five

"He cares more than he lets on."

"Enter," Erwin let out, not letting his eyes stray from the papers he had on his desk. 

Still focused on his work, he only heard the door creak open before being closed back. The sound of familiar footsteps was heard and soon, the figure's shadow loomed over his desk. Letting out a breath, Erwin straightened his body to see Levi standing with an angered look. 

"What is it you need, Captain?" The blond inquired. 

"I thought you said you'd put her in my squad," Levi harshly let out though with a monotoned voice, his displease clear since it has been a few days since he found out that you weren't going t be in his squad.

"Who are you referring to?" The Commander frowned. 

"Y/N," Levi replied. "I thought you agreed that she should be in my squad so I can look after her."

"It was her decision," Erwin replied casually. 

"You're the Commander, can't you-"

"It was part of her condition to join the Scouts. See the children to ensure their safety and well-being, and not be part of your squad," Erwin explained. "Those were her conditions." 

Hearing that, Levi could feel the heaviness of his heart. It made sense that you're angry with him but he couldn't bear the fact that you hated him. Leaving Erwin's office, Levi went back to his own. In a state of frustration, he took off his cravat and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt. 

He should not be losing his cool, especially at a time when he should be getting ready for the upcoming mission. To ground himself, Levi decided to clean his office, noticing specks of dust forming in the corners of his room. As he continued cleaning the four-walls confinement, the door suddenly swung open. 

"Hey, Hange told me to give this to you," you entered non-chalantly, in your hands was a set of paperwork. 

"Would it kill you to knock?" He plainly said, voice slightly muffled against the cloth of his mask. 

"And be polite to you?" You frowned, a look of disbelief on your face. "Never," you added, hints of sass on your tone and complexion as you leaned against the closed door.

"Just leave the papers on my desk," he instructed, rolling his eyes before focusing on wiping the windows. 

"I haven't seen you clean inf orever," you let out a small chuckle, amused by his appearance. "Have you gotten rusty at cleaning yet?" 

"You're still here?" He snarked, noticing your eye-rolling. 

"You're acting like you haven't been trying to get me to like you again," you scoffed, placing the papers on his desk carefully before going to approach him. 

"I haven't," he lied. 

"Uh-huh," you nodded, pursing your lips. "And that totally wasn't you who demanded I be in your squad." 

Levi turned, his sharp eyes looking at you in shock. "How do you know that?"

"I'm smart," you teased, walking closer to him. "I overheard you and Erwin," you clarified. 

"It's rude to eavesdrop on your superiors," he blatantly replied. 

"I'm not an official Scout yet," you huffed. "So technically, neither of you are my superiors yet."

"Yet here you are being a delivery girl for Hange," he harshly said. 

"I like Hange. Unlike you and Erwin, they're actually a good person," you retorted in return. 

Levi let out a silent huff of breath. "How's the training going?" 

"Good," you answered, nodding your head. "Your soldiers are good at fighting," you sighed, leaning your back against the wall next to the window where Levi was cleaning. 

"I'm aware. That's why I wanted them in my squad," he blindly replied. 

You let out a sigh, watching as Levi focused on cleaning. It was always entertaining to watch him being the clean freak that he is. Although cleaning for him was extremely exhausting. You've done it multiple times but you knew with you, he wasn't as harsh. Silence filled the room while you stared at the man you once loved. 

"Move, you're in the way," he spoke, breaking the silence. 

Rolling your eyes, you moved away. Your eyes caught sight of the knot on his mask cloth that was loosening. 

"Your mask is falling off, stupid," you pointed out, going to stand behind him. Levi paid no care to it and continued his cleaning. "Stop moving, let me help," you groaned, lifting your hands to the back of his head. 

Your fingers undid the knot of the mask. Gently, you brought it back together, making sure it was tight enough but not too tight that he couldn't breathe. Although truth be told, you were tempted to do that. 

Nevertheless, you tied it up properly, ensuring that it will stay that way while he cleans like crazy. As you were about to take a step away from him, you noticed the string around his neck. 

"I didn't know you wear necklaces," you hummed, moving to lean against the wall again. 

"I don't," he plainly repsonded. 

