Author's note: to avoid unnecessary criticism (and ridiculous effort on my part), I will refer to Hanji as a woman, although I'm well aware that Isayama has been very clear that Hanji has no identified gender. Although, he did say, in so many words that it's open for interpretation.

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The Survey Corps.

How you managed to find yourself still alive after four years of mostly fruitless expeditions, facing Titan after Titan, was only what you considered to be a miracle. You could admit that you weren't one of the most skilled of soldiers, but you always found ways to improve your skills. Your Titan kill count only was at 9, but you were more of an assisting soldier than the one to actually make the final strike. More often than not, you found yourself ordered as the "distraction" or "bait" because although you were amazing at using you 3DMG, your blade strikes could use a bit of work.

"Sloppy and weak," as you have been told time and time again by several of the commanding officers you've had over the years. That being said, everyone knew that playing "bait" was incredibly dangerous. Normal titans were already hard enough to evade and maneuver around, but abnormal titans, those with speed or the ability to jump, were far more difficult to take down. Because of that, you have lost more comrades in arms than you would care to remember. In that sense, you were fairly valuable to the corps with your lightning fast reflex time and agility, although you never felt as such when someone would chide you about your blade strikes.

Levi Ackerman was one particular person who would constantly remind you of your poor displays of swordsmanship, and he would never do so politely. You felt that was rightly justified though and always took those comments in stride. If anything, you wished you could somehow learn from him so that he would no longer view you as half useless in combat.

Despite that, Levi found merit in your skill with the 3DMG and promoted you to his Special Operations squad a little over five months ago. How you managed to "impress" Levi was beyond you, but you were determined to prove your place amongst the others.

Very few people knew of your unrequited admiration for humanity's strongest soldier and none of them understood why you held such feelings for a man with the emotional range of a toothpick. Honestly, you weren't quite sure yourself, but you just felt like there was a lot more to Levi Ackerman than he has ever shown anyone.

Hanji knew.

And that was unfortunate because the day she found out you harbored feelings for Levi, she has been causing problems for you about it ever since. Many times she has blatantly made a show in front of Levi, parading you around and talking loudly about all sorts of nonsense that you choose not to recall. It was just too embarrassing to remember the way Levi would just stare at the both of you with a mixture of annoyance and disinterest.

You figured Hanji was just excited that someone could feel that way about Levi. "That shortie hasn't smiled since the day we met!!" The thought seemed appalling to you; never smiled even once? How could you ever manage to get him to like you back then?

Well, you didn't actually. You knew that your feelings would always be met against a steel wall and there is no way Levi would ever allow someone into them. Too much effort on his part, especially since you could be dead tomorrow.

That was the harsh reality of the Survey Corps. Not only were you giving up your heart and body for the fate of humanity, but you also sacrificed the possibility of falling in love, courting, and marriage. It simply had no place in a branch like the Survey Corps. Not when there was so much uncertainty surrounding your life.

But that would not stop you from always caring at Levi and his welfare. Now that you were in his squad, there were a lot more opportunities for interaction with him and you always did your best to keep a gentle smile on your face. You were sure he found that annoying but there had to be someone in his life that would smile for him. It just so happens that you appointed yourself for that.

Today, you were leading your stallion, Shadowheart, around headquarters, stroking his mane affectionately. It's been over a month and a half since the corps' last expedition outside the walls and your military issued horse hasn't been out too much since then. You had decided today to let him roam free and get some exercise. Of course the vets that took care of the horses and let them get some running in, but you always loved your stallion's loyalty and fierce courage and therefore, spent time tending to him yourself.

Your thoughts had been wandering over all that has happened in the last five months. Between two failed expeditions (one where Levi came to your rescue even though you had everything under control and you knew he knew that), training personally with Levi to improve your precision with the blades, and all the mundane conversations you've shared with Levi in the mess hall. You let Shadowheart pause to graze and let your thoughts linger on the trust he would place in you in combat to distract titans or very recently, Levi has finally addressed you on a first name basis like he does with the rest of his squad.

"(F/n)."

