You woke with your body tucked under the blanket as your head rested over the pillows. The last thing you remembered was falling asleep on Levi. He must've placed you in bed like this before he left.

That's when it hit you, Levi was gone. His harness was absent from the corner it had been laying in. On the nightstand was the clothes you'd lent him, folded squarely with a piece of paper on top.

To your surprise, it was a note... You picked it up and adjusted your sleepy eyes.

"Thanks for everything. I hope one day we'll cross paths again. If so, I'd take you on a date and let you have a rematch of that game. Maybe I'll let you win. Till then, goodbye.

~ Levi."

You read the letter with his voice in mind. The last remnant of his stay, the artifact of his presence. Something about him stuck with you. Whether it was his good looks or quirky personality, you just couldn't shake him.

You tried to remind yourself that he was only a stranger you'd known for one day. Nothing more, nothing less.

Levi... You repeated his name in your head.

You placed the note back where you'd found it and headed out into the kitchen for some breakfast. Slipping back into the mundanity of your usual routine. As you entered into the main area, you noticed a trail of little red droplets that started just before the front door. Your attention was stolen by the strange image as you moved closer to inspect.

It was blood—leading all the way outside as well. You stepped through the door and gawked at what laid before you. The trail of blood snaked out across the front lawn and into the forest.

You quickly put the pieces together, this was Levi's blood...

He definitely wasn't healed and was stressing his body. An open wound must've left behind that blood when he left.

You ran out to the edge of your property, pausing at the cusp of the woods. Morning light trickled across the forest floor like rain drops. Levi was somewhere in there, or perhaps already gone on his way. You worried if he'd made it out alive, with those injuries, no normal person would have survived a trek into the thicket.

Please be okay... You thought to yourself.

Suddenly, there was a rustle coming from the forest. It sounded like footsteps and soft chatter which signaled to you that there was more than one person coming your way. You couldn't see through the web of trees and bushes who was there. You stepped away, backing up into your front yard.

Because you'd had a Paradis soldier in your home, you assumed these were the authorities coming after you.

How did they find out?

Did someone see me take him inside?

Will I be imprisoned for this?

Your heart began to race until it was interrupted by what actually came out of the forest.

"Oi! Could we have um... Have a little help?"

You flashed a puzzled glare. Five soldiers stumbled out of the leaves, battered and bruised in the same clothing that Levi had on when you'd found him. Speaking of Levi, there was a sixth soldier among the group. The captain himself... unconscious and stained with blood.

A tan green eyed boy carried Levi on his back. His brown locks sat tied away in a sloppy bun. He looked about nineteen and a bit of a pretty boy. The rest of the squad appeared around the same age as well.

One girl and four boys, they flashed you trying smiles as the green eyed boy who'd spoken first continued, "Our captain is injured, I know you people see us as filth, but if you have any shred of decency... You'll let us aid him in your cottage." He said, a hint of spite in his throat. He gazed at you, ready to pounce at any moment.

You were just relieved that Levi was alright and didn't mind opening your home to a few more people. "Well don't just stand there. Come in before you're seen." You said swiftly, waving them in the direction of your home.

They gave each other dubious glances before moving right along.

You lead them inside and shut the door, taking one last peak to make sure you guys weren't being watched. The group went right to work, making a mess. You held your tongue as two of the boys cleared your kitchen table in one sweep, knocking your precious china onto the floor. You winced at the crash.

They placed Levi on the table and unbuttoned his shirt, only to see an array of open stitches and blood. The two of them— the green eyed one and a broad light haired boy, furrowed their brows at the sight of the fresh stitches.

"That was me..." You interjected, the boys focused their bewilderment on you.

The green eyed soldier stepped forward, "What are you talking about?" He spat.

"I found him in the forest yesterday morning with serious injuries all over. I stitched him up and he stayed the night. Then this morning he left... His name's Levi isn't it?"

"And you did all that just because you felt like it? With nothing to gain?" He asked, unconvinced.

You looked him in the eyes without a shred of fear or stutter in your voice. "Yes... And I'd do it again. Now calm down, I need to tend his wounds. If you'll excuse me." You pushed past him and went to grab the aid supplies.