He didn't notice you staring. And you didn't realize that you were staring. After all, you were taken aback by what your eyes saw. 

The unbuttoned top part of his shirt revealed what was worn inside. The light from the window reflected against the small metal ring that laid against his skin. It was a ring you recognized well, a similar one worn on your finger. You began to feel overwhelmed with emotions that cascaded around your heart. 

"I'm going to get ready for dinner," you cleared your throat, pushing yourself off the wall, ready to leave. 

Levi straightened his back, his finger hooking onto the fabric that covered the lower part of his face. He brought it down, letting it rest by his neck as he turned to look at you leaving. 

Without realizing it, he stretched out an arm, his palm holding onto your wrist, stopping you from making further movements. Stopping in your tracks, you turned slightly, enough to see Levi's expression that spoke more words than what he was about to say. 

"I'm sorry." 

You turned your head back to the front, your eyes lowered down to the floor. Your lips found place in between your teeth as you tried to compose yourself from the overwhelming feelings that were drowning you. 

You gave a small nod before pulling your hand away from Levi's familiar touch. Walking away, you opened the door before closing it. You took a deep breath, your back resting against the wooden material. Quickly, before anyone could see you, you made your way to your room in hopes of claming down before dinnertime arrived. 

In his office, Levi let out a sigh, his frustrations returning clear. But he could not ignore the ring he saw clearly worn on your finger. Just as you could not ignore the same one he wore around his neck. 

Levi sighed, undoing the knots of his mask and headcover. He leaned against the wall, his body slowly lowering down until he was sitting on the ground. Bringing his knees to his chest, his arms wrapped around them, he let his thoughts run free. 

⥀

"Levi, I found something," you called excitedly, your lips parted as you were catching your breath. 

You closed the door, seeing the boy reading something on the kitchen table. You smiled, seeing him so focused. You walked towards him, tugging onto his sleeve for his attention. He let out a low hum in acknowledgement. 

"Let's go to the roof for a while, I have something to show you," you beamed happily. 

He looked at you, sharp young eyes studying your features, admiring it secretly. He let out a sigh, closing his book before standing up. Impatient, you took his hand and pulled him to the ladder that paved the path to the rooftop where you both often spent time on gazing at the dull ceiling. 

It wasn't a beautiful view but living in the Uderground, what else was there to look at? And to the both of you, it was still something enjoyable because you had each other. And for the past thirteen years of knowing each other, you only ever had each other. You two took a seat on the ground of the rooftop, your body turned to his and his, to yours. 

"Close your eyes," you giggled. 

"No," he replied flatly. 

"You're no fun," you chuckled. 

He hadn't realized that in your hand was a pouch. You excitedly opened the pouch, taking out the contents. He saw two rings laid against the cold skin of your palm, the dim Underground light shining against the metals. His eyes widened in shock, wondering where the hell you got it from. 

"I stole them," you whispered in awe, not feeling guilty or anything bad. "I thought it was nice," you shrugged nonchalantly. 

"Why?" He questioned, not really understanding what you were trying to say. 

"You always say that the world's dangerous," you sighed. "I get really scared of losing you and I thought that maybe, if that were to ever happen, we'd have this. You know, to remind ourselves of each other," you pursed your lips, hoping he got the idea of what you were conveying. 

"Are you proposing?" He asked lazily. 

Your face grew hot, your eyes widened. Panicked, you tried to find a way to deny. But before you could stammer out any words, Levi took a ring and placed it on your finger. Your heart calmed down, your mind free and happy. Your eyes followed as he placed your ring. Studying your finger, you smiled. 

You couldn't help but to smile. 

"Well? Aren't you going to put that one on me?" He broke the silence, gaining your attention. 

Letting out a small giggle, you took the other ring and inserted it through Levi's finger. Looking into his eyes, you smiled brightly. 

"ᴘʀᴏᴍɪꜱᴇ me we'll always be together?"

"I ᴘʀᴏᴍɪꜱᴇ."

⥀

"Y/N! Let's go have dinner together!" You heard Hange's voice alongside their knocks on the other side of the door. 

"Alright!" You replied back, shaking your head to free yourself from your heart-gripping memories.