LEVI'S P.O.V.
Levi smiled, glancing out the window as the sun started to rise over the wall in the distance. He had been up for an hour, but he had slept almost all of the night once again. He had needed the sleep after using all that energy. Levi still couldn't believe last night actually happened. The fact that Dilan trusted him to be with her in that way meant everything to him. He knew how hard it was for her and he would have been fine without sex in their relationship, but he couldn't deny last night was the best he'd ever had.
In a way that was the first real time for both of them.
While Levi wasn't a virgin, he had never made love before. He had fucked while he was wasted but he had never taken his time like they did last night. Honestly, he barely remembered any of his previous sextual encounters thanks to the level of intoxication he was under to convince himself to go through with it, but it had been a long time regardless. The last time he'd had sex was around 7 years ago when he attempted to get over Dilan by hooking up with some random chick at a bar. It was so fucking depressing he hadn't been on one of those trips since, knowing it would only make him feel like shit.
Levi couldn't deny that he was nervous last night, but he had to be strong for Dilan. His nerves were nothing compared to what she must have felt. He was so proud of her for fighting her fear, she really was inspirational.
Dilan stirred slightly and Levi looked back over to her as she snuggled further into him. He chuckled silently and held her close, gently stroking her bare back and pressing a kiss to her head. He still couldn't believe she was here with him. Around two and a half weeks together now and it was still a shock. She was finally his and he was finally hers. His mouth was starting to hurt from all the smiling, but he didn't care. He was just so fucking happy.
She frowned slightly in her sleep and Levi smiled at her cuteness, stroking some hair behind her ear and getting further into the covers so he could press gentle kisses to her face and neck. Dilan hummed softly in approval, unconsciously reaching out for him. Levi gently pulled her closer, enjoying her quiet sigh of content as she pressed her face into his neck and her body was flushed up against his own.
He pulled the covers further over her shoulders, gently rubbing away the goose bumps on her arms from the cold morning air. He thought about getting her a top or something so she wouldn't be as cold, but Dilan seemed to be happy with his body heat for now.
It was another 30 minutes or so before Dilan started to wake up. As pathetic as it was, he missed her while she was sleeping. Even if she was adorable.
Dilan sighed, moving her head slightly to look around, blinking in confusion. Levi watched with amusement as realisation slowly dawned on her face until her orange eyes met his grey and she cracked a satisfied smile.
"Morning brat." Levi smiled. Dilan hummed, leaning her head back into his neck, kissing the skin there. "Tired?" He asked, chucking as Dilan hummed a yes. Levi stroked her back. "Any regrets?" He asked, needing to know, even if the question scared him. Dilan pulled back to look him in the eye.
She smiled reassuringly.
"None. You were amazing." She said happily and Levi sighed in relief.
"So were you." He pressed his lips to hers and she kissed him back, running her hands through his hair. Levi broke away to kiss her neck, going over some of the marks he made yesterday. Dilan sighed in content, resting her chin on his shoulder and stroking the back of his neck. "How do you feel?" Levi asked softly.
"I feel… free. Free from my past, free from the pain. I feel happy, thank you for that." She whispered, emotion in her voice. Levi understood that this must be a lot for her. He pulled her back gently to look her in the eye, wiping away her tears.
"I'm glad." Levi replied. Dilan smiled.
"And you? How do you feel?" She asked, smoothing her hands over his shoulders. Levi smirked.
"Perfect. Thanks for trusting me." Levi replied, kissing her neck. Dilan chuckled.
"Thanks for making it so easy." She replied and Levi smiled against her skin. "Hm, you're pretty good, I must say. Who knew my grumpy boyfriend would turn out to be some sort of sex god?" Dilan teased and Levi laughed at that, pulling back to roll his eyes.
"I haven't even shown you good yet." Levi grinned cockily and Dilan smirked, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Oh yeah? Well I'm eager to learn." She whispered, kissing him and Levi seriously had to fight convince himself to pull back before things started getting too heated. They were still very naked, and it wouldn't take a lot of convincing for him to start round two. They may have gone slow, but Dilan was likely to be sore and he didn't want to hurt her.
"Not just yet, brat." Levi breathed after pulling back, trying to rein in his urges. Why did she have to be so god damn beautiful? Dilan pouted.
"Why?" She asked. Levi chuckled, stroking her cheek.
"Because I doubt you can walk. You need time to heal before we go again." Levi explained and Dilan raised an eyebrow.
"Is that a challenge?" She asked with a smug smile. Levi laughed.
"No-" Levi started but Dilan had already wrapped a sheet around herself, scooted to the edge of the bed and stood up. Levi watched with amusement as she took one stubborn step, yelped, and fell over, out of his line of sight. "-it's a fact." He finished. Dilan groaned and lifted her hand up to flip him off.
Levi laughed quietly but Dilan heard.
"Asshole." She complained. He chuckled and sat up, pulling on his boxers and walking around the other side of the bed, looking at her lying on the floor. He smirked and she glared up at him. "You could have warned me." She frowned. Levi shook his head in disbelief.
"I did." He pointed out. Dilan huffed.
"Not well enough, clearly." She gestured to herself on the floor. Levi chuckled and scooped her up in his arms, laying her back down on the pillow and pulling the main duvet over her.
"Idiot." He muttered fondly, pressing a kiss to her lips. It didn't last long, he had to start getting ready for his meeting and Dilan whined in protest as he pulled away.
"Levi, come back to bed!" She pleaded and Levi smiled, kissing her again.
"I have to get ready." He informed and Dilan frowned.
"No, you don't." She said stubbornly. Levi laughed, amused by his side of her.
"Yes, I do. Erwin will be pissed if I'm late." He pointed out. Dilan smirked.
"So, I'll just kill him. There, problem solved." She shrugged, pulling him down to her lips again. Levi smiled into the kiss.
Little psychopath.
"Sorry brat. We still need him alive for now." Levi whispered, kissing her again quickly before pulling back and walking towards the bathroom. Dilan whined.
"Mean. Don't you dare take long in there." She warned, getting comfy again. Levi smiled, his heart warming. He may love this bratty girl too much.
"I'll do my best, stupid." He replied, before going in the bathroom and closing the door. He frowned subconsciously, already missing her, before shaking his head at himself wondering when he had become such a clingy bastard and stepping into the shower.
DILAN'S P.O.V.
Dilan had fallen asleep while Levi was in his shower, still absolutely exhausted, and she didn't know how long it was later, but Levi was waking her up, stroking her cheek gently. When she reluctantly opened her eyes saw he was much more clothed now, dressed in his uniform. Dilan frowned, plucking at his shirt.
She missed the bare muscles.
Levi laughed, obviously getting what she was saying and rolled his eyes before picking her up. Dilan blinked in surprise. Where were they going? She was completely naked under this sheet.
"What're you…" Dilan asked but trailed off as they went into the bathroom and Dilan saw the bath he had prepared for her in the posh-ass tub and a smile came to her face, she kissed his neck as a thank you, feeling like she really fucking needed a wash. Levi carefully put her down, so her feet touched the floor and Dilan winced a bit, her legs feeling like jelly. It definitely hurt more than she thought it would today. But it didn't unless she stood up so that was something.
Still, how was she going to move around? Levi couldn't carry her everywhere, as amazing as that would be.
She looked up, observing that Levi was looking at her with concern and a bit of guilt in his eyes. The idiot was probably blaming himself for her pain, despite everything he did yesterday to make it as painless for her as possible.
She smiled to reassure him, cupping his cheek.
"I'm fine, Levi." She assured, noting the relief in his eyes. He nodded in approval.
"Okay, give me the sheet and I'll find someone to change the bed while you're in the bath. I'm not letting you sleep in that. Fucking unhygienic." Levi said and Dilan chuckled, rolling her eyes at his need for everything to be clean before his request dawned on her and she blushed.
It wasn't fair that she was naked, and he wasn't. It made her feel self-conscious.