He kept his eyes on you, watching your every move. Soldiers could never just relax could they.

The group huddled around and watched as you sewed their captain's wound. He'd lost a lot of blood and probably went unconscious due to that. Not to mention his body was probably still very weak from overexertion.

What exactly happened in that ambush? Who'd hurt him this bad?

"All done, he'll wake up soon. As for now? I can stitch any of you guys up as well. No offense, but you all look like you've been through hell."

The green eyed boy quickly replied, "It's fine, we can stitch ourselves."

Clearly still distrusting of you.

"Eren." A slender black haired girl said, tapping the boy on the shoulder.

So that's his name... Eren.

"She might be someone we can trust." She said, looking at you then back at the boy.

"Mikasa, you know what these people think of us. Don't get too comfortable." He said, giving you one last glare.

You simply shrugged and moved into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Although Eren would probably protest, you were making food for all of them. You had no ill intent and nothing to hide so there was no reason to get upset over Eren's skepticism. Your nonchalant attitude towards the matter probably irked him.

They placed Levi on the couch and sat around the table mending their wounds. You listened as they murmured amongst themselves on whether or not they should trust your kindness.

Levi started to stir and grow conscious of his situation. He coughed through his words, "What-... the hell happened?"

You turned your attention from the stove to him, muttering his name on your lips in shock. The man began to sit up and look around.

"Captain, you're awake." Mikasa said, pausing from her focus on Eren's wounded arm.

Levi glanced at his squad then over at you in confusion. "What are-... What are you guys all doing here?"

A blond haired boy began to speak, "We found you in the woods, not too far from this cottage. You were bleeding real bad so we took you to the first shelter we could find." He cocked his head over at you.

"She said you were here earlier. Is that true? Or is she lying..." Eren asked, squinting his eyes.

Levi scoffed, "She's not someone you brats should be worrying about. Be grateful she extended her home to you all. Don't cause any trouble."

Your eyes widened upon his words... you weren't expecting him to side with you so quickly.

Eren raised his brows before returning back to a scowl. "I'll bet on your judgment, captain. But don't forget that she's still one of them."

Levi ignored the boy as if he were an exhausted father and attempted to stand up. He held a hand over his stomach and wobbled over to the kitchen... to meet you.

"Oi Y/n."

"Hm?" You hummed, beaming your eyes up at him and away from your focus on the sizzling eggs.

"Did anyone see you bring us here? No authorities? No neighbors? You could be in some trouble, you know that right?"

"This cottage is as secluded as it gets. I could scream at the top of my lungs and no one would hear a thing. Although, I hope you're not getting any ideas."

Levi chuckled, "I'm not gonna murder you."

"Eren might."

"Well there's no doubt about that one."

You gave his arm a playful little punch. "You should be resting."

He leaned against the counter. "I can't leave these brats alone with you. Eren will rip your head off."

"How comforting."

"It's true."

You looked up at him and giggled and the man did everything in his power not to fawn over how cute you looked.

"Seriously though, be easy on your body. That pride of yours had you thinking you were healed enough to leave this morning. Am I wrong?"

"A moment of weakness." He said, blunt with sarcasm.

You put a hand on your hip and waved the spatula at him, "If you pass out on me again I'll turn you into the authorities."

"Is that a threat?"

"Yes."

"Then I accept that challenge." He jutted his chin at your pan, "Your eggs are burning."

"Ah shit!"

"That's what happens when you don't pay attention and make empty threats." Levi chuckled.

"You're testing my patience."

"Very much so."

Before he walked away you said one last thing to stop him in his tracks, "I read your note by the way..."

Levi paused.

"I was drunk when I wrote that."

"Blaming it on the booze huh."

"Your booze."

You plated the eggs and walked past him with the searing meal—only to whisper in his ear, "You owe me a date... and a rematch, captain."

His heart pulsed ever so slightly from the sweet sound of your voice. It gave him chills, the way your breath trickled down his neck. Levi quickly pulled himself together and per usual, played it off.