You heard a familiar deadpan voice call out a ways away from behind you and you turned in your saddle to find Levi and his own horse trotting up to you. As if on cue, you thought with a forming smile. You were surprised you didn't hear the sound of hooves before he called you; you really must have been zoning out.

"Ah! Heichou!" you said, turning your mount to face your superior. "Is something wrong?"

"Tch, calling me 'heichou' could be classified as that," he replied, expressionless as usual. "I've told you several times to stop that unless we are present with other squads."

You laughed sheepishly, running hand through your (h/c) tresses. "Right...it's just a habit. My apologies," you replied, still smiling.

"Formal as ever."

An awkward sort of silence settled between the both of you, one where he did not break eye contact. You felt your cheeks grow hot as he continued to stare and you averted your gaze to the trees surrounding you, wondering what the reason was for him to come all the way out here to you.

Just as you opened your mouth to speak, he broke the silence. "Care to explain Hanji's recent and rather blatant behavior every time you two are together?"

You very nearly fell out of your saddle at the statement, not expecting him to bring that up. You cringed noticeably when you thought of the interaction between the three of you just the day before during hand to hand training. Hanji had made a show of toting you around, yet again, in front of Levi, spouting off nonsense.

"What a beautiful woman you are, (f/n)!!! And of marriageable age!" Hanji had been saying in her typical over the top voice. Hanji had promptly slapped your butt and gave it a tight squeeze just as you passed by Levi, who was surveying the progress of his inferiors. "There has got to be a man here who would love to feel that tush of yours. OR AT LEAST MARRY YOUR FINE ASS!!"

You had tried to slap a hand over Hanji's mouth to silence her, seeing that all the soldiers within earshot were staring curiously at you two. But she evaded your attempt and winked.

"Hanji, please don't do this here!" you hissed desperately. She ignored you, of course, and looked over to Levi, who stood with his arms crossed with an annoyed countenance.

"What about you, Levi? (F/n) definitely is marriageable, right?" cried Hanji, throwing an arm around you and dragging you over to him. You were positive your face had altogether bypassed red and went straight to maroon.

Levi raised an eyebrow just a fraction. "What the hell are you going on about?" He refused to make eye contact with you and continued to glare into Hanji's almost crazed eyes.

"Ah, c'mooooon, Shortie," Hanji whined, having left your side to now stand behind Levi so the both of them could look at you. "Don't be so damn dense! Just look at her cute face!"

Embarrassed past the point of return, you waved your hands in attempt to slow the conversation. "Please ignore her, Levi. She didn't get much sleep last night," you said with a nervous laugh. That was actually true, since Hanji has bouts of sleepless nights regularly.

Levi just gazed at you with a cold expression for a moment. "Tch," he growled. "Whatever. Get back to work, (f/n)......and Hanji?"

"What's up, Shortie?"

Levi walked away. "You already know that answer."

That left you a little confused because Hanji had leapt for joy and punched the air with her fist. "WHOOOOOO!!"

Presently, you couldn't find the words to explain why Hanji was behaving even more weirdly than normal without giving away your secret affinity for Levi. Your palms went a little clammy while you gripped the reins, trying to formulate your thoughts to proper sentences.

"Fine, I'll explain it myself," Levi snapped, losing his patience. "You love me."

"Ack!!" you cried, feeling your chest seize at his words and this time, you really did fall out of your saddle. You alarmed your stallion, who took it upon himself to nudge your cheek as if to ask if you were okay. From the grass below, you looked up at Levi, scratching the back of your head nervously.

Your heart was pounding within the walls of your chest and you knew your face was red once again. "Well, I guess I shouldn't expect anything less than a blunt statement like that from you," you laughed sheepishly.

Levi sighed with irritation and dismounted. Instead of helping you stand, however, he merely went into a squatting position to hold your gaze again.

"Judging by your idiotic reaction, I can only make the assumption that I was right," he said. Again, he held nothing less than a disinterested look in his eyes.

Ouch.

You already knew that he would never return your feelings, hence why you never pursued him, but just hearing the lack of emotion in his voice was clear enough. It caused an ache in your heart and you let your (e/c) eyes drop to the grass beneath you.