"Um… maybe you could get the sheet later?" She suggested with a shrug, trying to act casual but Levi had already seen her blush. He smirked, wrapping his arms around her waist to keep her standing and looking down at her, a strand of black hair falling into his eye and Dilan swallowed, cursing him for being so damn sexy.
Her blush had definitely deepened.
"How are you still embarrassed? You know I've seen all of you, right?" He teased, kissing her neck and Dilan was sure her whole face was red at this point.
She frowned, not appreciating his teasing.
"Fine. Have the stupid sheet." She lamented, shoving the sheet in his way and taking a step towards the bath, completely forgetting about her leg situation. "Shit." She hissed as her knees buckled, almost falling over but Levi caught her this time, laughing at her stupidity. She hid her red face with her hands. "I hate you." She mumbled. Levi snickered, standing her upright again, pulling her hands away to kiss her.
"No, you don't." He smirked. Dilan frowned at him, hating how he was right. Levi chuckled and kissed her again before helping her into the bath. Dilan sighed in relief as her bones warmed and the pain in her achy limbs faded. She closed her eyes and leant her head back on the rim, smiling as she felt Levi stroke some wet hair behind her ear. "You'll be okay?" Levi asked. Dilan nodded, turning her head slightly to kiss his hand. She opened her orange eyes and smiled at him.
It was cute that he was taking care of her.
"Thanks, grumps." She said genuinely. Levi chuckled and leant down to kiss her before pulling back, grabbing the sheet and leaving the room.
Dilan sighed in content, so incredible happy right now she didn't quite know what do with herself. She had meant what she said earlier. She felt free. It was always a piece of her past that was going to hurt but she wouldn't let it control her anymore. She doubted the changes would happen overnight. The idea of any strangers coming near her still made her skin crawl but maybe one day she would be content.
For now, at least, she was comfortable with Levi in every way and that fact made her heart warm with happiness.
Dilan found some soap on the side of the bath and washed her hair and body quickly before sitting back and relaxing, waiting for Levi to return. She was so relaxed, she was half asleep again when Levi came back in, chuckling.
"Come on, brat. Up." He encouraged. Dilan whined. She was warm and she knew the air would be cold. Levi snickered. "How about this. We'll get you dry and warm and we'll eat the room service I ordered in bed before I head out to my meeting." Levi offered. Dilan opened her eyes, smiling at that. She liked the idea. Especially the food part.
She was fucking starving.
Levi smirked at her shift in attitude, helping her up, she tried hard not to get any water on him since he was already dressed but thankfully Levi had a fluffy white towel ready to wrap her in. She was cocooned in the soft material before Levi picked her up again and set her down on the edge of the bed.
Levi went to grab her some clothes from her duffle and Dilan smiled at his thoughtfulness while she dried the water droplets off her skin. He came back over soon after, unwrapping the towel a bit so he could help her get dressed.
Dilan blushed again, embarrassed, but Levi simply smiled at her lovingly and that embarrassment went away instantly.
He helped her get dressed, making sure to press kisses to each patch of skin before he covered it and Dilan had never felt so loved before, unable to stop herself from grabbing him after he rolled her socks onto her feet, kissing him gratefully to show her appreciation for all his love and care. He kissed her back and they ended up back on the bed.
Despite what Levi had said, it ended up getting pretty heated and only a knock on the door brought them out of it. Dilan blinked realising three of Levi's shirt buttons were undone and Dilan's top was halfway off. Levi pulled back and laughed into her shoulder. Dilan was also amused by their lack of self-control, quickly rebuttoning his shirt so he could go and answer the door.
He kissed her as a thanks and walked over to collect the food.
Dilan sighed in content; the smile basically plastered to her face at this point. Scrunching up her nose in a bit of discomfort, she managed to push herself up the bed, so she was resting against the headboard, waiting for Levi. He came back pushing a tray a minute later and Dilan raised an eyebrow.
Levi shrugged, setting it beside the bed before crawling over her.
"It's fancy ass." He supposed before kissing her again. Dilan smiled in amusement, kissing him back before pulling away to glance at the food. It was under giant metal bowls with handles so she couldn't see it.
"What'd you order?" She asked, stroking his hair. Levi made a face.
"No fucking clue. I ordered something that had fruit in the title, something that had some sort of egg in the title and something with chocolate in the title. In short, no fucking clue." Levi explained and Dilan laughed, nodding in understanding.
They were in Sina after all.
"I'm sure it'll be great. Thanks." She smiled, kissing him. They got lost in each other for a minute before remembering they had food and if they didn't want it to go cold, assuming it could go cold, they needed to prioritise for the moment.
Levi sat back on his heel to lift one of the plates seeing some sort of fruit salad that looked really good. They shared an impressed look before Levi lifted the next one and Dilan supposed this was the chocolate one. It was some sort of cake and it also looked, really good. The last one was clearly a main breakfast dish, poached egg on toast with, a green leaf on top, and drizzled with some sort of posh sauce.
Dilan's mouth watered slightly. She was ready to eat that.
Levi snickered at her drooling, pulling her between his legs and setting a pillow on her lap so she could have a decent surface to eat on, before passing her the dish. Dilan smiled, lacing her hand with his and bringing it to her lips as a thanks for the thoughtful gesture. He was so fucking good at taking care of her, her heart could barely take it.
"You'll eat too, right?" Dilan asked, tilting her head to look at him. Levi smiled and shrugged.
"I'm not really hungry for that and you look like you could eat a titan." He teased. Dilan sent him a glare and he laughed. She supposed she couldn't exactly shove this down his throat and Levi never normally ate real food like this. That didn't mean she liked it when he skipped meals.
"Promise me you'll eat something." She asked, wanting him to take care of himself. Levi's eyes softened, observed her silent fears of him going hungry like he did often and nodded seriously.
Dilan smiled in satisfaction, turning to her food.
She ate the first plate no problem and it went back on the tray. They took the fruit next and Dilan made sure Levi ate more than his fair share, an action that didn't go unnoticed by her boyfriend and he rolled his eyes but smiled anyway. Dilan knew he appreciated it.
They talked about easy stupid things, wanting to get their mind off of the expedition and all the crap going on. Levi had about 20 minutes before he had to leave if he wanted to make it to the meeting on time. They were lying side by side in the bed now and had just started on the cake.
"So, can this be our life from now on? Staying in bed, eating food and having sex?" She asked with a grin. Levi laughed taking a bite of the cake off of his fork.
"I think you would miss the action." He pointed out. Dilan chuckled. Perhaps that was true. She knew Levi was the same. "Still, maybe one day. When we get our house, we can have as much sex and food as we want." Levi shrugged and Dilan smiled as he mentioned their future together again. It was a future she craved, and she would do anything to get it, even if she knew it was realistically a long way away.
"Sounds good. We should definitely dedicate a good few years to sex and food before having a kid. From what I hear the little shits ruin everything." She mused and Levi laughed, nodding in agreement. Dilan smiled, taking another bite of the cake before she remembered something and froze slightly.
Levi noticed.
"What's wrong?" He asked, sitting up a bit. Dilan took a breath, knowing it would be fine. They just had to act sooner rather than later before allowing anything the chance to start… developing. Wow, she didn't think she would have to deal with this shit again.
"Well I need to take something, right?" She asked. Levi looked confused. "You didn't pull out, Levi." She reminded awkwardly and Levi's eyes widened in realisation. "It's fine, we'll just go to Hanji and get some of those pills. It'll be fine." She decided, not exactly liking the idea of taking those pills again but she had to remind herself they were normal. A lot of women take them and that just because she had a bad memory associated with them, it didn't mean they were bad.
Besides she wasn't ready to be a mother quite yet and that was the potential alternative.
"Shit. Brat I'm sorry, I should have-" Levi apologised, guilt in his eyes and Dilan looked at him, quick to cut him off. She didn't want him to feel guilty. He did nothing wrong, they were both caught up in the moment.
