Notes:

This chapter took longer to publish because:
1) I was not happy with the first version, SO I rewrote it a bunch of time HAHA.
2) f u n student stuff.

ANYWAY
*grab mic* THANK YOU GUYS FOR YOUR CONTINUOUS SUPPORT, it really means a lot to me! TRULY!
Even to y'all mysterious reader!
Check the end notes for my replies to your comments!

So, without further ado, chapter seven :D *drop mic*

DISCLAIMER:
Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan belongs to Hajime Isayama

CHAPTER 7: LEVI ACKERMAN

Mikasa woke up on a bright Friday morning from the half-screaming Nifa who told her that her dresses had arrived from the shop. Nifa was ecstatic when she helped Mikasa get ready in the morning, and Mikasa couldn't help but smile at Nifa's reaction.

The dresses sure are beautiful, especially the one she'll be wearing today, but, a dress is just a dress. It probably won't change much of her appearance.

Right?

Wrong.

As she stared at her reflection, she was at a loss for words. There she stood, wearing a short sleeves pink frilly dress that poofed at the skirt, stopping just below the knees. Her long black hair was half tied with a matching pink bow.

She almost didn't recognize the girl that she saw in the reflection, almost.

Because, the next thing that she thought was, "Finally."

Mikasa found herself walking out from her bedroom with a really huge smile on her face. She felt so light and brave today, a mix of feelings that were quite foreign to her. There was also an anticipation building inside of her as she nearly arrived at the dining room. She really wanted to see Hange's reaction.

"Good mor— OH MY GOD! MIKASA? You look wonderful!"

Mikasa heard a shriek of happiness coming from her governess as soon as she stepped into the room.

Certainly, her reaction was not a disappointment.

She smiled shyly as she touched her dress, twirling it a little bit, "Do you think so?"

Mikasa could see twinkles forming on Hange's eyes, "Obviously! You are always beautiful Mikasa, but today… I'm speechless."

Mikasa could only nod and murmured, "Thank you," as she felt her face heating up from her compliment.

Now that she had seen Hange's reaction, she wondered what Levi's reaction would be.

He would probably stare at her and say nothing.

But still, she couldn't wait until he sees her tomorrow.

After a few minutes of Hange gleefully admiring the new dress, Mikasa and Hange sat on their usual chairs, plates of food already laid on top of the table.

When Mikasa wanted to grab her spoon, her eyes immediately caught a tray that was placed next to her. A big smile grew on her as she took two letters from the tray.

"Oh, are those letters from Eren and Armin?" Hange asked as she spooned her porridge into her mouth.

Mikasa nodded as she opened one of the letters. As soon as she saw the neat handwriting of Armin, she couldn't contain her excitement to read it.

She loves reading Armin's letter because he always told her in detail about anything that happened in Shiganshina. So, everytime she reads Armin's letters, it almost feels like she is back in Shiganshina.

She immediately drowned into each and every word that was on the letter before being interrupted by a voice.

"Mikasa," Hange suddenly called, "Your food will become cold."

"Oh right, I'm sorry." She said as she put the letters away and hurriedly finished her meals, almost too fast, because she choked in the process.

"Woah, slow down, Mikasa." Hange reminded with a small laugh while giving her a glass of water, "You still have time before your study, you know."

Mikasa smiled sheepishly after drinking some water to clear her throat, "I know, I just got too excited."

"Believe me, I know that feeling!" Hange said with a chuckle before whispering, "But still, you don't want to summon the wreath out of Moblit or Mrs. Koch."

Mikasa laughed and nodded in understanding, she proceeded to continue eating her breakfast. Even so, she couldn't stop herself from glancing at the two letters that were lying next to her. So much so that she couldn't pay full attention to Hange's story about some new leaves that she added to her dried plant collection.

After finishing her meals —which was still faster than usual— she excused herself from the dining room, leaving Hange by herself.

She owes an apology, no, two apologies to her.

She went to the library to read the rest of the letters. She took a seat on the big circular table that was in the middle of the room.

She reopened Armin's letter to continue where she left off. Armin told her about the Shiganshina annual summer festival that happened last week. Mikasa had been to one before, she visited it with her parents, and it was one of her favorite memories of them.

She sure hopes she could visit it again.

