The two of you only exchanged a few words during the ride back home. You were thankful that Levi couldn't see the ever present blush on your cheeks while you rode the horse. Your heart hadn't ceased its drumming either.

You scolded yourself for acting like such a child. Flushed face, stuttered words, and butterflies... all for a guy you'd known for a few days.

For fucks sake I feel like I'm a teenager again.

Maybe, this was exactly what the two of you needed, some innocence in your lives... The allure of a crush did exactly that.

You brought the carriage to the side of the house and the two of you hopped off. Levi could barely make eye contact with you.

"Hey um... I'm gonna go do some gardening so... Let me know if you need anything." You said with your eyes glued to the ground.

Levi finally looked at you, "I can help."

You gazed up. "Oh... That would be nice. But, are you sure?"

You didn't mind having an extra hand in the gardens. It would be nice however, you and Levi working side by side was bound to stir up some more tension.

"Yeah, I hate feeling useless." He said.

Your eyes softened, "Well... you're gonna have to get your hands dirty, captain."

"I'm fine with that, as long as I'm doing something."

Levi didn't like feeling as if he was weak. He needed to be doing something, anything at least to stimulate himself. The man was always on the go. He just couldn't sit still. You were starting to catch onto that and even though you knew it would be awkward working with him since the kiss... you let him join.

"Okay so first things first! We have to prepare the soil. Next is the actual planting." You said with hands on your hips. The two of you were in the middle of your garden.

"You sound like a drill sergeant." Levi joked.

"Well I am one today." You fired back.

Levi volunteered to carry the bulky sacks of dirt and compost over to the area where the two of you would be planting. You secretly liked having a guy around to do the heavy lifting.

He plopped them on the ground with a sigh.

"What's next?" He asked.

"We have to mix the compost with the soil before the seeds go in." You replied, handing him a garden trowel.

He knelt down beside you and watched as you used the tool to mix the compost into the ground. He mimicked your movements. It kind of made you blush how he genuinely was paying attention.

"You do this all the time?" He asked.

"Only a few times a month. Even less, I do it after I bring a harvest into town if I'm low on seeds."

"Mh." He nodded and retreated back into awkward silence. You thought that maybe you'd made him uncomfortable back at the plaza by kissing his lips unprovoked. You started to over think.

"Hey um... Levi." You said quietly.

"Hm?"

You took a deep breath, "I shouldn't have just kissed you like that... if I invaded your space, I'm genuinely sorry."

Levi looked at you in bewilderment.

"If I wanted you to stop I would've pushed you off of me." He said, keeping his focus on the soil.

This was his way of saying, 'I enjoyed it'. But Levi being Levi, didn't have a soft way with words.

You gazed at him with parted lips before breaking into a giggle. "Oh okay, then I'm relieved. That was on my mind."

"Hold on, Y/n look at me." He said, shifting his focus on you. You paused and gazed up into his eyes. His face was serious.

"What is it?" You started to feel butterflies in your stomach again.

Levi stared at you intently before lifting his hand to your cheek.

Is he? Is he going to kiss me?

Your mind was literally freaking out until Levi broke the pressure by stating, "You've got dirt on your face." And wiped his thumb across your cheek.

You almost wanted to laugh at yourself for getting all worked up over nothing.

"I guess I can trust you to keep me clean." You chuckled.

"As long as you don't dirty yourself too much."

"Such high standards."

The two of you let out a laugh, but beneath your playful banter rested an underlying tension. You kept glancing at his lips every time he spoke. You wanted to feel them one last time.

He'd even caught you, "What are you looking at?" He asked, genuinely confused.

Your eyes had been staring at his mouth. Levi, once again, couldn't make the obvious connection that you were into him.

"I've got shit on my face or something?"

You chuckled behind your hands, "No there's nothing on your face."

"Oh, then what were you looking at?" He replied, almost self conscious.

"... Your lips."

Levi furrowed his brows, "Um... why?"

He's oblivious...

"I-... Well... I was thinking about... our kiss from earlier."

It finally clicked in his head as to why you were staring. He felt dumb for being so clueless but then again, Levi just wasn't used to dealing with women like this.

"Did you like it atleast?" He said bluntly, his eyes glued to the task at hand. He knew that if he met your gaze that his heart would start its incessant pounding again.

"Yeah... I did..."

