(y/n) - your name

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A few months have gone by and the winter months quickly arrived, the air becoming colder as it became December. I was sitting outside, leaning against a tree as I watched the sun slowly set with a heavy coat on and a blanket around my lap. It was crazy that I've been here for almost half a year. I was trying to wrap my head around everything that has happened so far, especially with Levi.

He's becoming softer and he's smiling more.

I grin as I lay my head back on the tree, mesmerised by Levi's soft smiles and his chuckles. "What are you smiling like a maniac for brat?" I jump and turn around to see Levi in a coat with the hood up. He looked so bored as he looked around the empty field. "And why are you out here in the cold. You're going to get sick." I shrug as Levi walks over to me, sitting down next to me.

"Just thinking." I shrug.

"Thinking about what?"

"Just me being here. It's almost been half a year." Levi hums out, nodding. "Are you planning on doing anything for New years?"

"No."

"You're not even joining the New Years party?"

"Those brats are just going to get shitfaced drunk again. Like they always do. I'm not going to look after them."

"But you love the cadets." I tease Levi and he rolls his eyes. "At least tell me you're joining the Christmas party tonight."

"If you stop whining about it I will."

"Yay!" Levi and I sit in silence, watching as the sky spot up with various stars. I look over at him to see him look up at the sky, shoulders all stiff and tense. I knew he was thinking about the expedition outside the walls that Hanji was planning to do once the winter months were over. "You look worried." Levi sighs out, leaning his head back on the tree.

"What's going to happen next (y/n)?" I freeze up as Levi speaks my name. "What's going to happen now that we know about this other country." I don't say anything, frowning at the grass as I picked at it.

"Come here." I pull Levi down into my lap, letting his head nestle against my legs as I draped the blanket over him. "You've made it this far, through so much shit in your life." I start out, running my fingers through Levi's hair as he visibly calms down. "You're not alone anymore." Levi sighs out in bliss, looking up at me as I smile down at him. "Just let me handle things from now on." Levi nods and closes his eyes, resting on his back. 

His tense shoulders soften up and Levi smiles softly. "How are you so good at this." I chuckle, knowing what he meant.

"I don't know. Everyone back home used to say that I had magic fingers."

"They really are..."

I hum out, brushing Levi's hair from his face. "My mum used to fall asleep every time I played with her hair. My friends always asked me to massage their shoulders saying I should be a masseuse or something." I play with Levi's undercut and he shudders.

"Can't believe I'm getting a session for free huh." Levi chuckles and I roll my eyes.

"Yeah yeah." Levi slowly falls asleep in my arms and I let him. I admire how free Levi looked at the moment as he nestled against my hand. The sun disappears and the sky gets dark quickly and I shake Levi awake. "Come on, it's time to go back inside." Levi mumbles out and slowly opens his eyes. "Let's go sleepyhead."

"Ok ok..." Levi stands up and helps me up before picking up my blanket. "Hanji is going to be wondering where we are." I nod and Levi drapes the blanket over me but I pull him closer and drape the blanket over his shoulders as well.

"Right, she's throwing the Christmas party." We walk back to headquarters to see the cadets partying it up like crazy, singing Christmas carols.

"There's shorty and his wife!" Hanji slurs out, holding a bottle in the head as Moblit hangs onto her so she doesn't fall out of the window. "What's taking you so long!? Get in here!"

"Come on!" I tug Levi behind me and into the warm loungeroom to see everyone exchanging gifts. I already gave mine to everyone else, having asked Historia for a painter to help draw the loved ones of everyone.

"What is he doing here?" Levi hisses out when I turn to see Kenny standing by the doorway holding a gift in his hands. We both get up and I quickly pull Kenny outside as Levi follows me.

"Well hello to you too little nephew." Kenny puffs out a billow of smoke from the cig he was smoking.

"I thought you were locked up." Levi raises a brow at Kenny as he leans against the wall, arms crossed and Kenny does the same.