Other than that, Armin also told her about the book he's currently reading about, about his parents, and of course, about Eren's usual antics.

After she finished reading Armin's letter, she went on to open another one.

Mikasa smiled as she saw the familiar chicken scratch of handwriting, there's blotches of ink here and there. Average people would normally give up after seeing it, but fortunately, because she had read a lot of Eren's letters, she already knew by heart how to read his peculiar writings.

Unlike Armin's detailed and comprehensive letter, Eren's letter was shorter with topics that were all over the place.

For example, he would talk about his mom in one paragraph before abruptly ending it to talk about the fight he had with the local bullies.

But, that just Eren being Eren.

"We meet again, fellow who left me alone at the breakfast table."

Mikasa turned around to the entrance of the library and saw Hange standing there.

Mikasa answered with a laugh.

"Alright, don't mind me, I'll just take some books for us later. Enjoy your time." Hange said before disappearing into the tall aisles of book shelves.

It didn't take her a long time to read Eren's letter. As soon as she was finished, Mikasa went to a cabinet and grabbed some blank papers, empty envelopes, a pen, and a bottle of ink.

She put all of those things on the table and began to write her letter. After dipping the pen to the black ink, her hand started to glide on the surface of the paper to write her reply for Eren.

She cheerfully hummed some tunes as she told Eren about her days, especially about her new dresses.

Oh! She would totally tell Armin about it too.

Actually, there's a lot of things that she wanted to tell them and luckily, Mikasa loves writing it down for them.

But, it would be a lot better if she could tell it directly to them.

"We'll start the lesson in fifteen minutes, Mikasa."

Without looking at the owner of the voice, she knew whose voice it belonged to. The voice was soon followed by a sound of a chair adjacent to her being moved and a sound of something heavy being put on the table.

"Okay." She replied, eyes still glued to the paper as she finished her writing.

After she was done with Eren's letter, she moved to write her reply for Armin.

Other than telling them about her new dresses, she also told them about her days, about the people she interacts with, and about everything they asked her, which were mostly about Trost and about the manor she's living in.

The problem is, Mikasa isn't really good with words, so in the end, she will always say:

"I just hope you could see it in person."

"Mikasa, it's time now." She heard Hange talk again.

"Wait! Another five minutes, please!" Mikasa quickly replied, increasing the speed of her pen.

Hange chuckled, "Alright, five minutes it is."

At exactly five minutes later, Mikasa was done with her replies. She folded and put the papers into two envelopes before looking at the person next to her.

"Hange, can you help me?" She asked, raising her letters for Hange to see.

Hange looked up from her book and nodded, "Sure."

Mikasa went back to the cabinet to grab a small wooden box and gave it to Hange before returning to her seat. Hange opened the wooden box and grabbed a stick of deep red wax. She lit the wick of the wax and soon the wax started to melt from the heat. She let it slowly drip onto the back of the envelope.

Mikasa stole a glance at Hange who was smiling peacefully at the task at hand.

"I had told them about you." Mikasa suddenly said.

Hange took a quick look at her and smiled, "Really? What did you say about me?"

"A lot of things," Mikasa answered, "They said that they want to meet you."

"In a good way, I hope."

"It is. They like you." Mikasa replied while looking at Hange warmly.

Hange seemed to be taken back by her remark.

"That's so sweet, Mikasa. I also want to meet them." She looked at Mikasa with awe before blowing the fire from the wax. She grabbed a stamp seal from the box and pressed it on the melted wax. When she lifted the stamp, it revealed a beautiful embossed monogram of two intertwined alphabets, that is A and M.

She took another letter and began to lit the wax again. But then she stopped and asked her, "Do you want to try? I think it's time for you to learn how to do it, right?"

Right.

She hesitantly nodded.

Hange lit the wax again and carefully handed it to Mikasa.

"Even though it felt like holding a candle, you still have to be careful." Hange told her and guided Mikasa, telling her to always rotate the stick so the wax melted evenly around.

Mikasa was fascinated to see how the fire slowly melted the wax that it touched. Oddly, it calmed her. So much so that she just spoke whatever thing that came to her mind.

"Eren and Armin," Mikasa muttered, "It's been two years since the last time I saw them."

"Really?" Hange smiled, "No wonder you were always so excited whenever you received their letters."

