It's been months since then. Summer turned to fall, then soon after that it faded to winter. Not much had changed around here, to be honest, aside from the weather. But with the progression of the coldest season, it meant that the winter holidays were fast approaching, and excitement began to mount as it always did in preparation for the events that would come with them.

Ms. Fields always made it a point to celebrate all the winter holidays. There were kids at the home of every walk of life, and though she celebrated Hanukkah, she made sure to decorate and celebrate each and every one that existed under the sun.

Though she maintained that we needed to focus on our studies before our short vacation, the fact of the matter was that the younger kids never managed to focus for much longer than a few minutes at a time on the last day where we had scheduled school time before vacation.

Eren was no different.

In fact, he might've been the worst of them all.

Even now, as I helped him with his worksheet, he was all but bouncing up and down in his seat. "Eren," I chastised lightly, though my smile refused to leave my face, "you have to finish this." I was sitting next to him at one of the tables. I had extra time after finishing my own work early, so I elected to help Ms. Fields as she assisted the younger ones as they needed it.

Sheets of loose leaf paper were scattered across the table, fluttering slightly the movements of each person walking by. There were markers and crayons and pencils - colored or otherwise - littered across its surface too. The younger kids were working on everything from basic arithmetic to their reading and writing. And it was chaotic. That was for sure.

Levi was... brooding somewhere if I had to guess. Maybe he was in the attic. I couldn't blame him. It was getting quite loud down here as excitement grew with the quick approach of the holidays. But before we could even begin to think about celebrating, the work had to get done. But at this rate, Eren would never finish.

"Eren!" I caught him as he nearly fell over with the way he was rocking his chair back and forth. Despite almost falling, he was laughing, the sound jubilant and happy as if he hadn't just almost cracked his head open on the floor.

He just continued to laugh, and Mikasa, across the table and quietly going about her arithmetic, looked up curiously at him. "Eren?" Then she looked at me, as though I knew what had him just so happy, besides the impending holiday.

"Sorry," he managed to say between laughs. "I'm just so excited!"

"I can tell," I said, smiling now as he fixed his chair and got back into it.

Armin, a few chairs down from where we were, looked up curiously as well. He exchanged a look with Mikasa, then returned to his work. Finally, Eren picked up his pencil again and began to write. His tongue poked out of his mouth as he worked, and I stood from the chair to go help another one of the kids who'd asked for my help.

After a few minutes, I went to the kitchen, grabbing a snack for myself and then, because I hadn't seen Levi for a while, grabbed one for him as well. I hadn't seen him sneak down the stairs to come get some food, so I figured he might be hungry.

Though I knew he wouldn't be out there, I checked outside, then checked his room upstairs. That left only one spot, and I smiled as I slid the snacks into my hoodie pocket and went to the closet upstairs. The door closed quietly behind me as I started to climb, finding that he'd been careless and left the board covering the opening skewed. I pushed it up and away, the clatter of the wood against the floor announcing my presence.

When I pulled myself up, replaced the board, then looked up, I started slightly, seeing that he was already looking at me. A quick look around the room told me exactly what he was doing. He was cleaning.

Not exactly the biggest surprise.

"Hi," I greeted happily as I stood. He had the window open, the chilled winter air streaming through. At least it wasn't snowing. He had a broom in hand and was busy sweeping over by one of the far corners. 

I briefly wondered if he'd asked Ms. Fields to use it, considering it was usually stored in the cleaning closet downstairs with the other cleaning supplies we weren't allowed to go into – for safety purposes, of course.

"Hey," he replied.

"Have you been up here all morning?" He nodded in answer. "It looks a lot better than it did yesterday. But you could've told me you were doing this. I would've helped you."

"Spare me."

"I mean it," I laughed. "I'd honestly rather sweep than have to help Eren remember to cross his t's."

He clicked his tongue. "Idiot."

I sat down in the center of the floor. I took the snack bags out of my pocket and held one towards him. "Come here."

"Why?"