"They let me out for one day. Promised that I would be on good behaviour."

"Why are you here? Why not try to escape?" Kenny sighs out and he looks at me and I nod towards him as I lean against the wall next to Levi.

"Promised a little lady that I would be a better family member to you. Plus it's your birthday. I wanted to make right of all the ones that I missed." Kenny hesitantly hands over the small gift to Levi and he looks at it, eyes wide in surprise.

"Uh, thanks?"

"Well open it!" I get all giddy, getting excited to see Levi's reaction as he unwraps the gift.

"A photo album?" Levi mutters out in confusion.

"Yeah, your little girlfriend here helped me with this. Well, it was more of her idea."

"Kenny! You were supposed to say it's all from you!" I hiss out and Levi looks over at me. 

I had been meeting up with Kenny the past few months to make Levi a gift for his birthday as a way for the two of them to fix their relationship. I wanted to make an album with pictures of everyone Levi had loved. I had asked Historia for a painter that could replicate the images of his family from my phone to make the album. Kenny had also helped by giving me whatever photos he had kept of his sister and his family along with notes or anything else I could give to Levi.

"This is from you?"

"I may or may not have helped." I shrug, smiling as Levi opened the album carefully. The first image was of the one I took the moment I got to Attack on Titan, the group photo in the cafeteria. Levi turned the page and froze, seeing a face he never thought he would see.

"You look like Kuchel in every way." Kenny mutters out as Levi looks at the image of his mother holding him as a child. Levi sat down on a chair, gently running a finger against the image.

"Y-you did all this? For me?" Levi stutters out, flipping pages to see more images of his mother and then some of Isabel and Farlan. "Fuck...I've missed them..." Levi mutters out, tears falling down his cheeks. "How? How did you...?"

"When you gave me my phone back, I got someone to draw all these for you. No one has any pictures of people they loved and I wanted to give something back to them. Especially you." Levi smiles sadly, flipping through and looking at all the pictures in the album. We suddenly hear beeping and Kenny sighs, lighting out his cig and snuffing it out under his foot.

"Time for me to head back it seems. Those pigs are waiting for me." Kenny groans out and starts to walk off.

"Kenny," Levi's uncle stops as he called for him. "Thanks."

"Happy birthday kiddo." Kenny soon walks around the corner but turns back to face us. "Look after each other." I nod and he disappears leaving me and Levi alone outside.

"You didn't have to do this for me." Levi sits down on the steps and I sit down with him.

"Of course I did! It's Christmas and your birthday. I wanted to give you something." Levi closes the album gently and holds it to his chest.

"Thank you (y/n). I love it." I grin happily knowing Levi loved my gift and I get up to walk inside when he grabs my arm.

"I actually... have something for you." Levi blushes darkly, grabbing something from his pocket.

"You didn't have to. I don't really celebrate Christmas." I mutter out and Levi passes a small box into my hands. I look down at it in surprise, staring up at Levi who was scuffing the floor in embarrassment.

He looks like an adorable schoolboy confessing a crush. How cute.

I slowly open the box and gasp out loud. "This is the ring from the market!" I peer at the gemmed ring, snapping the box closed and passing it back to Levi. "This was fucking expensive! Go get your money back!" Levi frowns and shakes his head.

"I saw how you looked at the ring, I knew you liked it."

"Levi, this was expensive! Don't waste your money on me-"

"-(y/n), you've done so much for me-for us. Let me spoil you for once." Levi sighs out and I frown as he opens the box and takes out the ring. "Give me your hand brat." I give my hand to Levi and he puts the ring gently on my middle finger. 

I smile at how beautiful it was as Levi held my hand. "It's gorgeous. I love it."

"It's beautiful on you." I blush red at the compliment but freeze up when Levi suddenly kisses my cheek before walking inside the headquarters. 

I stand in shock outside, my hand on my cheek. "He kissed me..."