Mikasa nodded, her mind was slowly flooded by the memories of two years ago.

"Why didn't you visit them, then?" Hange asked.

"Levi is busy. I couldn't just ask him to accompany me to Shiganshina." She answered nonchalantly.

"But, why couldn't you?

Mikasa sighed, "Truthfully, It's not that I couldn't ask him, I could actually. But, I chose not to, because I know that he won't refuse."

Hange furrowed her brows, "Isn't that supposed to be a good thing?"

"It's a good thing." Mikasa paused, "I just don't want to take his precious time."

Hange nodded before suddenly exclaimed, "Oh, it's enough Mikasa, blow it!" She pointed at her wax.

Mikasa quickly blew the fire out, creating a trail of smoke from the burnt wick. Soon after, Hange instructed her to immediately put the seal on the puddle of melted wax. Mikasa did as she was told and waited for the wax to set before slowly peeling the seal away, revealing the same embossed monogram as before.

"Good job Mikasa!" Hange clapped with a bright smile, "You did amazing on your first try!"

Mikasa stared proudly at her sealed letters, slowly tracing her index finger to the dried wax.

"Do you know what that monogram stands for?" Hange suddenly asked.

Mikasa took a glance at Hange and furrowed her brows before looking back again at the dried wax, "It stands for Ackerman."

"Exactly! Your family name. The name that you share with your cousin."

Mikasa could only gave Hange a slow nod that definitely didn't show that she understands her, especially when combined with how she stared at Hange with raised eyebrows.

"Mikasa." She suddenly called her with a soft deep voice, shifting the whole room's atmosphere, "You are his family, probably the only family he has left… I'm sure he wouldn't mind doing anything for you."

Mikasa felt something stuck on her throat, she couldn't speak, more precisely, she couldn't even think.

Hange let out a chuckle before smiling, "Let me ask you. Do you like your new dress, Mikasa?"

Mikasa narrowed her eyes at Hange, "Yes, I do."

"I see. Who bought it?"

"... Levi?" She answered but from the way she spoke it, the answer came out more like a question.

"Alright, then why do you think he bought it for you?"

"Well, because I ask him to." Mikasa stated it like it was obvious.

"That's true." Hange laughed, "Now, last question, with whom did you go dress shopping with?"

Mikasa genuinely didn't understand her, but she answered anyway.

"Levi…" Came her short reply.

"Yes!" Hange nodded in glee, "I know you might think that he bought you that dress because you ask him and he had to —which was true, I agree— but, think about it, he didn't have to accompany you to the shop too, right? And yet, he did that."

Mikasa felt like she was struck by something. The memories of the trip she had with her cousin last week resurfaced on her mind. Back then, Mikasa was supposed to go to the shop with Nifa, but one day she was told by Mr. Moblit that Levi would be the one that accompanied her. It confused her, but she didn't really give it much thought, until now...

A small smile started to bloom on her face.

"Let me tell you a secret" Hange leaned down to her level and whispered, "I don't like your cousin very much. But, I know that he would do anything for you. I mean, even I can see that."

Mikasa chuckled, "That's a high praise, especially when it comes from you."

"I know!" She answered excitedly, "That's why you shouldn't be afraid of him."

Mikasa nodded with a small smile, "I guess I'll try."

"Oh wait!" Hange suddenly exclaimed, "Mikasa, imagined if you didn't bother to write for Eren or Armin, do you think you could care for them this much?"

Mikasa blinked and opened her mouth but then she closed it again.

. . .

"No." Mikasa finally answered.

"Exactly!" Hange cheered, "Communication is a key. There's a lot of things you can unlock with it, even the cold stone heart of your cousin."

Mikasa stared blankly at her.

"Don't you think he encourages you to do it?"

Levi's voice came to her mind.

"Hey you, brat. I can't read your freaking mind. If you need anything, just tell me. I don't want you to curse me in your sleep because you think I'm neglecting you."

Mikasa scoffed. He really had to ruin it with his sarcasm.

"— And don't you also think that he tries to do the same to you?"

Mikasa shuddered at the memory of her choking and coughing every Sunday Morning.

Yes, he definitely is.

"I thought you already knew about this Mikasa." Hange added, "Nifa told me that you were actually the one who asked for your dress, right?"