"You've been cleaning all day," I reminded him. "You should take a break."

He seemed to consider it for a moment. Then he made up his mind, shaking his head as he leaned it against the wall in the corner. Levi walked over, then lowered himself to sit cross-legged just in front of me. When he was comfortable, he reached for the snack, but stopped.

"I don't like that kind," he said, looking distastefully at it.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, take mine then. Picky ass."

He chuckled, a small smirk stretching across his lips as he opened the bag. "Ass? I thought you didn't like swearing. You told me just last week that it was bad."

"Yeah, well... I meant in front of Ms. Fields. She doesn't like it." I huffed, opening my own snack. "Maybe your bad behavior is rubbing off on me."

He shrugged his shoulders, the perfect display of indifference. "Not my fault you picked it up. Whatever will you do without Fields' favor?"

I laughed. "Shut up. Being good means I get to get away with more. And on my birthday, she gets me more because I'm her favorite."

"She gets you... presents?"

"Mm-hm," I hummed, taking a bite. When I finished chewing and swallowed it down, I continued. "She gets everyone a present for their birthday, and for holidays too. They're small, but... a gift is a gift. They're usually something thoughtful, like something we need."

Levi's only response was a thoughtful sort of noise as he took a bite of his own snack. He looked away, towards one of the far walls where the small bookcase was, and consequently, where some of my books were.

Sensing his want to change the topic, I did. "Your reading is getting better," I said quietly. "You're a fast learner."

My words must have pulled him out of his train of thought because he blinked confusedly before his features softened, just a bit. "...Thanks."

"You'll be caught up soon," I told him. I smiled wide, hoping to make him feel better. "And though your penmanship could use some work, your writing is really good now, too."

"You're a... good teacher," he said, keeping his eyes averted.

That sent a little trill through my heart. "Thank you," I said earnestly. "I'm just happy I could help you."

Despite his words, there still seemed to be something... wrong. Something odd was in his eyes, something he didn't want to talk about. But I was nosy, and I'd learned from books and movies that sometimes the best way to approach a situation you didn't want to was to just to approach it head-on. Advice I would never take for myself, sure, but to help Levi, I would.

"Is something wrong, Levi? You look upset."

His eyes snapped to mine, narrowed slightly. They were guarded, impassive. "I'm fine."

"I'm not that dumb," I muttered. "I can see that something is wrong. Just tell me what it is so I can help."

"Tch. Always so concerned with helping me."

"Now you're catching on," I laughed lightly. "How many times do I have to tell you that I care about you? So if you need help, I'm going to help you. Honestly, you seem so smart, but you really are stupid sometimes."

He rolled his eyes and huffed. "Whatever. It's nothing serious anyway."

"But if it's making you upset, then it is," I told him. "So, come on. What is it?"

He sighed. "You're going to keep annoying me until I tell you, aren't you?" I nodded eagerly, smiling all the while. "It's really not that important, (Y/n), so just drop it."

"Is it about your birthday? That's what we were talking about when you started looking all sad."

His lack of a reply told me what I needed to know. So, I'd been right. Figures.

"How old are you?"

"Eleven, somewhere around there."

"So you don't know for sure?"

"No."

"Do you... know your birthday? Even if you don't know the year?"

"No."

"Oh, well... do you want one?"

"Not really."

"Why not?"

"I just don't," he said firmly.

"What if I picked one for you," I offered, "and only we knew?"

His icy blue eyes met mine. They flickered down to look at my gentle smile, then back up to my eyes as I waited patiently for his reply. When it did come, it was slow, tentative, even a bit shy. "...Why?"

"So we can celebrate it together," I said. I took a moment to think. "What if... oh, what if we pick your favorite holiday?"

"I... what?"

"Your favorite holiday! It'll make that day a lot cooler if it's shared with your birthday, right?"

"I don't have one. I don't have a favorite... anything."

Well, that was sad.

I pursed my lips as I rethought my approach. "Ok. Well... do you celebrate any of the winter holidays?"

