a very unserious chapter. i had too much fun writing

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Evening had crept up on you before you even had time to notice. It had been a long day out in the gardens; fertilizing the plants, feeding the livestock, harvesting etc. A warm bath felt like the perfect reward after all those hours, and you deserved it.

After you cleaned up in the tub, you headed off to the kitchen to cook some dinner for not only yourself, but Levi as well. You hadn't seen him since breakfast, he must've been exhausted. You figured he was probably still asleep so instead of waking him, you decided to just leave a tray of dinner in the guest room for whenever he'd wake.

The room was dead quiet upon entering, you tried to keep your footsteps rather faint. The food sizzled on the tray with a tender scent. Levi laid in bed flat on his back— eyes shut and lips parted. As you placed the dinner tray on top of the nightstand, it made a subtle clank.

Levi shifted in bed and slowly blinked open his eyes, mumbling something incoherent.

You froze and he gazed up at you with sleepy eyes.

"I'm so sorry, did I wake you?"

"No, it's alright." Levi glanced at the nightstand, "You didn't have to do that, I appreciate it." He added. His voice was deeper than usual.

You nodded, "Yes, you're very welcome, sir."

The 'sir'  just kind of slipped through your lips unconsciously as you tried to present yourself relatively formally to gloss over your guilt of waking him. You blushed in your own embarrassment.

Levi flashed a soft grin and started to sit up in bed. He struggled a bit at first but managed. 

Contrary to his cold persona, Levi was quite the intuitive man and caught onto your timid remorse for waking him. He wasn't mad, he just didn't want you to feel guilty for anything. So he decided to make you feel a little more comfortable.

"You can stay in here... We can-... eat together." He said quietly. Levi thought for a moment how out of character it was for him to even ask someone to spend time with him.

"Y- Yes. That would be nice." You replied, trying not to sound too excited. It came as a shock to hear this from him.

You went into the kitchen and grabbed the dish you had prepared for yourself and brought it into the guest bedroom. You placed it down on the empty desk and took a seat.

Levi sat in bed with his tray in his lap, you flicked on a dim lamp light to give the two of you some clarity.

"It's good." He said, taking a bite of the stew, "You made this after being outside all day?"

"Yeah, I figured you were probably starving."

Levi widened his eyes for a moment. He was surprised you were still thinking of him even after working in the gardens since morning. He still held his guard up of course, but he was starting to think that maybe he could trust you.

Baby steps...

"I'll be on my way tomorrow. I have to find my squad. And well... I'm assuming your husband wouldn't be too fond of having another man here."

You paused, furrowing your eyebrows. A brief silence passed before you let out a giggle.

"What?" He asked.

"I appreciate your consideration. But I'm not married. I don't have a husband."

Levi blushed in embarrassment of his own blunder. He genuinely thought you had to have been married or something.

He awkwardly tried to explain himself, "I just assumed since you're... Never mind."

"Since I'm..?"

Pretty. He thought.

Levi would fumble his words when he was flustered. Say the wrong thing and think about it for hours.

"You'd make a good wife is what I'm trying to say." He concluded.

"Are you flirting with me Levi?" You said boldly, curious to see his reaction.

You made the man nearly spit out his water. He looked at you with a mix of confusion and coyness.

"Um..." Is all he could think of to say. His pale cheeks had the slightest tinge of red. Mission accomplished.

"I'm just teasing you, my apologies." You chuckled.

"You like doing that to me don't you." He said, flashing the lightest smirk.

"Well, you do seem like a cold man, I guess I just wanted to loosen you up a little."

"Loosen me up?"

"Mhm." You nodded with an innocent grin. 

"I'm leaving you tomorrow Y/n. There's really no point in trying to do that." He said.

"I know, but even if it's just one day with some mysterious stranger I met in the woods. I'd still like to make them feel comfortable. Hospitality and all that, my mother drilled it into me." You said with a laugh. The man studied the smile on your face, before catching himself of course.

"I've got an idea, since you're running off tomorrow, why don't we play a little game." You suggested.

Levi looked at you in bewilderment, "Ah?"

"Oh c'mon, it's a drinking game. We ask each other questions, if you don't want to answer a question, you take a sip of your drink. Whoever has an empty cup by the end, loses."

"What brought this idea into your head?"

"Well, I'll probably never see you again. It wouldn't hurt to have a little fun."

Levi thought it over for a second. Honestly, what did he have to lose? Playing a drinking game with a cute girl wouldn't do any harm. Fuck it, he thought to himself before giving you your answer.

"You got any liquor?" He sighed.

You giggled in excitement and returned to the room with an untouched bottle of whiskey.

"I've got the good stuff." You smirked.

"We'll see."

You poured him and yourself a glass and took a seat back down by the desk.

"So this game of yours, you just ask questions right?"

"Yup, anything in particular you have in mind?"

Levi did have a few things he wanted to ask you but his pride wouldn't let him just spit it out unprovoked.

"Uh... You can go first." He replied.

You adhered to his request and thought of something to ask. Something not too personal of course as this was only the beginning of the game.

"How old are you Levi?"

"Oh I see you're playing it safe with that question."

"Would you rather it be something vulgar?" You giggled.

He held in a laugh, "I'll take this instead. I'm thirty-six."

You widened your eyes for a second. He had quite the young face.

Levi assumed you were in your early twenties. Possibly a little too young for him. However, he reminded himself that it wasn't like he was going to touch you or anything. He'd never do something inappropriate to someone he'd just met... Unless he was paying for sex of course.

"Your turn." You said, raising your glass.

Levi eyed you up and down, examining the girl before him. There was one question he was dying to ask.

