Few things are precious to Corporal Levi anymore.
He remembers the first tea set he got when he was young. He held the small white teacup by its handle and brought it up to his mouth, barely wetting his lips with black tea before the cup broke and shattered into little pieces on the ground. It was that moment that he learned to be careful with the things that he wanted to keep and cherish for the rest of his life, and he thought back to that very moment when he first realized just how much Petra meant to him.
Levi never wants to see her hurting, so he handles her as though she's the teacup that he wishes he'd taken better care of. He holds her in his arms so tenderly that it almost seems like he's a different person, and he plants gentle kisses to her ear and jaw when she cries, as though to tell her without words that it'll all be okay in the end, that things will get better for them.
At night, he draws her to his chest with his strong arms, burying his face into her silky, strawberry-blonde hair; they rest peacefully with the sounds of each other's breathing, sometimes hushed and relaxed from the start and other times (more often than not) quick and heavy from the toll making love had taken on them both. He pecks her on the top of her head, his lips against her hair, as they begin to drift off to sleep.
It's all a normal routine for the pair, to be so close, to share deep kisses and hug each other close until falling asleep in each other's arms. Except one night, Levi wakes up to Petra shifting in her sleep, her warm cheek moving from his chest to the pillow as she rolls away from his side and faces away from him. Opening one eye, he peeks over at her, his gaze wandering over the back of her head and her upper back – the rest of her completely tucked beneath the sheets.
He murmurs her name quietly, inching closer to her in hopes of getting her attention. He doesn't want to wake her, but he can't help but feel disappointed at the lack of contact. Reaching for Petra with one arm, he grabs her hip gently and draws her lower half back against him, and she lets out a soft, drowsy moan of irritation at the movement; Levi grumbles, leaning forward to press a tender kiss to the back of her neck.
"Sleep, Petra…"
"Nn…but you woke me up," she whines back, turning her head slightly in his direction, but Levi stops her with the touch of his free hand against her back.
"Go back to sleep, Petra…" Pushing himself up onto his elbow, Levi looks down at her, lightly dragging his hand along the side of her body, his warm fingers teasing her skin from her shoulder to her hip. His eyes look over her with interest, admiring her beauty and amazed at how such a strong soldier can look so peaceful, so vulnerable. He briefly wonders if he seems the same way to her when she sees him sleeping.
"But I don't wanna sleep anymore…" She yawns, stretching her back by arching it towards him, and Levi is quick to move forward in that moment and give her a sharp but playful nip to the space between her shoulder blades.
His face still buried against her back, he mumbles, "Yes, you do. Go to sleep, Petra."
Petra shivers a little bit, giggling quietly at his tone, and shakes her head. "Nah."
Wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her against him, Levi presses soft kisses to the area along her spine, nibbling lazily on the back of her neck when he reaches it. "That's an order, cadet."
Snickering, she whispers, "I don't think you have a right to call me your cadet when we're in bed together."
"Are you sassing me?"
"Maybe."
A long, drawn out sigh passes through the corporal's lips, hot breath hitting the tender spot on the back of her neck. He continues to draw circles over her spine with his warm, calloused fingers, the light touches making the younger girl shiver. As he brings his mouth up to her ear, he mumbles softly to her, throwing one of his legs over her own.
"Go to sleep, Petra."
She's silent for a long moment before she turns her head towards him, the beginnings of a smile twitching on her lips. Her eyes are closed, but she opens one, peeking at him as she speaks with a playful but challenging tone that no one can get away with using on Levi, save for her. "Make me."
Levi stays quiet, absentmindedly stroking her hip with his fingers before drawing them around to the small of her back, letting them slither up her spine. His touches are tender and loving, and he adds to the sensations he knows she's enjoying by shifting in his spot and lowering his mouth to her smooth skin, tongue passing through his lips and giving a long, languid lick along the back of her neck.
"L-Levi, stop it…!" The blonde squirms under his hands and mouth, fighting to swallow her giggles. "It tickles…!"
"You made a mistake telling me that, Petra." His voice is a menacing growl, but a teasing one; she always finds it cute when he tries to do such things as be playful, especially because no one has ever gotten him to lighten up and have fun, no one but her. Levi sits up, giving her a light shove to push her onto her stomach – she doesn't fight back; she's too tired to.
"If you even think about it –"
She breaks off as he straddles her, his hands firm against her shoulders. Fingers begin to knead into her muscles, prompting a moan to pass over her lips, but that's gone when he delivers feather-light kisses to her shoulder blades. Mewling at the feeling, she begins to squirm again; her whole back is a weak spot of hers, mostly for intimacy, but with his lips ghosting over her skin, it tickles in a pleasurable way.
"Levi…"
"What?" He swirls his hands on her shoulders, pressing and prodding, doing his best to provide kisses down her spine as far as his mouth can reach.
She turns her head into the pillow, her former struggles against him disappearing as he littered her skin with those tender kisses she loves so much. Her voice is barely a slur, muffled by the pillow. "Mn…I'm gonna fall asleep…"
"Good." His teeth part to claim her skin, leaving a red mark that's barely noticeable, and he can literally feel the shiver that passes along her spine. It's nice; he makes a note to do this more often. She seems to quite enjoy the feeling of having kisses down her spine, and having those loving backrubs while doing so. "That's the whole point of this…Petra."
Her name rolls off his tongue in a honeyed tone that leaves her smiling, though drowsily, into the pillow. One of her hands slips up to rest beneath her cheek as she begins to drift off, the other curling into a weak fist against the mattress. "I…hate you," she breathes out, but she grins, and it ruins how she's trying to sound serious; she doesn't, really, but he's won, and he always does, and she'd like it to be the other way around every now and again.
"I know, and I do, too." His kisses become chaste as he trails his hot mouth back up her spine and to her ear. Murmuring against it, his hands move slowly down her back until he can grip her hips to let her know that he done with his massage, that he's going to let her sleep now. "Goodnight…Petra."
Her only response is a soft snore and a heavy sigh afterwards.
He chuckles as he plops back down next to her, his arm sliding around her waist, gripping her tight, and bringing her back against his chest. With one more peck to the back of her neck, he nuzzles into her hair, aiming to fall asleep as well, with the girl he treasures most in his arms.
You can probably tell that this story kinda went off on a tangent from where it was supposed to go. I tried to fix it, buuuuut eh. Let me know what you think! Reviews are much appreciated.
(:Mizune