"Not in a long time," he admitted. "I couldn't when I was... on my own. And my uncle didn't care enough about them."

"Not in a long time," I echoed. "So there was a time when you did, right?"

"When I was with my mother," he answered. I smiled warmly, encouraging him with a slight nod to continue. "We celebrated Christmas. She loved it."

"Ok," I said softly. "Christmas, then. What if that's your birthday? It's not one of those annoying holidays that's on a different date each year. It's always December 25th."

"Why that day?"

"It's special to you and your mother," I explained, "so why not? Besides, a lot of people celebrate it. I know you don't like being the center of attention, but everyone will be too busy celebrating to notice, unless you tell them. Trust me, people with December birthdays usually get overshadowed by the holidays, but special people will make sure to celebrate it with you."

"And I'm assuming you're one of those special people, brat?"

I nodded. "If you'll let me." I leaned forward a bit, prompting him to sit up a little straighter, tipping his chin up away from my beaming face. "Isn't it perfect? A lot of people are happy around Christmas, and you can go relatively unnoticed!"

"It's... something."

"Great," I said. "Christmas it is!" I giggled slightly with excitement. "It's always so pretty at Christmastime, too! I don't know many people who are sad at Christmas, so maybe you'll smile for once!"

He smirked. "You don't know very many people."

I pouted, though a smile threatened to break through. "Neither do you," I huffed playfully, crossing my arms over my chest. Levi reached out and flicked me on the forehead. He chuckled at my quick ouch and leaned back, continuing to eat his snack.

"Hurry up and finish," he said. "You said you wanted to help, so I'll put you to work."

---

On Christmas Eve, while everyone else was finalizing their presents for others, huddled away in separate corners of each and every room of the house, I was sitting on the couch watching a movie. Eren was laying on his belly on the floor just in front of the couch, his tongue poking out of his mouth as he worked on... origami? I couldn't really tell. All I could really see from my spot on the couch was a mess of folded paper.

Ms. Fields had been milling about, helping the kids if they needed it, and otherwise was keeping an eye on the cookies she was baking. The smell in the house was heavenly, the pine tree in the living room adding earthy tones while the baked goods added hints of sweetness.

I think right now she was readying the cookies for Santa to leave out overnight... only to have them herself once we'd all gone to bed. She made me promise not to tell anyone about that after I'd caught her doing it a few years ago.

By the time the movie was finished, all the kids were called to the dining room to make gingerbread houses. I got up from the couch with a frown; mine were notorious for being awful. It didn't matter how hard I tried, because the damn thing would always – always – fall over. This year I was just ready to try for a few minutes, put in only the bare minimum amount of effort required for Ms. Fields to be satisfied, and then come back to the living room.

Only, that didn't happen.

What did happen was that I ended up being one of the last people left in the room, save for one.

When we were setting up, I found a nice spot at the dining table for myself and I noticed it when Levi came in rather begrudgingly. He, like always, made his way to my side. Even now he wasn't particularly close with anyone else, but I didn't mind being the one he felt comfortable going to.

"What's this mess?" He asked, his eyes trailing across all the supplies scattered across the table. When I looked up at him, I noticed the way his eyes narrowed slightly at the complete lack of organization. As the other kids got to work, the mess only got worse; gumdrops spilled across the table, someone tore a frosting bag, and someone threw a gummy bear at Armin. Ms. Fields was immediately off to scold that child and Eren leaned forward, asking if he was alright.

"We're making gingerbread houses," I explained. "I'm absolutely awful at it. Want to help me?"

Something I found out about Levi was that he was independent, but at the same time, dutiful to a fault. Give him a task, and he'll do it perfectly. Make it seem like you need help, and he'll do so to the best of his abilities even if it was something stupid. I didn't think that I was necessarily taking advantage of it, because he seemed to always end up enjoying having something, anything to do.

He nodded, pulling out the chair next to my own and sitting next to me. "How do I...?"