"Oh…" Mikasa went into thinking, "I'm not quite sure… Maybe, because I thought that dress is something that I urgently need, I could find the bravery to ask him. But, on the other hand, meeting Armin and Eren is something that I merely want for myself, so it was only my selfish wish. That's why I don't think it's something that I can ask him."

"I see," Hange nodded, "I don't agree though, I don't think it's a selfish request. Wanting to meet someone that you haven't seen in a long time is a very common thing, Mikasa. Missing someone could do a lot of things to someone, after all."

Mikasa widened her eyes.

"I'm sure he will understand that." Hange added with a smile.

Mikasa blinked a few times before finally letting out a happy sigh, she shifted her attention to the warm eyes of her governess.

Hange really knows her way with words.

"Do you know Hange, when I lost my parents, I was so scared that I'll live in the street. Fortunately, Mr. and Mrs. Jaeger took me into their house, and that's where I met Eren and Armin. They were so kind to me and I loved them so much, so much so that I hoped that I could live with them forever."

Mikasa was filled with warm emotions as she recounted her life with the Jaegers and her friendship with Eren and Armin before slowly realizing that she had arrived at the worst part of the story.

"But, a month later, the authority came and told me that they managed to get in touch with my distant cousin. I was informed that my cousin wanted to become my guardian and invited me to live with him. The authority said that I should be happy that my cousin is a rich gentleman— but, I didn't really care about that, because to me, he was just a stranger."

Mikasa paused to take a deep breath before continuing.

"A few days later, he came to Shiganshina with Mr. Smith and Mr. Zacharias. He didn't say much other than telling me his name. Mr. Smith was the one who did all the talking to the authority, to the Jaegers, and even to me. After that, I couldn't remember anything. The only thing I could remember was the feeling that I felt when I stepped into this manor… it was terrifying. Everything felt so big and scary. Even when Levi was around, it still felt empty and lonely because he's always so distant and cold. I couldn't even talk to him without feeling awkward or hesitant. There was a time where I dreaded my existence in this place… "

Mikasa could hear her voice starting to get hoarse by each sentence, she had to bite her mouth before being able to speak again. She could feel the encouraging look that Hange threw on her way.

"Luckily, during those two years, I have Nifa and Mr. Moblit who took really good care of me. There are also letters from Eren and Armin that really helped me get through everything…" Mikasa said before warmly looking at Hange, "Then, there's also you."

Hange's eyes and mouth curled into a smile.

"And lately... Levi, I guess," Mikasa added in a mocking tone, although she couldn't stop a warm chuckle from coming out. "When you put it that way, I think I may be too harsh on him."

"I don't know Mikasa," Hange shrugged with a smirk, "With how he treated you before, your ill intentions were understandable."

Mikasa laughed.

Levi is the most uptight-no-fun person she has ever seen, but today she learned that he's actually not so bad after all.

Or maybe he wasn't like what she thought he was.

Maybe she just didn't understand him.

Maybe he also didn't understand her.

And it took them two years to realize this.

Mikasa sighed and smiled.

"I never thought you would stand for him, Hange." Mikasa commented.

"Me too," Hange nodded, "I still hate him, though."

Mikasa nudged Hange in the ribs.

"Wait— Ouch! That's actually hurt. You sure are strong Mikasa." Hange exclaimed as she rubbed the place that Mikasa just attacked.

Hange protested by saying a line of giving her a lot of homeworks.

She didn't respond to that, instead she looked softly at her, "Thank you, Hange." Mikasa whispered with a small smile.

Hange's playful frown slowly melted into a soft smile, "Thank you too, Mikasa."

"Are you feeling alright, Miss?"

Mikasa plopped down onto her bed, wearing her flowy white nightdress, "Yes I am, Nifa." She said to the figure that stood near her.

"Do you need anything?" Nifa asked again.

"No."

"Are you tired?"

"A little, but I'm fine."

"How about the bed, is it comfortable?"

"Yes, Nifa."

Nifa paused before asking her again, "Are you sure you don't need something?"

Mikasa chuckled as she tucked herself into her blanket,, "Yes, I'm good Nifa. You don't have to ask me that every night."

Nifa smiled, "I just want to make sure that you'll have a good night's sleep."

