly on his feet—just to give you the leverage you needed. 

The captain closed his eyes for a brief second and tightened his grip on your waist. Moments like this were priceless; you both knew it. The only time you would be able to see each other was late at night. Everyone was busy trying to find out why Annie did what she did. Even Hanji was tired—and she was no doubt the most energetic person in the Corps. You and Levi had duties, and duties kept you away from each other. 

The man let your arms rest on his neck, savoring the warmth emitting from your hands. The two of you stood in the light of the moon for what seemed to be about five minutes, inhaling the cold air coming from the window. Levi buried his chin in the crook over your neck, his breath sending shivers down your spine.

“[Name], if you could, would you go back in time and choose not to join the Corps? To not have any of this hell?”

It took a second for your mind to comprehend what he had just said, and when you did realize, it was hard to process that he was the oneasking this.

“Oi, you’re not answering me.”

You looked up at him, your [e/c] eyes filled to the brim with disbelief—and tears.

“Why the hell would you ask me that?” Your voice cracked; the eye-water you so desperately tried to keep in spilled over and down your cheeks.

“Because maybe you could be safe and maybe I don’t have to kill you and myself with this shit.”

You interrupted him before he could go on further.

“And I wouldn’t have met you or fallen in love with you.” You wanted to say that the very thought of not meeting Levi, the very notion of not knowing him at all, would kill you. You wanted to tell him that you would never live with yourself if, given the choice to, you left the Corps where your ties, newfound family, and bonds were.

But you didn’t need to. The way you were looking at him with anguish and trembling with sorrow gave him all the information he needed. At that point, he felt ashamed. Humanity’s Strongest was ashamed because of a brat that was shorter than him. He pulled you in closer, and even though your bones should have been crushed, they weren’t. Because you were strong and he was strong and the whole Corps was strong. Breakable, yes, but so very hard to do so.

“[Name], [Name], [Name],”

It hurt you so much—so much that the tears started falling down your cheeks again.

“I know,” you replied softly. “I love you, too.”

And he looked up at you, his eyes wet like yours.

“Promise me that you’ll stay beautiful. Even in death, promise me you will stay beautiful and strong.”

“I promise, Levi. I promise.”

{A/N} | {I believe that this is the first xReader I have ever written, so this fic means a lot to me, even though it sucks.}