"So, think of the frosting as glue," I started. "And these are the walls. Do you want to hold them in place, or do you want to use the frosting?"

He opted for the frosting, but grossly underestimated his strength and accidentally shot out nearly a third of the bag onto the base. It got a laugh out of me, but nothing more than a shocked expression than him. I couldn't help but laugh harder, seeing just how surprised he was.

And that started a long, fun evening of us trying to get literally anything to work with us. Nothing seemed to want to work properly, but that didn't stop us from trying. Levi in particular seemed hellbent on getting it right, on making our house look better than everyone else's.

Even when Ms. Fields wanted to start cleaning the mess, we insisted on her cleaning around us, we'd clean up after we were done. With a laugh she agreed and headed to the living room to watch movies for the rest of the evening until bedtime with the younger kids.

If you were to ask me how exactly Levi got icing all over his face, it definitely wasn't because I smeared it across his cheek. Likewise, if you were to ask him how frosting got blotted atop my nose, and a gumdrop placed there, he'd tell you that he didn't know. If you accused him of knowing, he'd vehemently deny that he knew.

But by the time we were done, completely covered with candy and frosting and the house a certified mess on the table, not one wall left standing, we didn't really care anymore, because I was laughing, and even Levi let out the lightest of chuckles with the smallest of smiles on his face.

We barely even heard the lecture when Ms. Fields returned to the kitchen and saw the mess that had seemingly exploded throughout the dining room because we were still too busy trying to figure out exactly how those gumdrops had ended up on the ceiling fan.

---

Christmas morning was, like always, buzzing with energy and life and love before I'd even woken up. I lifted my head from the pillow with a low groan, because for the life of me I could not figure out why it felt like there was someone sitting on me.

I opened my eyes, blinked blearily once or twice to remove the sleep from them, then nearly leapt out of my skin. 

In a miraculous turn of events... there was someone sitting on me.

That would explain the feeling, then.

Incredible.

"Eren!" I shouted, earning a delighted laugh out of him. "What are you doing?"

"Waking you up!"

"Well, good job," I muttered dryly. "Why couldn't you let me sleep?"

"Because it's Christmas!"

"I know that," I sighed. "Get off of me, will you?" He did, the smile never leaving his face as he did. "You're a nuisance," I said as I sat up, knowing he wouldn't be even in the least bit offended.

Eren remained sat on the edge of my bed, the proud smile refusing to slip from his face. "The joke's on you, because I don't know what that means!"

I rolled my eyes but couldn't stop the smile that spread across my lips even if I tried. I didn't even get a chance to reply before Eren had my hand in his, pulling me from the bed. We almost fell off, but we barely managed to get to our feet, not that it mattered, because Eren just continued to tug. "Come on, come on! Everyone's waiting for us!"

"Us? Am I the last one awake?"

"Mm-hm! Now come on!"

"Is Levi already down there?"

Eren slowed. "I don't know. But he's scary!"

I pulled my hand from his grasp. "I should get him," I said. "We shouldn't leave him out."

"Ms. Fields talked to him this morning," Eren argued, getting behind me. He leaned all his weight against me, trying to push me towards the stairs. "He said he wanted to be left alone!"

"Oh," I said quietly. I glanced down the hall towards the closet where our entrance to the attic was hidden. The door was left ajar. He must've been up there. But to be alone, on Christmas...? If he said he wanted to, then that was one thing, but... I wanted to be there for him.

"Talk to him after!" Eren shouted. "Now come on! I want you to see the present I made you!"

"Yeah, but..."

"No buts!"

"Can I at least pee first?"

"Oh. Do you have to?"

"Yes, Eren."

"Oh. Ok."

All that morning, after I peed, I was sitting on pins and needles nearly the entire time we went around the room opening presents. I opened the ones given to me, and gave out the ones I'd made for others, my gifts simple this year but good, in my opinion.