"Levi, don't-"
"No, I fucked up. You were supposed to be able to trust me last night, and I completely forgot. Now you have to take those shitty pills again." Levi sighed, rubbing his forehead, clearly distressed. Dilan sat up to crawl onto his lap, gently pulling his hands away from his face and replace them with her own, cupping his cheeks.
"I'm not mad, you did nothing wrong." She said seriously, looking into his eyes. Levi clearly didn't agree, and he opened his mouth, but Dilan cut him off. "I mean it, Levi. We both spaced on that part. I'll admit, I didn't like the idea at first, but people take them all the time, I don't mind doing the same. Besides, when we're in the moment I don't want either of us thinking about shit like that." She said logically. She wanted to stay in the moment with him like they did last night. She didn't want Levi pulling away from her at the last second. She would rather take the stupid pills if she got to hold him for longer.
Levi was still looking concerned.
"But-"
"No buts. I know what I want. Trust me, okay? I'm fine." She soothed, stroking through his hair. She smiled, watching relief fill his eyes.
"You're sure?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Dilan rolled her eyes.
"I'm sure." She confirmed, kissing him. Levi took a moment but relaxed into it, letting go of his guilt and Dilan smiled in approval, lightly scraping her nails up his undercut. Levi shivered slightly like he normally did, and Dilan made a note of it. Perhaps she would be able to use that for round two. She knew he wanted to focus on her the first time, and she loved him for that but now she was more at ease and knew what to expect she wanted to show him some attention too.
He deserved it and more after last night.
Eventually Levi pulled back and glanced at the time. Dilan frowned knowing it was likely time to go.
"Maybe… you should just say?" She suggested with a smirk. Levi let out a puff of amusement and smiled.
"I want to, but shit has to be done." He replied reluctantly. Dilan sighed, knowing he was right. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leant her head into the crook of his neck, wanting one more minute of peace. Levi held her close, kissing the side of her head.
There was a moment of contented silence before Dilan forced herself to pull back. If he had to go, she didn't want him to be late.
"I'll be back in a few hours, yeah?" He smiled. Dilan smiled back, brushing some hair away from his eyes. She nodded.
"I love you." She whispered, leaning her forehead against his. Levi smiled, pressing a quick kiss against her lips.
"Love you too." He replied and Dilan's heart warmed. She would never get bored of hearing that. After another moment of denial, Levi kissed her again before getting up, grabbing his jacket. "Order what you want from room service, I told them to give you anything you wanted." He informed and Dilan cracked a grin.
"Oh, so you really love me?" She teased. Levi laughed and rolled his eyes.
"Yep." He smirked, walking to the door, he spared her one last glance and Dilan smiled at him from the bed. He smiled back before leaving the room.
Dilan sighed, saddened by his absence but she couldn't be too sad when she thought about the amazing night and morning she had just had. Levi had never been so tender and loving before and she found herself loving this side of him. But then again, she loved all sides of him right down to his grumpy bastard persona. Dilan laid back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.
She hoped Farlan was okay with them. Granted, she was sure he would be a little shocked at first, maybe mad even but that was only because of how protective he was. If he saw how happy Levi made her, her brother would approve. She was certain of it.
Dilan smiled at the thought, smoothing her thumb over her necklace. Maybe one day she would get the life Farlan wanted for her. She was finally with the person she wanted to have that life with.
LEVI'S P.O.V.
Levi sighed in annoyance, staring at the regiment coordination building with dulled eyes. He did not want to be here. He had a completely perfect, gorgeous brat in his bed back at the hotel and yet here he was about to go into a meeting with Eyebrows fucking Smith.
It was safe to say, Levi couldn't contain his glee.
Frowning, Levi got over his plans to abandon the meeting and go back to bed, and stepped through the threshold, ignoring the various officers who looked in his direction and started whispering about Humanities Strongest. He barely supressed an eyeroll, walking straight up to the front desk, eager to get his nightmare over with as soon as possible and get back to Dilan.
"Erwin Smith, I have a meeting with him." Levi told the receptionist, straight up. He wasn't in the mood for formalities. Waste of time. The young woman looked at him, her eyes widening.
"Y-you're-you're…" She said in shock. Levi frowned.
"Meeting with Erwin smith." He persisted, monotoned. The girl swallowed thickly, lingering before looking down at her documents.
Levi rolled his eyes.
"Yes, Commander Smith is waiting for you in Meeting room C. Down the hall to your right." She explained. Levi nodded and moved to leave when she spoke again. "Wait! I don't know what you're doing after that meeting but maybe-" She started in a flirtatious voice, but Levi cut her off.
"Cant. I'm taken." He replied, not waiting to watch her disappointment before walking away. He smirked at his new excuse. He would enjoy using that one. Dilan still seemed to have his back even when she wasn't around.
Of course, he would have to be careful who he said that to as long as him and Dilan were hiding their relationship. Flirty civilians were fine, it would be his word against theirs but saying that to a anyone that tried to make a move on him in the military would spread the gossip around the whole compound. He couldn't let his relationship get back to Erwin.
Who knows what the psychopath would do?
Levi reached meeting room C and knocked on the door.
"Come in." Erwin's voice rang out and Levi opened it, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. It seemed like the meeting was just to be him and Erwin.
"Remind me again why we couldn't do this at HQ?" Levi asked in annoyance, taking a seat and crossing his arms. Not that he was really complaining. He had a pretty amazing night in Sina.
Erwin looked at him, straightening out some files.
"Because I'm backed up with meetings for the next 2 days. I have a 20-minute break and I needed you here so we could talk." Erwin explained. Levi raised an eyebrow.
"About?" He asked.
"Dilan." Erwin replied seriously and Levi's face hardened slightly, the tension in the air growing. Dilan had been a battle between them for a while now. It had been dormant for some time.
Did he really want to start it up again?
"What about Dilan?" Levi asked, already feeling protective. Erwin noticed and took a breath.
"Levi, I had no intention on re-kindling the aggression between us. In my youth as a commander I was brash and cruel, and I know I've never properly apologised for how I wronged both you and Dilan in the past, but I want you to know I am sorry." Erwin said seriously and Levi blinked in surprise. He was apologising?
Then he frowned.
No way would the bastard bring him here just to say sorry for being an asshole.
"Okay. Now the real reason." Levi replied and Erwin chuckled.
"Sharp as always." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Levi, you are a man of your word, are you not?" Erwin asked. Levi pursed his lips but didn't reply. He was nervous as to where this was going. Did he find out about him and the brat? Levi didn't know if that was possible already. It had only been a few weeks.
I swear to god, if that crazy shit let slip another one of my secrets-
"I'm pretty sure you are. Which is why I like to think the day you broke your word and told Dilan of your connection to her brother was a momentary bleep. Do you know why I never reacted?" Erwin asked calmly. Levi raised an eyebrow, surprised.
"How did you even find out?" Levi asked. Erwin smirked.
"Because I never expected you to keep that secret." He replied. Levi frowned in confusion. Hadn't he been so adamant on that secret staying hidden?
"You aren't making any fucking sense, Erwin." Levi growled, getting annoyed already. Erwin chuckled.
"My apologies. Yes, originally, I hoped you would both remain in the dark so your connection to her would stay professional instead of personal and your loyalties would remain with the corps. It wasn't until Hanji enlightened me that I realised something important. It was too late. Between the corps and Dilan, you would choose Dilan every time." Erwin pointed out. Levi stayed silent but he didn't deny it. They both knew it was true.
Levi clenched his fists.
"Then why did you force me to make those promises? What was the point?" He asked. Erwin sighed, looking out the window.
"Why did I do anything back then? I wanted some control, a way to manipulate the situation I found myself in. And more importantly, I wanted that favour without you suspecting anything." Erwin said and Levi's eyes widened a fraction.
Keeping that secret almost destroyed his fucking mental health and the bastard didn't even care.
He swallowed down his anger, trying to stay calm.
"And the other promise? Did you tell me to keep myself away from her just for your own fucking amusement?" He asked. Erwin's reaction was something that held him back a long time. Perhaps if that obstacle never existed, he would have been honest with Dilan a lot sooner.