Mikasa grabbed Nifa's hand, "With you by my side, I know I will."

"Awww, Miss." Nifa uttered with glittering eyes, "Don't do that or I might cry."

Mikasa gave Nifa a small smile, "It's okay. I'll be here, like what you would always do to me Nifa."

"Miss!" Nifa exclaimed with tears in her eyes.

"Alright! I'm sorry Nifa," Mikasa smiled apologetically, "Let's change the topic."

Nifa dried out her tears before letting out a small laugh, "No change of topic, Miss. You should really go to sleep."

Mikasa pouted, her gaze following after Nifa who stood up from her position and started to turn off all of the oil lamps from the chamber.

"Hey, Nifa. Would you be surprised if Levi and Hange got married?" Mikasa suddenly asked and it made Nifa shriek and almost dropped one lamp.

"Uhm...What's with the question, Miss?" Nifa answered, voice cracked and almost inaudible.

"I'm just asking," Mikasa said nonchalantly, "Because for me, I think I won't be surprised if that happened."

"Really? How are you so sure?"

"I'm just relying on my intuition." Mikasa answered with a shrug.

Nifa let out a small laugh, "I couldn't imagine them falling for each other."

Mikasa smiled, "Nobody knows, Nifa."

"Well, I guess we'll just have to wait, then."

Mikasa wanted to laugh but it was interrupted by a yawn.

"Well then, it's a cue for you to sleep, Miss." She said as she turned off the last lamp, leaving the room with only the light was the moonlight that seeped from the thin curtains of the windows.

Mikasa nodded, feeling her eyes start to drift down. "Let's just hope the ghost won't be here tonight." She murmured as she snuggled onto her pillow.

Nifa chuckled, "Yeah, I hope so."

Hange paused the movement of her pen to let out a sneeze before resuming her writings. She took a quick glance at her small clock and saw that it was almost midnight and she still hadn't changed from her dress.

Growl.

She grunted, "Oh God, not again."

Hange shook her head and continued to write, but then...

Growl.

She sighed and banged her head on the top of her table, she didn't seem to mind that the still-wet-ink on the paper would transfer to her face. She groaned and hugged her stomach.

Ugh, stupid ghost in the left wing.

Hange repeatedly bangs her head on the table before finally stopping when she almost knocked her opened ink bottle down. She sat up and saw her unfinished letter that she already lost the intention to continue. Hange stood up from her seat and made her way to her bed, slowly making sure not stepping on any books that were scattered on the floor.

When she came in contact with her bed, she let herself fall face down to the soft cushion. Another groan left her..

Maybe, if she thinks about something, she'll forget about feeling hungry.

So, Hange started to think about what just happened today.

Oh.

She remembered her conversation with Mikasa that morning and she felt herself cringe.

"I shouldn't have said all of that… That was so embarrassing, talking about her cousin like that… Learn to control your mouth, Hange!" She nagged herself while also silently wishing for the bed to eat her up.

But then a realization hit her.

Since when she talked about him like that, like he was… nice?

Well, he was never evil to begin with, that's for sure...

Wait, she did notice something.

He has this different atmosphere that surrounds him lately.

Not sure when it started, but she knew it felt different.

More warmer…

More softer…

More—

Hange gasped and closed her eyes when she started to see him begin to conjure up in her mind. She quickly shook her head and stood herself up. Maybe too fast because she almost fell on her back from the sudden rush of blood to her head.

But then, the blood didn't stop there. It continued to rush throughout her face, making her feel hot.

Hange took off her glasses and sat on the edge of her bed, because her heart started beating fast against her chest.

She began to feel uncomfortable with the light inside her chamber, so she started to turn off all of her lamps. She was left in the dark of the room.

Hange went back to her bed and lay on top of it, hugging her pillow to hide her face.

She couldn't find the energy to get out of her clothing, she felt drained, tired, and hot.

Slowly, she closed her eyes and drifted down to sleep.

At least her hunger was finally gone.

- Chapter 7 End -

Replies:

cherrylate: Thank you dear for always commenting on my update :D And no I didn't know about LH week :(
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Notes:

*cough* chp 138 *cough*

MOVING ON,
Thank you for reading this chapter guys! This is honestly another hard chapter to write, but I survived!
I hope you enjoy it!
Thank you for your patience, see you!