But my mind was... elsewhere. As soon as we were released and able to do what we wanted, I made a beeline right to the upstairs closet after a quick stop by my bed to drop my new gifts off and grab the one for Levi. Adorned in nothing more than my winter pajamas, fuzzy socks, and a sweater, I climbed my way up the shelves, pushed the board out of the way, and pulled myself up into the attic.

"Levi?"

He wasn't there, but the window was open. I ran to it, slipping a little on the floor and nearly face-planting into the windowpane. But I managed to catch myself and I clambered out. When my torso was outside, I turned my head, looking up towards the peaked roof to see if he was there. He was.

He was sitting with his back towards me, hunched over. The wind picked up, my hair whipping around my face. Shit. It was cold out. Looking up, I could see that the sky was a dull gray, covered with heavy clouds that were surely going to open for snow as soon as I got settled there with him.

But I didn't care about that right now.

As if I could care about anything else right now, other than the way Levi was clearly upset.

I climbed out carefully, getting to my feet on the roof and making my way to him quietly. When I was standing next to him, I crouched down, setting a hand on his shoulder. He jerked away, clearly surprised. He glared at me and I shied away slightly.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly. "I just wanted to see if you were ok."

"I'm fine," he replied curtly.

"Ok," I responded unsurely. Like I would believe that. "Can I sit with you?"

It took him a moment to make up his mind, but when he did, he answered me with a silent nod. I lowered myself from the crouch to sit beside him, getting as close as I could to him without actually touching him. It was cold out here. Very cold.

I wrapped my arms around my middle, looking out over the city like we had on his very first day here and on several more instances in the few months he'd been here already. All was quiet. But then I heard a hitched breath come from him, and I chanced a glance over at him. His eyes were open, directed downwards, something gripped tightly in his fists, and... he was crying.

"Levi," I gasped, shifting to face him. I leaned closer, lifting one hand with my sleeve tugged up to gently dab away his tears. "You have to dry your tears; they'll freeze to your face in this weather."

I wiped gently under one eye, the only reaction from Levi was the intense scrutiny I now found myself in and the slight flinch he tried to hide when I lifted my other hand to wipe the other cheek dry of its tears. But seeing him shy away, I lowered both hands, leaning back.

"Oh," I murmured, "I'm so sorry. I should've asked."

There were a few kids that had come and gone from the orphanage that had aversions to being touched. And that was fine. But when it came to Levi, I just... acted on instinct. To care for him. It was strange. 

I'd never felt that before. Not for anyone, not for anything. To just instinctually, immediately, reach out to care for something... It was new. Not unwelcome, definitely not, but...

It felt almost like second nature. Like it was something I had to do. Of course, not something that I had to do in the same way that I had to do my chores. Because this wasn't a chore. This was something that I consciously wanted to do. I wanted to. That was certain.

The boy sitting before me had been through a lot. He'd been through so, so much. And he always stood so strong, acting aloof and like he didn't need any help. But he clearly did, right now. I only wish that he would admit it and just let me help him.

Because I did want to. I wanted to help him. 

But I guess I should have guessed that Levi wouldn't be ok with just anyone touching him. He had a desire to keep all things clean and tidy and orderly and that probably went for himself as well. Only, he'd taken my hand before.

You idiot. A hand is way different from a face.

But then Levi surprised me, pulling me from my thoughts with little more than a light touch. He grasped my wrist gently, guiding my hand back to his face. With the unspoken permission, I palmed his face gently, searching his eyes for something, anything that told me he didn't want me there.

As far as I could tell, there wasn't any. His eyes were looking intently into my own, just as I looked at him, and though his eyes were glassy and red-rimmed, fresh tears were no longer forming in them. "You can," he said quietly.

"Can...?"

"Leave your hands there," he gently ordered.

"Ok," I responded. I shifted slightly to get more comfortable but kept my hands where they were. "Why were you out here alone?"

"I told you already this was my mother's favorite holiday," he said. "I was just out here... to think."

"Think about what?"

"You're too damn nosy," he muttered.

"But when I ask questions, you always answer them," I teased lightly.