Perhaps they wouldn't have lost all that time.
"Not quite. Keeping you as separated as possible was in my best interest back then, even if I had already lost your loyalty. Sometimes you were persuadable. I didn't need that going away too. Regardless of the circumstances, superiors aren't supposed to be with subordinates. I wanted to remind you of that so you wouldn't jeopardise your position for something as artificial as love. I was trying to do you a favour really." Erwin explained and Levi was seriously about to punch his face in, even though it was nice to finally gets some straight answers.
Silence.
"That was until the night of the party. I realised what I was doing, realised I was trying to control you both due to my own past experiences. A dark part of me wanted you to be miserable as I was, wanted you to lose your love like I had and when I realised that, I was rather ashamed. So, I let the battle go. Although, I am curious Levi… did you ever tell Miss Church how you feel?" He asked, interested. Levi stared at him for a moment, wondering if this bastard had some sort of personality disorder. He was all over the place today.
He crossed his arms and looked out the window.
"Why am I here Erwin, just for you to dig up old wounds? Do you want me to accept that you're sorry to ease your conscience or some bullshit." Levi asked, tired. Erwin chuckled, shaking his head.
"No of course not. I believe I mentioned the favour earlier." Erwin explained. Levi frowned.
"So, you're finally going to cash it in, huh?" He asked. Erwin smiled sadly.
"I worked hard to get it. My need to cash it in unfortunately outweighs my regret for how I treated you in order to obtain it." Erwin explained with an apologetic look. Levi frowned.
"Tch. Get on with it then."
He nodded, his face growing serious.
"I believe I am right, Levi. I believe with all my heart and soul that there is a titan traitor in our midst and that the only way to destroy them is to bait and capture them." Erwin started seriously.
"So?" He encouraged, wanting to speed this up a bit.
"When the titan is chasing your squad towards the trap, I plan to send in the rear, various squads. As many squads as it takes to slow it down so it doesn't get to Eren before you pass the checkpoint." Erwin continued and Levi looked at him.
"You believe they'll die." Levi assumed.
"I know they will." He replied and Levi clenched his jaw. He shouldn't be surprised by now. He had done this so many times before. How many would end up dead this time?
Would it be worth it?
"What do you want from me, Erwin?" Levi sighed, too exhausted for his bullshit. He knew there was no convincing the commander out of his plan.
The greater good was everything to him.
"Dilan's going to want to pull back and help them. She's going to try and take control and order the squads to hang back." Erwin explained and Levi's eyes widened, knowing he was right.
"You want me to stop her." Levi deduced. Erwin nodded.
"You're the only one who she'll listen to. I suggest you keep what will come to pass under wraps for now but when the time comes, I need you to convince her to keep her ground and ignore the slaughter." Erwin said seriously. Levi swallowed, knowing Dilan was not going to like that.
He couldn't believe this. Another secret. Watching all those deaths would crush her.
"I-"
"You have to. This plan cannot fail Levi, otherwise all the preparations, all the planning and all the deaths will be for nothing and at the end of the day, we will still have a traitor in our ranks."
There was a moment of silence where Levi reluctantly admitted defeat.
"Are we understood on your duty for the upcoming expedition?" Erwin asked sternly. Levi swallowed again, trying to ignore the clawing in his gut at the thought of lying to her again. He steeled himself and nodded. "Very well. Dismissed." Erwin replied and Levi stood, heading out the door. He sighed as it shut behind him.
What was he going to say to her?
DILAN'S P.O.V.
It was roughly two hours later before Levi came through the door. While she missed him, Dilan had a blast on her own in the room. Luckily, she had taken the foresight to bring a book with her, so she wasn't bored. She ordered this thing called ice-cream and it was the most amazing thing she had ever experienced so she may have ordered some more.
While she felt bad about using his money, she knew he would call her stupid for not ordering anything after he specifically told the staff to get her anything she wanted, and she hatched a plan to pay him back somehow. Maybe she could just sneak some money into his wallet?
Something to think about.
So, she sat in bed, relaxing, reading and eating ice-cream. It was a pretty great day. The only thing that would have made it better was if Levi was here with her. And not long after, she got that wish too.
Dilan looked up as she heard the door open and cracked a grin as Levi walked inside.
"Levi, come try this! It's called ice-cream and-" Dilan started excitedly but cut herself off as she saw his face and, more noticeably, the sadness behind his features. "Rough meeting?" Dilan asked, setting her ice-cream down on the side of the table as Levi took his shoes off and shed his jacket, walking over to the bed. He sat down next to her, back against the headboard, sighing and rubbing his face.
"You could say that." He mumbled. Dilan frowned, moving over to him, straddling his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck.
"What to talk about it?" She asked, offering him a smile and stroking through his hair. Levi melted into her touch, leaning his head onto her shoulder and wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. Dilan frowned slightly, not liking how to upset he seemed. What did that blonde bastard do to him? Still, she didn't say anything, continuing to stroke through his hair, pleased as the tension slowly dripped out of him.
She waited for him to say something.
"He used the favour." Levi whispered and Dilan's eyes widened a fraction. She had forgotten about the favour.
"Is it bad?" She asked. Levi hesitated, but nodded. "What did he ask you to do?" She asked. Levi sighed, pulling back to look at her with regret.
"I can't tell you." He informed and Dilan took a minute.
"So, it's about me." She deduced. Levi hesitated again before nodding. He sighed in annoyance.
"I just- I can't believe it. I promised you no more secrets. I promised you." He muttered, clearly upset by the idea. Dilan hugged him, stroking his back and he relaxed a bit.
"Technically this isn't a secret. You're being upfront about keeping something from me. I know you don't want to, and it can't be that bad." She said logically. Levi hugged her back.
"It's pretty bad, brat." Levi whispered. Dilan bit her lip in thought, unsure of what to do.
"So, tell me. Erwin doesn't have to know." She said. Levi sighed.
"I can't." He replied. Dilan was confused. He had broken his word when it came to Erwin's stupid blackmail before.
"Why?" She asked.
"Because… as fucked up as it is… I agree with him that if the plan is to work, it's the only way." He replied hesitantly. Dilan supposed this must be about the upcoming expedition then.
"Are you putting yourself into danger?" She asked.
"No more than before." Levi admitted.
"Are the squad in danger?" She asked.
"No." Levi replied, and Dilan sighed in relief. She didn't know how she would react to whatever was happening but as long as Levi and the squad made it out alive, she knew she would be okay.
"What do you need from me then?" She asked seriously. Levi pulled back to look at her.
"Dil, I can't make you-"
"What do you need from me, Levi?" She repeated, looking into his eyes and stroking the back of his neck. Levi looked back and hesitated before replying.
"When I tell you to stay, I need you to listen." He said seriously. Dilan nodded in understanding. She supposed the order would be harder for her to do on the day if Erwin felt the need to have a whole fucking meeting about it, but if Levi needed her to do this, if he agreed with Erwin that this was the only way then she would trust his decision.
"Okay, I will." She agreed. Levi looked down, guilt in his eyes. She smiled sadly, stroking the sides of his face. "Let's forget about it for now, yeah? There's no point worrying about it until it happens. I just want to be with you right now." Dilan said softly and Levi cracked a small smile, nodding in agreement. He leant into kiss her and they blocked the world out again.
Suddenly, Dilan remembered something she had forgotten to mention to him so far and pulled back to speak to him.
"Levi?" She asked.
"Hm?" He hummed, kissing her neck.
"Most of the squad know we're together." She informed bluntly. Levi paused.
There was a moment of stunned silence. Dilan pulled back to look at him, surprised at how much colour were on his cheeks. She bit her lip to stop from outright grinning.
"Levi are you blushing?" She asked in a gleeful tone. Levi averted his eyes awkwardly.
"No." He answered stubbornly. Dilan was stifling a laugh.
"So, you aren't embarrassed that the squad knows you're my boyfriend?" She asked through a wide smirk of amusement, pleased as Levi's blush deepened. He glared at her.