Levi and you sat across from each other at the opposite tails of the kitchen table. His squad took their seats, with an air of apprehension. They were hungry, gazing down at the spread of eggs, sausages, fruit and toast before them. It's lovely smell sent them salivating. Levi made himself a modest plate and the squad followed suit of their captain.

Eren looked up at you, "Hey..." He said.

You beamed in his direction, "Hm?"

"Thanks..." that deathly glare of his seemed to have softened. You were expecting some sort of insult or threat to come out of his mouth instead.

Your eyes widened in shock.

"... Yeah, of course." You nodded.

Levi watched the little interaction, a faint look of relief on his face.

"Yeah, thanks."

"Thank you."

The rest of the squad chimed in.

"What... shall we call you, Miss?" Mikasa asked.

"I'm Y/n."

Her eyes softened, "That's a pretty name."

You smiled.

"We should introduce ourselves as well." A blond haired boy suggested.

Levi watched in curiosity as his squad was slowly starting to open up to you.

"I'm Armin, this is Jean, Connie, Mikasa, Eren, and well, you know our captain already."

You nodded, greeting the soldiers who crowded your table.

Connie cleared his throat and flashed the boy beside him a sly grin. "Jean thinks you're pretty by the way."

He lightly punched Connie in the arm with a scowl as the rest of the table, including yourself, let out a laugh.

"I appreciate the compliment, but I'm afraid I may be a few years too old for you." You said sarcastically, earning another chuckle from the table.

Jean blushed, scratching the back of his neck, "This idiot to my left has no filter."

"I just thought it was nice for the lady to hear your compliment."

"Whatever."

Levi glanced at you from across the table, he was honestly amazed how quickly you were able to make his squad feel comfortable. It was the same thing when he first met you as well... something about you, just made people feel at ease.

After breakfast—which consisted of more light hearted conversation and getting to know the squad, you went outside to start your daily routine in the gardens. However, you paused when you saw none other than Eren sitting on the edge of the porch with a glass of beer in his hand.

He turned, "I got into your liquor by the way, I hope you don't mind." He said casually, continuing to sip his drink in peace.

You smiled to yourself and took a seat next to him on the porch. He stiffened for a moment upon your sudden proximity, a soldier's reflex you assumed.

The sun was dampened by clouds that morning which left an ambient gray to the world around you.

"You guys can stay here as long as you need. It's just me. There's two extra guest rooms." You said, breaking the silence.

"We'll probably be on our way soon, but I think it's best if the captain stays here for a week or so to heal up. I've never seen him injured this bad. If we're gonna win this war, we need him in good shape." Eren said.

"What's exactly happening on the battlefront? Living out here has kept me pretty ignorant from war and politics."

Eren sighed, "We were overpowered by your military, and had to retreat. Then we went looking for the captain, and well, now we're here. We came to an agreement that it's best to lay low for a while, regroup, and plan a counter attack. We'll have a few weeks to rest, and hide out in the city."

You thought about how different your lives were, it was a sharp contrast from your peace and quiet at the cottage.

"I don't think you're a bad person Y/n, but if you ever betray us." Eren looked you in the eyes, "I'll kill you myself."

You let out a giggle, much to Eren's bewilderment, "I'm assuming no one ever taught you how to talk to women. Such violent words will scare the ladies away."

"Oi I'm serious." He said, attempting to ignore the budding smirk on his face.

"Eren."

"Yeah?"

"I know my word doesn't mean much, but you should know... If I wanted to betray you guys, I would've outed you to the authorities as soon as I saw you step out of the forest. I don't care for this war, and quite frankly, I don't care for Marley. I just care about the human lives involved... on both sides."

A gust of wind swept past the two of you and the boy simply looked at you in awe. His lips sat scarcely parted, green eyes wide and delicate.

He breathed in and faced forward, clearing his throat. "Then... I'm glad it was your cottage we stumbled upon."

"You did get lucky, I know some of the other cottages around these woods are owned by grouchy old hicks who'd have your asses executed for the reward of a measly bag of fish."

Eren laughed, "Unless it was good fish, I could see the temptation. A nice salmon, I'd sell my arm for that right now."

"I'll keep that in mind if I cook salmon tonight for dinner. If you want some, it'll cost you a limb." You teased.