He didn't reply to that, not for a moment. When he did speak next, it was quiet. "I was thinking about what we used to do together." I hummed in response, gently urging him to continue. "We used to watch those old movies, make cookies, and decorate together."

"Well," I mused, "the house is already decorated, but those old movies will be playing all day. And Ms. Fields could always use some help baking."

I thought it was a pretty good idea, to go back inside, to huddle together to watch some movies or help bake in the warmth of the kitchen. But Levi shook his head. "No. I'm not doing that."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not replacing those memories I have with her with other people."

"That's not what we'd be doing," I assured him. "I promise. This is supposed to be a happy day and it means a lot to you, doesn't it? In a few years when you look back on Christmas, you don't want to remember crying on a roof, right? If we go inside, we'd just be making new memories, not replacing the ones you have with her, so you'll have even more happy things to think about next year and the year after that."

When next he spoke, it was quiet.

"But what if I forget her?"

The words stumped me momentarily. I had no memories of my own parents. Even if I wanted to remember them, I couldn't. I couldn't imagine how hard it was for him, to have memories with his mother, but fear losing the last pieces of her he had left.

"You can write all the memories you have down," I suggested. "Or tell them to someone, like a story. You can even tell me if you like. I like listening to you talk."

He clicked his tongue. "Don't say shit like that," he muttered. "It's embarrassing."

I laughed lightly, and when I stopped, I kept the smile on my face. "Listen, I don't remember my parents at all. So I'd love to hear about your mother. I bet she was a wonderful woman."

"She was," he said quietly.

Then he looked down, and I lowered my hands from his face as he lifted the hand that was still closed tightly in a fist, holding something. He uncurled his fingers, revealing a strip of pure white fabric. The wind kicked up then, and I reached out, holding it in place in his hand before it could get stolen away.

"What is it?" I asked once the wind died down and I lifted my hand away. He kept a firm grip on it and held it close to his chest, as though to protect it.

"I tore it from my mother's dress," he said. "I was there with her when she died. It was the only thing I could think to take to remember her. We didn't have much else."

I took a close look at it. It kind of... reminded me of something. It was cinched, the fabric bundled on one end. "You know what it looks like?" I asked him. "I saw a man on the TV once, right, and he was wearing something like this. Can I?"

When I gestured to it, intending to take it if he let me, I was actually surprised when he let me. I took it gently and bunched it up on one end, tucking it into his shirt. His jacket was unzipped anyway, and he peered down at it when I did. I almost giggled at the sight but held it back, opting instead to smile brightly at him.

"You look just like the man in the show!"

"What... is it?"

"A cravat, I think," I told him. "It's a really old kind of tie. Fancy people would wear it. But this guy in the show was super strong and cool."

"It's nice."

"What?"

"I said it's nice."

"Oh," I said, my smile growing. "I wasn't sure if you would. It just reminded me of it, so I thought I'd try it."

"Do you think I could make it a real one?"

"I'm not good at that kind of thing," I admitted, "but Ms. Fields is. If you tell her what you want and to be super careful with it, I'm sure she could do it for you."

"Ok," he said hesitantly. Then he looked at me, down at my clothes, then back into my eyes. "You idiot, why aren't you wearing a jacket?"

"Um, well, you see... I don't know."

"You're stupid," he muttered, grabbing me by the arm. "Come here." Before I could do anything, he started taking his jacket off, then promptly threw it around my shoulders and tugged me closer by the sleeves of it. "That's how you get sick, moron."

"You're one to talk," I scoffed, getting comfortable next to him. "You were out here about to let tears freeze on your face."

"S-Shut up," he hissed. I only smiled in response; not like he could see it. It was kinda nice, being held by him like this. I'm not sure quite what it was, but... the cold didn't bother me that much right now.

It only took five minutes for him to get cold and have the brilliant idea of going back inside.

---

"Levi," I said, pushing the door open. It was just after dinner, the holiday meal bigger than usual and far tastier than our normal meals. When I peeked into the room, he met my eyes, one eyebrow arching up into a silent question. "Can I come in?"