"Fuck off, why would I be?
"Because they'll think you've gone soft!" Dilan said in a sing song voice. Levi stared at her for a moment with an expression that ranged between mild panic to irritation and Dilan burst out laughing at the sight. "You look… so fucking scared!" She choked out, laughing hysterically.
"Shut up." Levi grumbled, thoroughly pissed off. Dilan managed to compose herself, rolling her eyes.
"Idiot." She sighed, smiling fondly. Levi glared at her. "Come on, are you really mad at me?" She asked, tilting her head.
"Yes." He answered, avoiding her eyes. Dilan smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck and stroking his hair.
"Now?" She asked. Levi pursed his lips.
"Yes." Dilan smirked and kissed his jaw and down his neck, feeling the tension drip out of him.
"Now?" She asked.
"…yes." Levi remained stubborn but his resolve was clearly crumbling. Dilan pressed a kiss to his lips and lingered before pulling back.
"Now?" She whispered, leaning her forehead against his. Levi didn't answer, holding her close and putting his lips back onto hers and Dilan smiling into it.
"You're so stupid." Levi huffed as he broke the kiss to give them air. Dilan laughed, leaning her chin on his shoulder and relaxing into him.
"Love you too." She teased. Levi let out a puff of amusement and stroked some hair behind her ear. "Does it really bother you?" Dilan asked after a moment of silence. Maybe he really didn't want them to know. Maybe he was embarrassed to be with her.
Levi clearly sensed her subtle nerves as he was quick to reassure her.
"No. It was a surprise but also kind of a relief. Saves having to tell them. Who knows?" He asked and Dilan let out a silent breath of relief, pleased he was alright with it.
"Eld, obviously. But Petra told me that she and Gunther know now. Apparently, we're really obvious." Dilan chuckled and Levi huffed.
"Petra knows then. You two okay?" Levi asked, stroking her back. Dilan hummed.
"I think we're fine. She said she accepts us, wants me to be happy. I hate that she's hurting but only time will help that. That girl is too good for this world." Dilan mumbled tiredly.
"Glad it worked out." Levi sighed. Dilan was in agreement. "Besides, if they didn't know already, they certainly will as soon as we get home." Levi commented. Dilan pulled back to raise an eyebrow at him.
"Huh?" She asked. Levi smirked evilly.
"Take a look." He suggested, gesturing to her neck. Dilan furrowed her eyebrows and got off of him to walk, or more accurately limp, over to the mirror. She looked at her neck and her jaw fell open. It looked like she'd been mauled by some kind of rabid animal. A series of hickeys and bite marks were on her neck and collar bone.
It felt good in the moment and she vaguely remembered urging him on, but this was very inconvenient.
She heard a snort of laughter and looked back to see Levi laughing into his hand silently, his shoulders shaking as he tried and failed to compose himself.
"Levi! This is your fault!" Dilan hissed at him, cheeks heating up. Levi chuckled.
"It's not my fault you liked it so much." He pointed out with a smirk. Dilan's eyes widened in mortification.
"Asshole!" She yelled, throwing a shoe at him. Levi ducked a second before the shoe would have collided with his face and it bounced off the headboard, falling back onto the floor.
"Oi dumb brat! You could have broken something!" He shot back, annoyed.
"That was the intention, dumbass! I was trying to break your face for being a jerk!" She snapped at him. They stared at each other for a moment before Levi looked at her neck again and burst out laughing again.
Dilan whined loudly, looking back at her neck. Everyone was going to see.
Levi snickered, managing to compose himself, he stood from the bed and walked back over to her. He turned her around to face him and Dilan pouted, looking away.
He smiled.
"Hey, I'm sorry, alright? I'm not making fun of you." He said in a softer tone. Dilan frowned at him.
"Could've fooled me." She glared. Levi rolled his eyes playfully and picked her up to move back over to the bed so she wouldn't have to walk back and hurt herself. Her eyes softened at the gesture, but she was still very annoyed.
"I'm sorry brat. I'll buy you a scarf before we head home, no one will see." He assured and Dilan relaxed a bit. "I'll be more subtle next time." He apologised, smoothing his thumb over one of the redder marks. "Even though you liked it." He added cheekily, giving her a playful smirk.
Dilan balked at him.
"Levi!" She complained, embarrassed. Levi chuckled, kissing the side of her head and pulling her closer to him. She huffed but the lingering tiredness and Levi's warm body beat her stubbornness and she melted into his embrace.
Then she smirked, wanting to get her own back.
She kissed the side of his neck, softly at first and Levi obviously had no idea what she was planning because he sighed in content, even relaxing a bit. Dilan kissed the same place, sucking on it gently and Levi shivered slightly. She kept going, barely supressing a laugh when she bit down and Levi let out a small groan, completely oblivious.
Then he tensed dramatically, and Dilan knew he'd figured it out, barely having time to admire the nice red mark she'd made before Levi pulled her back and touched the side of his neck.
"Shit, brat!" He complained, looking at her with wide, disbelieving eyes. Dilan laughed.
"Paybacks a bitch, Levi." She grinned, unapologetic. Levi narrowed his eyes at her, and Dilan's glee was cut off as he flipped their positions, so Dilan was laying on her back and Levi was on top of her.
"Payback, huh?" He asked, tilting his head and Dilan swallowed at feeling him so pressed up against her. She felt blush rise to her cheeks with him staring at her like that.
Levi smirked.
"Oh? Not so funny anymore?" He asked, slowly sliding a hand under her shirt while he kissed some of the marks on her neck and Dilan muffled a moan, her body instantly responding to his touch, wanting more.
"Levi." She whispered, grabbing a fistful of his shirt, wanting him closer.
"Need something?" He asked in a voice that made her stomach flip. Her heart was starting to pound, clouding her pride. She nodded. "What do you need?" He asked, looking her in the eyes. Dilan swallowed, biting her lip.
"You." She mumbled, embarrassed. Levi smirked, delighted that she folded to him. He pressed his lips to hers and Dilan was so ready for more but just like that it was all over.
Levi sat up, raking a hand through his hair and leaning back on the headboard next to her, grabbing the bowl of half eaten ice-cream.
"Have fun while I was gone?" He asked, eating a spoonful and scrunching up his nose, mumbling something about it being too sweet before eating some more.
Dilan stared at him in horror.
"Levi!" She said in exasperation, sitting up to look at him with wide eyes. Levi looked at her nonchalantly, tilting his head and taking another spoonful.
"What?" He asked innocently. Dilan could not believe he was doing this to her.
"WHAT?! We just- you just- I- and now- ice-cream!?" She ranted, completely frustrated and needy. Who knew she would get these annoying feelings now that she had finally felt how good sex could be? That fucking bastard.
Levi smiled.
"You want some?" He asked, holding out the spoon.
Dilan glared at him with a burning fury.
"No? Good call, it tastes like shit." He shrugged, eating more of the treat himself.
Dilan didn't understand. Did he not want her anymore? Was last night not that good for him?
She looked away from him so he wouldn't see how upset she looked. She felt stupid for reacting this way. He was only teasing her. Why did she feel so uncertain?
"Shit, Dil. You look like I just kicked a puppy in front of you." Levi said, obviously sensing how upset she was despite her attempts to hide it.
"So, it's fine when you kick puppies by yourself as long as you don't do it in front of me? Real classy Levi." Dilan mumbled, keeping her eyes on the window as she forced back tears.
Levi ignored her poor attempt to change the subject.
"Hey, don't shut me out like that. Did I really make you upset? I thought we were messing around." Levi spoke gently. Dilan shrugged, not really sure why she was feeling this way. Levi set down the bowl and reached out for her. "Come here." Levi said, wrapping his arms around her waist to tug her over to him. Dilan hesitated, feeling tense, but relaxed into him a moment later, resting an arm on his chest as she lent her head on his shoulder and sniffed.
Levi wrapped an arm around her as she cuddled into him, kissing the side of her head.