"I'll have the captain cut it off, he's good with swords."

"It's a plan then."

The two of you chuckled.

Eren took a sip of his beer and looked over at you again. "Speaking of the captain, you guys seem... friendly."

You leaned your chin in your palm and spoke with a hint of sarcasm, "Now, what do you mean by that Eren?"

"I just-. I saw you guys talking in the kitchen. I don't know, he rarely ever laughs or smiles with people. He was doing it with you, I was surprised."

You blushed, looking away.

"Who knows, maybe he has a crush on the cute stranger who saved his life." Eren chuckled, finishing his beer.

"I-... It's not like that. I barely know anything about him. And he's like a decade older than me." You said, twirling the ends of your hair.

"You're both adults."

"Okay match maker that's enough."

Eren laughed, looking forward out into the yard and the humor in his eyes slowly dissolved.

"Take good care of him while we're gone." He said, on a more serious note.

"I intend to." You replied and Eren smiled to himself.

-ˋˏ ༻✧༺ ˎˊ-

As day turned into evening, you finished setting up the guest rooms for Levi's squad. They'd stay only that one night, then be off.

You entered the living room, a dim candle light illuminating it's darkness. Levi sat on the couch, sharpening his swords. The man was always ready for anything.

"The guest rooms are all filled up, but you can sleep in my bedroom tonight. I don't mind sleeping on the couch." You said, taking a seat next to him. Levi set his blades aside.

"No it's fine, I'll take the couch. I won't trouble you."

"You need it more than me, it's a queen size." You grinned, advertising your offer.

The couch definitely wasn't an ideal option for either of you. It was small and thin cushioned, barely any space to stretch your legs. You didn't want Levi sleeping there.

The exhausted soldier caved in, sighing. "I won't lie, that does sound nice. But are you really okay sleeping here?" He patted the couch, "No offense but it seems pretty shitty."

You let out a laugh, "Your honestly never fails, Levi."

He stood up and scratched the back of his neck, "Why don't you just sleep with me?"

You beamed up at him in shock, "Eh?"

Levi scoffed, even though it was dark, you could see flecks of rose creep upon his cheeks. "That came out wrong. I mean, we can just share the queen sized bed. It makes more sense."

He made sure to emphasize the logic of his suggestion, in order to make it sound like he wasn't just trying to get in bed with you.

"I-... I guess." You said, looking away, once again twirling the ends of your hair.

"Sorry, if that made you uncomfortable, I'll just take the couch."

"No it's fine, I want to sleep with you."

Levi widened his eyes. It took you a moment to realize how that sounded before you put your hands up and waved your words away, "I- I mean, I don't mind it. It's the most logical option anyway."

The two of you were both a blushing mess. Grown adults however flushed scarlet like nervous teenagers.

"Then let's go." He replied, tilting his head in the direction of your room. Levi was able to hide his feelings about the whole thing, keeping a cold persona. But inside, his stomach was floating... Just the thought of you laying beside him was enough to flood his mind with more unwanted thoughts. Maybe even lewd ones.

There were plenty of times he had to sleep alongside female soldiers in bed while on missions but he never thought anything of it. His mind was always as sharp as a razor on expeditions, clear and focused. Not to mention he wasn't much attracted to other soldiers. The thought just never crossed his mind.

But with you, he was in foreign territory, literally and figuratively.

You guys entered your room in silence with an obvious tension in the air. Levi glanced around your bedroom for a moment. It was neat and minimal, a wooden dresser and vanity decorated with flowers and picture frames of loved ones.

The bed sat in the center, white sheets and pillows. You both entered from opposite sides and snuggled beneath the covers, your backs turned away from each other which set the boundaries.

You laid with your knees tucked close to your chest in an effort to prevent your legs from touching his. It was like there was an invisible brick wall between the two of you and god forbid you both rolled over and made eye contact through it.

"Um... Well... Goodnight Levi." You said hesitantly, if only he had seen the flush on your face.

"Night." He sighed, shifting around as the bed dipped.

You thought that would be your last interaction with him until morning... But the night had more in store for the two of you....

-ˋˏ ༻✧༺ ˎˊ-