"I don't care," he replied, though I'm sure deep down that he did care. And he probably didn't mind me entering the room, anyway. So I did.

"I'm going to do it anyway," I chimed, stepping completely into the room. It was empty, except for him. Through the now-open doorway I could hear the music of the Christmas movie playing downstairs and the voices of the children as they tried singing along to one of the songs.

I wasted no time in making my way to his bed, sitting down next to him as soon as I reached it. "What are you doing in here, brat?"

"Did you think I was going to go the whole day without wising you a happy birthday? I'm the one who suggested this day in the first place! Besides, I still have to give you your presents."

"Presents?"

"Yes, presents." I got comfortable on the bed, settling the small pile of gifts in my lap. "First, merry Christmas." I held up a small envelope, and he took it almost hesitantly.

"What is it?"

"You have to open it, dummy," I said to him. "Go on."

He examined both sides of the envelope first. It was plain, the only thing written on it was: To, Levi, and From, (Y/n). That was it. He opened it, trying to be as careful as he could of the paper and whatever was inside.

When the slip opened, he reached inside and slid out the only thing inside. It was a picture. Ms. Fields had taken it of the two of us one day while I was helping him with math, I think it was. But we were seated at the table, no one else in the room with us.

We were sitting close, leaning together over the same piece of paper. I'd been explaining something, my face representing just that. It made me look kind of funny, with my mouth stuck like that while Levi looked concentrated right next to me. But it was a cute picture, so I thought.

Ms. Fields had showed me with the intent of teasing me lightly about it, but I'd taken her by surprise by asking her to print it. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

I laughed. "Keep it? I don't know, you can hang it up, use it as a bookmark, I don't care, just don't throw it away or anything like that."

"Oh," he said. "Thanks."

"That's just one gift," I reminded him, handing him the other one. "Happy birthday, Levi."

It was a small giftbag, the tag hanging from the handle displaying his name. Inside was a sleeping bag. "(Y/n)," he said, "why?"

"For when you sneak out to go to your favorite spot," I said. "I figured... it might be nice to lay out there. It's a better view up there, anyway." I scratched my cheek sheepishly. "I asked Ms. Fields to grab it on one of her grocery runs a few days ago. And, well, let's just say I won't be able to go get myself any new clothes anytime soon. I also kinda told her that we'd be using it out in the yard as an excuse why we'd need it, so she got me one, too."

"I see," he replied quietly. He glanced over at me, meeting my eyes only for a moment before they darted away, and warmth flooded his cheeks. "Thanks. Brat. For these."

A smile erupted on my lips and excitement bubbled in my chest. I threw my arms around him, hugging him tight. "You're welcome, Levi!"

And then, in a display braver than anything I'd done before, I planted a quick kiss on his cheek. Before he could respond or react in any form, I dashed from the room to head downstairs to catch the tail end of whatever movie they were watching now, leaving Levi sitting in the room alone, pressing the pads of his fingertips to the spot where my lips had been only moments before. 

I don't know what got into me to even do it in the first place. And I certainly didn't know what had gotten into me with the way that I reacted; was it embarrassment? Probably. All I did was kiss him on the cheek. It wasn't like I declared my love to him or anything like that. Oh, god. What if that's what he thought? Perhaps I was right to be embarrassed.

Regardless...

I had gone downstairs, getting comfortable on one of the unoccupied couches with a blanket. Though I found that I wasn't quite able to truly focus on the movie. 

It was a classic holiday film, one I'd seen hundreds of times already and I'd probably watch it a thousand more by the time I died - or even left the orphanage. Its music was simple and light and I had it all memorized but it all went in one ear and right out the other.

The rest of that night, Levi and I didn't speak a word to each other.

Though he had come downstairs only minutes later, still blushing heavily, but choosing to sit directly next to me. 

Still quiet, yet accepting the blanket I was using when I offered it to him. 

Still refusing to look at me, but taking my hand under the blanket.