"I'm sorry, brat. I took it too far." He apologised genuinely. Dilan clenched her jaw, angry with herself.
"You didn't. Sure, it was an asshole move but we were being assholes. If you hadn't done it first, I probably would have tried to work you up too." Dilan mumbled; her voice thick with emotion. Levi hesitated.
"So why are you upset?" Levi asked softly, stroking some hair behind her ear. Dilan sniffed, closing her eyes.
"I-I don't know. I guess I just felt like I wanted it and it's still weird for me to feel like that. Then you pulled away and it felt like a rejection, even though I know you were just messing around . And I felt stupid and embarrassed for reacting that way." She admitted, biting her lip. Levi sat down a bit more in the covers so he could look at her, taking her hand.
"I'm sorry for making you feel that." Levi apologised. Dilan shook her head. She wasn't mad at him. She was mad at herself for reacting so stupidly.
"Levi I'm not-"
"Whether or not your mad at me, I still made you feel shitty so I'm sorry. But Dil… you know I wanted too, right? I wasn't rejecting you, we already agreed we should wait a bit until your healed." Levi pointed out carefully. Dilan sighed.
"Yeah, I know, it's just hard for me to tell if you're into it sometimes. We barely did anything, I felt stupid for getting so worked up while you were just unaffected." Dilan mumbled, embarrassed. Levi smiled, rolling his eyes fondly.
"Brat, you drive me crazy. While I was trying to get my own back at first, I only pulled back so suddenly because a second longer and I knew I wouldn't have been able to stop." He admitted. Dilan's eyes widened a fraction.
"Really?" She asked surprised.
"Really. I'm not sure you realise just how beautiful you are." Levi pointed out and Dilan blushed hard at that, unable to suppress a smile, feeling insanely warm. He smiled back. "Look this is all knew to you, it's okay to have worries. Just make sure you talk to me about them, okay?" He asked. Dilan's eyes softened, nodding in agreement.
She felt a lot better.
"Okay. Thanks grumps." She smiled. Levi chuckled and pulled her closer so Dilan could cuddle back into him. She sighed in content, closing her eyes.
"You're still a fucking asshole for winding me up like that." Dilan grumbled and Levi laughed, picking up the ice-cream again.
"You started it." He shrugged. Dilan's eyes widened and she sat up to argue back, but upon opening her mouth, Levi shoved a spoonful of chocolate ice-cream in it, and Dilan's eyes widened in surprise before she couldn't resist the delicious flavour and relaxed back into him, taking the spoon.
"You're still a jerk." She pointed out, taking more out of the bowl. Levi smirked, grabbing a new spoon for himself as he wrapped an arm around her.
"I know."
"Ugh, why is it so fucking hot!?" Dilan complained as they finished un-tacking the horse. Or rather, Levi was untacking the horse while Dilan lent against one of the wooden beams, sweating, pulling at the scarf Levi had brought her and trying not to pass out. It was a beautiful accessory, a deep forest green colour but it was hard to appreciate it right now in this freak heat.
It was fucking freezing yesterday! It's like the world switched seasons just to spite her.
Levi chuckled, lifting the saddle off the horse with practiced ease and balancing it over a beam before unclipping the bridal and hanging it on the wall.
He walked over to her, checking under the scarf. The marks were still very obvious. Levi's was singular, pretty small and would easily pass off for some sort of insect bite. Hopefully no one would bring it up because they couldn't do much for him.
Not that Dilan had any regrets leaving her mark on him. He deserved some payback, the bastard.
"You can skip training if you want, rest in our room for the day. Most of them will have faded by tomorrow. Plus, you shouldn't train if you're still hurt." Levi offered kindly. Dilan's spirits immediately brightened but wondered if she'd misheard it.
"Our room?" She asked, trying to be as casual as possible. Levi smiled and rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, stupid. It's not very well my room if you sleep in it with me every night." Levi pointed out and Dilan supposed that made sense. Although, it wasn't really the answer she was looking for. "But that reminds me… I kind of wanted to ask you something." Levi said, an awkwardness behind his tone as he adjusted her scarf, not so subtly avoiding her eyes.
"What is it?" Dilan asked, confused. Levi swallowed nervously, looking at her.
"When we get back to the Inn… would you- I mean would you want to- shit." He cringed at his own unsure words and Dilan stifled a laugh, taking his hands.
"Keep going." She encouraged with a smile. Levi sighed and took a breath.
"Would you want to move into my room with me… when we get back to the inn?" He asked, eyes filled with a mixture of hope and fear. Dilan's eyes widened in surprise that Levi would offer to share his space with her permanently. She knew how particular he was about his room.
Levi clearly took that surprise the wrong way.
"You don't have to, it was a stupid idea really-" He was cut off as Dilan jumped on him, wrapping her legs and arms around him, capturing his lips in an enthusiastic kiss, ignoring the sting of pain as she moved so abruptly. Levi staggered backwards, adjusting to the unexpected weight quickly so they both didn't fall.
She kissed the surprised man for a moment before pulling back to grin at him. Levi blinked at her.
"Is… that a yes?" He asked, unsure. Dilan laughed, rolling her eyes and flicking him on the forehead. "Oi!" Levi glared.
"Yes, that's a yes. Why would I ever say no? Of course, I want to live with you." She smiled genuinely. Levi cracked a wide smile of his own.
"Good." He replied happily, kissing her again and Dilan smiled into it, her heart warming. Then Levi suddenly pulled back with a more serious expression. "You better keep it clean though brat. I'm lenient around the common rooms but my room… our room has to be spotless." He pointed out, not an inch of joking in his tone. Dilan blinked at him for a second.
Of course, he would ruin the moment by talking about cleaning.
Dilan laughed and shook her head in disbelief.
"Oi, what's so funny?" Levi frowned.
"You, dumbass." She smirked, kissing the frown on his lips as she slid down to stand on the floor again, picking up her duffle back with a subtle wince. "Don't worry, I'll keep our clean freak liar so tidy we can eat off the floor." She grinned, laughing as Levi gave her the worst grimace, she had ever seen on him.
"You ever eat off the floor, despite the cleanliness of the surface, I will probably break up with you." Levi warned. Dilan pouted, feigning hurt.
"Really? Everything we've been through and the floor tears us apart?" She teased, holding a hand over her heart and looking at him with obviously faked hurt. Levi rolled his eyes, picking up his duffle too and starting to walk.
"It wouldn't be the floor, idiot. It would be the bacteria on the floor that tears us apart." He pointed out. Dilan chuckled and started walking too, but she was still pretty shaky on her legs. Levi noticed and looked around to make sure they were alone before walking back over to her. He put an arm around her waist to support her and kissed the side of her head as they started walking again. Dilan smiled, her heart-warming at the loving gesture.
She looked at her scarf and chuckled silently.
What an eventful night's escape.
LEVI'S P.O.V.
It was later that evening and the whole squad were seated around the table. Hanji wasn't here so it was a peaceful atmosphere, polite conversation dotted around. Levi was grateful, too exhausted to talk to that crazy shit right now. The day had been tiring when they got back, and Levi almost wished they stayed longer in Sina so he could have spent some more time with Dilan alone, but they did get some important work done today.
Dilan, the idiot, did try and go through with training and while it was impressive how long she managed to fight through the exhaustion, despite Levi telling her to just go and rest, two hours in she collapsed during a fight with Petra. The brat always tries to push herself too hard, an annoying quality of hers. Levi could take no more and led her to the side to ask her to go and lie down for him. Dilan couldn't refuse to that and Petra helped her upstairs. Levi was worried but Petra assured him that she would get her up to her room safe.
It was weird that she knew, and they were both pretending that she didn't. Levi felt kind of awkward, but Petra was pretty great at acting if she felt the same.
Of course, Dilan's rest didn't last long, the brat obviously got bored, so she came down early and was currently helping Eld cook dinner in the kitchen. Levi wished she would take better care of herself, but it couldn't be helped. She loves to break her own boundaries, it's just who she is and Levi didn't intend on trying to change her. He could call her an idiot all he likes but he loved everything about her, even the crazy parts.