"I want to hear you say it." Your eyes snapped back up to his, surprised by the demand.

"W-wait a second!" you cried out. "I'm not going to-"

"That's an order," Levi cut in, though this time he used a slightly softer tone. "I want to hear the words from your lips, not mine."

Heat flushed over your entire body and you looked away from his intense gaze. It took a full minute of you gathering up your courage and pushing aside your embarrassment before you were able to get the words out.

"You're right, Levi," you whispered into the wind and returning your eyes to his. If you were going to be forced to admit your feelings, you would do so with confidence. "I do love you. I-I'm...I'm in love with you."

And I have been for a long time....

Levi blinked, actually a little surprised with how sure you sounded. After a half a moment, the edges of his lips twitched into a very small smile.

"Well, it's about damn time."

Your eyes widened at the sight of him, never having seen Levi hold such a soft expression, and before you could say anything else, he leaned over and kissed you. Again, you were shocked to find that he held the ability to be so gentle, something that conflicted entirely with his usual persona. Who knew that Levi Ackerman, known for his abrasive, blunt, and sometimes down right vulgar personality actually had a soft side?

His hands were at your cheeks, holding you with a certain amount of protectiveness that made your heart falter. The kiss was simple, just letting his lips linger on yours before he pulled away to gaze at you.

"You do know I don't fuckin wait around for people, let alone women, right?" he said suddenly, dropping his hands and finally sitting down in the grass fully. You giggled at this but didn't reply. "And yet I waited for your ass to come around. Do you know how thankful I was for your incredibly horrendous abilities with your blades? That way I had a reason to spend one on one time with you."

"Hey!!" you whined, though pleased that he had cherished those moments just as much as you did. "I am honestly not that bad!"

"Like hell you aren't," Levi replied with a roll of his eyes. With that, he laid back in the grass, his feet closest to you, and stared up at the cloud spotted blue sky. "But your skill with the 3D gear makes up for it.... Somewhat. And what pissed me off about Hanji calling me dense is the fact that I felt like I was staring at the densest woman on the planet. You never understood the effort it took on my part to try to be clear about my intentions. You're so stupid."

You promptly slapped his thigh, though you doubted it hurt. "Are you serious!?" you said with a laugh. "How the hell am I supposed to understand your signals? All you ever do is pick on me and pile extra cleaning duties on me!!"

At this, you heard Levi scoff before he put a hand behind his head. "Didn't your mother ever tell you that when a boy picked on you, it's because he liked you?"

"Looks like humanity's strongest soldier is really just an angry teenaged boy then," you chided. "What ever will I do?"

"Shut it before I make you regret teasing me, cadet."

You couldn't help but chuckle since he didn't sound completely serious about his threat; honestly, it didn't feel as though much changed between you. You had conversations like these all the time, and now that you thought about it...you should have always considered Levi a close friend and not just your commanding officer. Or the man you loved.

The boundaries between you two hadn't been clearly defined yet but you figured you would take a leap of faith. You moved over to his figure, crawling over him so that you hovered over his body on all fours. Levi froze, eyes widening just a fraction at your somewhat brazen action.

"Levi..." you said softly, trying to fight the grin that was forming. "You didn't say it back. I want...do you feel the same way...?"

Levi immediately looked away from you, and you were positive that the slightest tinge of pink hit his cheeks. Now that was shocking.

"Are you seriously asking me that?" He grumbled. "What the hell do you think?"

You were too distracted with his slightly tinted skin to hear him.

"Are...are you blushing?" you asked, amused. That immediately warranted a half threatening death glare at you but you laughed.

"Shut up," he snapped, gripping your hand that was poking his cheek playfully. "...Do I have to?"

You giggled. "No...but it would be nice to hear it anyway."

With the heaviest of sighs, Levi pulled you closer by the wrist so that he could reach your ear. You waited for him to find his words, feeling your smile grow bigger with every second.

"I love you, (f/n)," he whispered. "And I have for a long time...and I always will."