He could feel you studying him.

"Did you?" You asked, a hint of insecurity in your voice.

Levi paused his movements, "I loved it." He replied.

You drew your head back in surprise, you were expecting him to say something harsh—or that he just didn't enjoy it. You were ready for anything, but that.

Levi finally peeled his eyes away from the ground and met you. "Why do you look so shocked?" He chuckled.

"I thought you were gonna say something brash. I was preparing myself."

"You must think I'm an asshole."

"Asshole isn't the right word, just... rough around the edges."

Levi laughed to himself, "I'll take that."

Your eyes lingered on his little grin. The way his eyes would crinkle when he laughed, his voice...

Levi caught your gaze once again. "Do I actually have something on my face this time?" He said, wiping his cheek.

His pure lack of awareness of his own good looks made you giggle. It was like he couldn't comprehend that someone would just look at him out of allurement.

You decided to play along...

"Yeah there's soil all over your cheeks, it's on your forehead too." You said, a dash of drama in your tone.

"Tch, really?"

"Yup, you look like you just rolled around in mud."

He cursed under his breath and pulled a small white cloth from his back pocket. You watched as he swiped it across his face. He looked at the cloth to see if any dirt came off, there was nothing.

You couldn't hold it in anymore. "I was just messing with you, your face is clean."

Levi narrowed his eyes, "I should've known this was one of your games."

"You're too much fun to tease, I couldn't help myself."

"I'll get you back for this."

"By doing what?"

Levi stuck his hand in the dirt and smudged the grime across your cheek. "By doing that."

You broke out into a laugh. You weren't just gonna let that slide, you splattered a clump of dirt across his face with a giggle. Levi grabbed you by the waist and pulled you closer so he could spread your face with filth.

You did the same to him and due to the rapid movements, the two of you toppled backwards. His back hit the ground as you landed on top of him. You looked at each other, mud on your faces like war paint.

His blue eyes sat wide, staring right back into you. Your breasts were squished up against his chest, locks of hairs dangling over him. All he saw was you, devouring his view.

Your hearts began to speed up. You could feel his own drumming against yours. Your face grew hot.

Levi didn't quite know why your closeness always resulted in him becoming a flustered mess. He looked at you, almost curiously. He wanted to understand this feeling... he wanted to understand himself.

So with the lift of a hand, Levi gently cupped your face. Your breath hitched.

The heat from the sun coupled with your nervous flush, made you feel like you were on fire.

Levi parted his lips, a hazy look in his eyes.

You realized what was going to come.

He pulled you closer with his hand and kissed you...

If someone saw you guys they'd surely be shocked by such an indecent sight. Two dirty adults making out in the grass like adolescents.

There was an innocence about that kiss. It happened so naturally. You guys weren't trying to impress each other, or fasten your pace in the hopes of getting lucky.

You just breathed each other in. Simply, and purely.

His hands moved down to your waist—his favorite place. He gathered you up nice and close.

You felt him give you a light squeeze every now and then. He would let out a deep exhale, and tug.

Your whole body grew sensitive. A tension started to build in your stomach. It captured your heart and ran all the way up the length of your spine. You knew this feeling.

"Levi..." You murmured, pulling away.

"Yeah...?" He whispered.

"What are we... doing?" You said, reverting back into your shell.

"I don't know Y/n... Maybe we should stop... before-... Before it gets too much." He replied. The vibrato of his voice sent a throb down your lower body.

"Yeah... you're right. I'll be honest though... I don't want to stop." You whispered.

"Me either." Levi looked at you, but it was more like he was looking in you. Your thighs burned against each other. It wasn't easy to hold in the feeling any longer.

His chest started to rise higher. He could feel it too, the tension building up between the two of you. It had been growing for days and you'd be fools not to do anything about it.

"What if we... just let it get out of hand... just once." You murmured, a neediness in your tone.

Levi knew what you meant... but he wanted to hear you say it. He wanted to know exactly what it was that you desired. A little sadistic part of him wanted to watch you flood with embarrassment upon voicing it out loud. Payback for all of your teasing.

"You're gonna have to be a little more specific than that." He replied.

You chewed at your lower lip, you'd never fully admitted this to a guy. Especially not outloud.

"Fuck me... Levi."

And with that, all notions of innocence immediately went down the drain...

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