"Hey guys." Eld smiled as he came through, holding two plates of food, Dilan trailing behind him, a visible pout on her face. "Sorry in advance for dinner." He added.
Eyebrows were raised.
"What'd you mean?" Petra asked. Eld set down the dishes of a very obviously burnt meal.
They sighed, guessing the culprit immediately.
Dilan cringed as they all looked at her.
"What?! I was only following instructions!" She huffed, immediately on the defensive, setting the other two plates down. Eld rolled his eyes.
"All you had to do was stir, Dil. I was gone for two minutes!" Eld pointed out in exasperation.
"And I told you there were complications!" She shot back stubbornly. Levi bit back a smirk at her bratty attitude.
"Tch. Why do we even let her contribute?" Oluo asked as Eld retrieved the other plates and Dilan glared at him.
"Watch it Bozado." She warned. Oluo paled.
"He's kind of got a point, Dil. Is this even edible?" Gunther chuckled, forking his food with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm trying to learn." She mumbled as Eld sat down.
"I'm sure it's great Dil." Petra smiled kindly, taking a bite. The group cringed watching her struggle to chew and keep the smile on her face, swallowing thickly. "A little dry." She rasped, swallowing down some water.
She went to take another bite and Dilan stopped her.
"Petra, I appreciate it but even I'm not eating that meal. It's completely shit." Dilan pointed out.
"Now you tell me." Petra mumbled, gulping down some more water.
"This is the third time this has happened, Eld! Stop indulging her!" Oluo whined, clearly hungry and frustrated.
Dilan sighed and sat down next to Levi, leaning her forehead on his shoulder and closing her eyes.
"Stop being a dick." She mumbled tiredly.
Levi tensed and the room went completely quiet. He wasn't sure if Dilan realised what she was doing but every single person in the room was balking at her. Levi cleared his throat awkwardly and Dilan must have realised what she did as her body tensed and she shot up, wide eyed.
An uncomfortable silence descended.
Oluo broke first.
"What the FUCK did I just see?!" He screeched. Dilan blushed, averting her eyes.
"Um…"
Silence.
Eld, Petra and Gunther shared an awkward look.
Dilan and Levi did the same.
Eren blinked.
Oluo was still balking.
"GUYS?!" He yelled.
"Shut up. You're going to give me a migraine." Levi glared and Oluo jumped.
Petra scrambled to explain her friend's suspicious behaviour.
"It was an accident; she was just tired!" Petra announced suddenly, being way too loud.
"B-but-" Oluo said, confused.
"She can be tired if she wants to Oluo!" Gunther defended.
"Yeah man! Get a fucking grip!" Eld chimed in and Oluo's eyes widened.
"WHY DO I FEEL SO PERSONALLY ATTACKED?! DILS THE ONE THAT JUST LEANT ON THE CAPTAIN! THE REAL QUESTION IS WHY HASN'T HE KILLED HER YET!" Oluo yelled back.
Eren was still blinking.
Levi sighed as the others continued to argue and looked to Dilan. This was ridiculous. She looked back at him and shrugged.
"I don't really mind. Do you?" She whispered. Of course, most of them knew but to acknowledge it to them and have it as common knowledge would be a change that they couldn't take back. Dilan was clearly worried at whether he wanted that.
Levi suppressed a smile, squeezing her hand under the table.
"No, I think it's best they know." Levi agreed. He was tired of hiding it anyway. Dilan smiled, nodding.
"DILAN CAN FEEL TIRED WHENEVER SHE FUCKING WANTS OLUO!" Gunther screamed at him, rising from his seat.
Things had obviously escalated during their short conversation.
Oluo stood up too.
"THAT MAKES NO FUCKING SENSE! I FEEL LIKE WE'RE HAVING TWO DIFFERENT CONVERSATIONS! ARE YOU INSANE!?" He screamed back. Gunther growled, taking a handful of his collar and raising a fist.
"Everyone sit the fuck down, now." Levi warned and everyone froze. While he appreciated what the guys were trying to do for Dilan, enough was enough. He had no intentions of letting his squad descend into chaos over a secret half of them fucking knew already.
"But-" Oluo tried but cut himself off as Dilan gave him a sharp look.
"Now, Oluo." She ordered. Gunther let go of him and gave him a glare before sitting back down. Oluo looked at them all like they were crazy before doing the same.
Dilan sighed and looked at Levi. He guessed he should probably just say it.
"Most of you nosy shits are already aware of this, but me and Dilan are in a relationship. There. You have 60 seconds to react before we move on." Levi stated bluntly, taking a sip of his tea.
Oluo's jaw dropped to the floor and his eyes widened so comically they could barely see his pupils.
"WHAT?!" He demanded, slamming his hands on the table. Levi rolled his eyes.
Over-reaction.
He glanced at the others who were unsurprisingly well… unsurprised. Perhaps a bit shocked that he had openly admitted to it.
"Am I supposed to act surprised, sir?" Gunther asked cheekily and Levi narrowed his eyes at him.
"No one likes a smart ass, Swaltzs." He pointed out in a tone that made the boy pale.
"Yes-sir-sorry-sir." He apologised quickly looking down and Levi bit back a smirk, satisfied. Dilan rolled her eyes at him and he shrugged. It was nice to know he could still scare the shit out of them.
"I'm sorry…" Oluo mumbled, honestly looking a bit faint. "But… WHAT?!" He exclaimed again.
The group ignored him for a second time.
"Can I just say one thing? Since I'm assuming, we'll never speak of it again." Petra deduced with a smile. Dilan chuckled.
"You assume right." Dilan smiled and Levi was in agreement. Neither of them were overly fond of public affection. Little gestures, sure but, nothing that noticeable. Their relationship around the squad won't change much at all.
"Sure." He answered her question.
"I'm happy for the both of you." She said kindly. Dilan smiled and Levi's eyes softened slightly.
He respected her for being so selfless and letting go of any resentment she may have held towards them. It's not easy to do. Levi himself managed it but not very well at all. When Dilan stared dating Eld, he accepted them but he sure as hell wasn't happy for both of them. Dilan, he wanted to be happy, sure, but Eld could go fuck himself as far as Levi was concerned back then.
It takes a certain type of person to be able to do what Petra was doing.
Levi appreciated it.
"Thanks Petra." Dilan smiled, squeezing her hand over the table. Levi nodded his thanks also.
"Why-why am I the only one who's FREAKING THE FUCK OUT?!" Oluo demanded, almost in tears.
"Because dumbass, it was obvious- nope that's the wrong word. I'll stop talking now." Gunther shut up quickly at Levi's death glare.
"We found out a while ago." Eld answered. Oluo gripped his hair in distress.
"What the flying fuck? How am I so out of the loop?" He mumbled, completely baffled.
Dilan chuckled.
"So, we broke Oluo, not really bothered about that." Dilan shrugged before turning to Eren. "You alright, kid?" She asked, a hint of concern in her eyes. Levi knew Eren's opinion meant a lot to her, even though they had only known each other for a short time, Dilan had quickly adopted him into her inner circle of loved ones.
Eren startled slightly, looking up at the table of eyes that were currently on him. He seemed to have been deep in thought.
"Oh! Yeah, I guess it's nice." He smiled. This time it was Levi and Dilan blinking. The rest of the table looked confused at his casual response too.
"Nice? Weren't you surprised?" Dilan asked, tilting her head. Eren chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.
"Not really, I'm not as naïve as you guys think." Eren admitted and Levi and Dilan's eyes widened as they remembered that day on the training field when Eren walked in on Dilan literally laying down on top of him.
Damn, he supposed Eren wasn't as gullible as he once thought. What a surprising little shit.
"If your happy then I think it's nice. But it's not really any of my business." He shrugged. Levi was impressed. He supposed Eren took his advice about not gossiping to heart. He could respect that. Perhaps the titan brat wasn't terrible.