"Why did you take me in when you found me in the forest? You didn't have to... you didn't gain anything. Why?" The man asked.

You were kind of expecting him to say something along those lines. Once again, you could tell Levi was a man who wasn't used to people taking care of him.

"I thought it was the right thing to do... The blood would be on my hands if I just walked away and let you die. My conscience wouldn't let me live it down." You flashed a weak smile.

Levi felt a strange feeling within him for which he refused to identify. Although any sensible man would've been able to pinpoint it as admiration. Your cute little smile caught his eye as well.

"That's... I appreciate that Y/n." He said, slightly fumbling his words.

"I'm glad... And well, it is nice having someone around."

"I'm not sure I'm the best company."

"Well, you're a little intimidating at times but I can tell... you're not a bad guy."

A brief pause stood between the two of you. He looked into your eyes, as if studying you to make sure your words were genuine. To his surprise, they were.

You abruptly broke the quiet, feeling the tension from his gaze. Those blue eyes of his were like daggers that pierced through every layer of your skin.

"I guess it's my turn." You said nervously.

Levi nodded.

"Are you um... married?" You asked.

Levi scratched the back of his neck, "No, I never cared for that stuff. It's foolish to me."

"Foolish? I bet there's at least one pretty lady on Paradis you'd like to marry."

"I just don't care for it, women and all that."

"So you like men?"

Levi blinked. "No."

"Hey I'm not judging."

He raised his brows and you chuckled, it was fun toy with such an awkward guy. "I'm messing with you again."

Levi couldn't help but laugh a little, "Well what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Are you seeing any men?"

"Not right now. I haven't had much interest either. I don't know. It seems all men want is sex these days. Well, I guess that's a good question to ask you. Do all men want is sex?"

Levi shamelessly took a sip from his glass, a smirk painted across his lips.

"It's not the only thing, buts it's a need." He added.

"Understandable, you've redeemed yourself."

"Redeemed myself." He chuckled, mocking your words.

"Mhm, you had me there for a second when you took a sip. On the bright side though, I'm winning." You teased.

"For now."

You put your hand up to your mouth in a cheeky grin. "Oh... Are you planning to ask me some tough questions, Levi?"

"Maybe, it all depends on what you think of them."

You enjoyed seeing this sort of playful side of Levi. He looked like he was having fun.

"Are you a virgin?" He asked casually.

Your cheeks flushed, unsure how to answer this one. You took the easy way out and seized a shy sip from your glass.

"Now we're even." You said.

"It would appear so."

"I'll be unoriginal with this question. Are you a virgin Levi?"

"No." He replied, fairly blunt. Levi seemed like the type who could talk about sex pretty nonchalantly, as if he didn't care for the matter.

"I mean, don't take my word for it, but I've heard that in the military, it's like a brothel."

Levi snickered, "No it's true. Those brats are filthy. Everyone's fucking each other left and right in the barracks."

"Do you participate in this, community fucking?" You giggled.

The man took a sip of his drink.

"I'm gonna take that as a yes." You smirked.

"Oi oi slow down, it's not a valid yes."

"It is to me."

"What's your favorite position?" He asked, you could smell the sweet liquor on his breath from where you were sitting. Hearing him ask this particular question did something to you... You pressed your thighs together, and persevered through the blush on your face.

"Um well..." You hesitated on whether or not you should answer this. Levi had you right where he wanted you. That was the worst part, your competitive spirit didn't want to let him have the upper hand.

"I'm pretty vanilla... I do like being on my back and... I like looking up at the person I'm with." You said bashfully.

"That answers the virgin question."

Your cheeks lit up in bright red. "Well... What about you?"

"Me? I like looking down at the person I'm with."

You felt a chill run across your stomach, the way he emphasized the word 'down' as if to perfectly contrast your likes. You pressed your legs together just a little tighter.

After a while, the two of you finished your drinks, with Levi winning the game. You saw a different side of him that night, the cold man you'd met in the morning actually had a sense of humor. Although a bit vulgar and dry, you didn't mind. That was the best type of humor anyways.

You were starting to feel the after effects of the liquor. It was just a light buzz but it still made itself present with some dizziness and slurred sentences. The two of you sat on the bed with your backs leaned against the wall, talking about anything and everything for a while.

"I might just fall asleep." You mumbled through a half lidded gaze.

"You're drunk aren't you?" He laughed.

You made a gesture with your fingers, "Maybe a little."

Your head fell almost unconsciously against his shoulder. The man straightened his body, a response to your sudden closeness.

"You better not fall asleep on me like this Y/n."

"Mm... Why not?... You're comfy." Your words trailed off into lazy mumbles as you snuggled up against his frame.

Levi glanced down at you, the proximity of your body recalled how he felt this morning when you were stitching him. Your light breaths, your scent, this time coded with liquor.

He scolded himself—as expected. It was a difficult ordeal for him to keep his eyes away from the drunken stranger who rested on his arm.

If you stayed there any longer, his brain would be flooded with thoughts about you.

"Oi Y/n, I'm serious, don't fall asleep on me." He grunted, shifting his body.

To his demise you were already knocked out in slumber. His squirming only made you fall even closer... right into his lap.

He clicked his tongue in annoyance and began accepting the fact that you weren't moving. Levi would have to just deal with the way your proximity made him feel...

Your head laid softly on his thigh and he hoped to god you wouldn't move around and nudge your face into his-

On second thought, he didn't even want to think about that happening. The embarrassment of imagining it was already enough. Levi never really got close to people like this, especially in a vulnerable position like sleep. Yeah he'd had his fair share of sexual intimacy but that always felt more like a transaction to him. He'd never just had a girl lay peacefully on him like this. And the fact that he found you attractive didn't help his agitation.

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