"Aw, you little shit. You're going to make me tear up." Dilan teased, grabbing him in a headlock and ruffling his hair fondly. Eren struggled.
"Dil!" He whined, embarrassed.
"When or maybe how is more important? Fuck, my head's about to explode. Captain has emotions. Somehow it's more terrifying." Oluo rambled to himself, in complete shock. Levi rolled his eyes. "ARGH!" Oluo yelped as Dilan threw a spoon at him and it hit him in the centre of his forehead, causing the man to stumble back, almost falling over his chair.
"Get over it or I'll make you." Dilan threatened, her burning orange eyes daring him to speak another word about it. Levi bit back a proud smirk as Oluo shrunk in on himself. His brat was so terrifying.
"O-okay." He whispered, hesitantly sitting back down.
Dilan cracked a smile of approval, taking a seat herself. She looked and Levi and he shrugged, supposing that could have gone worse.
"We cool?" She asked the group. Everyone apart from Oluo, who was still dazed from the spoon attack, smiled and nodded. "Great." She smiled, taking a bite of the meal she had clearly forgotten was ruined by her.
She choked and spat it back out.
"Holy fuck Petra, how did you swallow that?" She grimaced, wiping her mouth. The group laughed as Petra blushed.
"Because I didn't want you to feel bad." She mumbled. Dilan chuckled.
"Well, your cute, but it's horse shit. Eld?" She asked as everyone turned to the only chef, giving him puppy eyes. Well, all except Levi who rolled his eyes at them.
"Really guys? I'm kind of tired." He frowned. The group made their eyes bigger.
"Pleaseeeeeeeeee!" They asked. Eld sighed.
"Fine. Give me 10 minutes and I'll get something together." He lamented and they cheered as he walked out.
"Should I help?" Dilan called after him.
"NO!" They all shouted at her quickly. Dilan huffed, pouting and crossing her arms. Levi rolled his eyes at the idiot.
Idle chatter started up again, Eld came back with the more edible food. Even Oluo got over his paralysation. Levi looked at the beautiful woman beside him and found himself completely content. He took her hand and his heart warmed at the smile Dilan gave him. Whatever troubles came their way, he knew they'd be fine if they stick together.
"Sir, what's that mark on your neck?" Eren asked innocently. Levi and Dilan froze.
"While we're asking questions, why are you wearing a scarf indoors, Dil?" Oluo added, obviously having no clue. Petra, Eld and Gunther practically face-palmed while Levi and Dilan shared a very obvious look of regret.
Maybe this was a mistake.
A/N: Lol, Oluo and Eren are such children. They have no idea.
The squad finally found out. I wish we had more time with them to be awkward but unfortunately... this period of fluff and chicken terror has come to an end. Next chapter will be the morning of the expedition. I apologise in advance. You know it's going to be emotional. Their a family. A fucked up family but a family nonetheless. Dilan is not going to take this well. Thankfully, Levi will be there for her like always. But guysssss, I don't want to kill them off! Damn, this is going to be difficult.
For those of you that called the favour being on Dilan not going after the female titan, well done. That is what the favour was created for in the beginning. Wow, that was a lot of chapters ago. The babies have come so far and grow up so much, lol.
Hope you liked this last chapter of fluff, I made it extra cute to make up for all the death and destruction thats about to take place. So savour it while it lasts!
MordredVisor: I'm glad you liked the chapter! I was worried about the smut, not having written anything like that before but people seemed to think it was just the right amount of graphic so I'm pleased I got it right! And I know! What's coming next is so sad, I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to go through with it. I very well might need to watch some Disney movies after, lol. Thanks for commenting!
Bernard.f: Hey! I'm so happy it helped with your chicken trauma, lol. Jo-Jo will definetly put the beast in order. The special ops didn't have the power but she does. Lmao! Thanks for following along!
vain-gl0ry: You're back! I'm so glad! I want to thank you for writing those reviews on my last chapter! You went into so much depth, it made me feel really appreciated and I was having a hard day so thank you so much. I'm happy you liked the chicken scene so much! I felt borderline insane while writing it but I think it was so ridiculous it was just believable, lol. Eld and Dilan finally made up, I was relieved too. I think they both needed to admit they were wrong to start that relationship without talking about their problems first and what they both wanted from each other. It wasn't fair to either of them but they apologised and are in a much better place now. I kind of continued this by having Dilan and Eld make dinner in this chapter. While Dilan did fuck up the meal, it shows they're still spending time together and I also wanted to show that Levi is okay with them being close friends. Dilan is indeed a lightweight. I find it funny because she's so hardcore but can't hold her beer at all. And yes, Levi's love is the purest.
vain-gl0ry (second review): Levi was indeed sneaky in this chapter. Using his work meeting to take Dilan off to Sina and have a good time while leaving Eren alone?! Tut, tut, tut. But we'll forgive it because he's normally such a workaholic. They both needed some time off to just relax and be together without having to worry about hiding their relationship. Her talk with Petra was very necessary. I wanted to have them hash it out so when the truth did come out to the squad, Petra wouldn't be blindsided and she would be able to support Dilan. Her and the others defending Dilan's slip up from Oluo was classic squad. They love her so much, it's cute. They really aren't sneaky at all. Dilan literally gave it away in a second and didn't even realise it herself, lol. The date they had in Sina does sound perfect! You are so right about that. I thought about Levi sitting her down at a restaurant but I just couldn't picture it. They are simple people. They need their nature, their alcohol and their cuddles and they are pretty much content, lol. I'm glad you liked the smut! I really thought it needed to happen before the squad dies and things get busy. I wanted them to be happy and have a bit of fun. Levi was perfect, and your right about him guiding her rather than leading her. Dilan would never would have followed through if Levi decided to set the pace of how fast they were going to go. He let her take charge without leaving it all up to her. He knows her so he knew what she needed. They're so perfect, lol. Sorry for my long-ass rant but you brought up so many good points I just had to discuss them, lmao. Thanks for commenting!
Misscandyliciousss: Hey! I'm so pleased you liked the chapter. As one of my original readers, it means so much that you think their relationship development was well written. Making sure their progression towards a relationship and intimacy was well timed and realistic was one of my biggest goals from the beginning so thank you! Hope you keep reading and thanks for commenting!
badwolffor3ever: Hi! Thanks for reading and commenting! Glad you enjoy my story!
Mia: I'm so glad you liked it. I was nervous for how people were going to react to them getting intimate. My face was literally red while writing it, lmao! Thanks for the good luck wishes on my exams! Means a lot!
Angie200116: I appreciate you defending my uploading speed, lol. Thank you for understanding, it's nice to know I can take a step back from time to time and you all will still be here when I return to post the next update. I'm so happy you liked the chapter! It was indeed the fluffiest Dilvi I could conjure up. I wanted to give everyone some serious fluff before we get dark again. You all deserved it for waiting so long. I'm glad you liked the smut, Levi making sure she was comfortable the whole way through was very important. I agree the children talk was nice but also worrying. We'll have to see what happens with that. You were right about the talk being about Annie with Erwin, congrats for that. Thank you for reviewing as much as you do! I really appreciate it!
Sodabo: Hey! I know, we are so proud of Dilan for facing her fears. It really was a huge milestone for her and a big part of her character development. I agree that a lot of Levi fanfics make Levi way too dominating. I think he does have that dominating part of him but I'm not sure we'll see it for a while in this story, if at all. Deep down he's really gentle and he's not even that experienced in sex himself. Thats what makes this great because the pair of them will be able to learn what they like together as a couple. Thanks so much for commenting! Hope to hear from you again some time!
HeavenlyCondemned: Hi! I'm glad you were happy with the amount of graphic detail in the scene. It was my first time writing something like it so i wanted to make sure it was right but also in-keeping to Dilan and Levi's characters and pasts. Dilan was a little sore but Levi took care of her. Thanks for commenting!
Thanks for reading everyone! Stay safe! Xx
