Summary:
Levi finds an unexpected face inside of the Tybur palace as Willy and Magath return two days early. A cramped closet proves to be a much needed hiding place for safety and warmth amidst the growing dangers of the palace.
"One whole week until their getaway ship back to Hizuru?" Hange plopped into a chair before slumping over the table. The past two weeks without the Captain of the Scouts has been a pain in the ass, and all the weight of the rise of the Jaegerists fell on their shoulders alone. The initial trip to Marley proved to be unsuccessful in establishing any kind of peace with the outer world, and it meant Pixis and Zachary had little to no grace for their troubles.
A knock.
The door swung wide open, revealing Onyankapon trailed by Connie, Sasha and Jean who promptly gathered around him for the big welcome. He laughed nervously, reassuring the curious soldiers that the adventure was nothing to be praised for on his end while miserably attempting to answer their unending questions. How are Levi and Mikasa? Where are they? Have they found Eren yet?!
"Alright, alright, alright. Leave the man alone! No questions!" Hange stood from their chair abruptly as the Scouts filed back into line, quieting themselves. Onkyankapon approached Hange and held out a handshake — Hange shoved it away and replaced it with a friendly hug and a smiling face. "Welcome back! How is Mikasa? How is Levi? Did Levi open my gift? How was Hizuru? What was it like? Was the climate okay? Did they leave for Marley yet?"
"From what I know, they were supposed to leave for Marley together from Hizuru," Onyankapon fixed the collar of his suit and re-adjusted his hat, "However, Lady Kiyomi sent the message that they had left separately after an... undisclosed mishap. Levi had left almost a day after Mikasa did. There is no way to tell if they found each other."
Jean scratched his undercut. "Mishap?"
"OH, OH, OH! Did they get into a fight?" Sasha interrupted, a glint of excitement over the potential gossip lit in her eyes. She was always easily entertained.
"They always used to get into fights…" Jean rolled his eyes, still bitter about the fact that the Captain was getting to travel alone with his raven-haired crush.
Sasha rolled her eyes back at her friend. "But they never do anymore! Plus, if they're lovers now... Maybe there's some kinda love triangle quarrel..."
"Love triangle?"
Connie received a headbutt from Jean. "Are you dumb, Connie? They're going back to reunite with the suicidal maniac she's obsessed with. Maybe the Captain's just jealous… Hah… Jealous…" Jean turned his back to the room of soldiers snickering to himself.
"Ohhhh…" Connie's mouth was agape as he nodded to an understanding.
The room went silent and all signs of gossip came to a halt.
"So… Think they've done it yet?"
"CONNIE. WALLS." Jean threw his hands in the air. His eyes pierced into his bald friend as if wanting to kill him on the spot.
Onyankapon hid his face behind his fedora as Hange burst out in laughter, allowing the chaotic conversation to continue.
"What?! What else are they gonna do alone while waiting for Eren to show up?" Connie was dumbfounded. "I mean… We're all thinking it, right?"
Sasha's sly face was pure red as she looked off to the side giggling and thinking of… things. Jean ran across the room to shake her out of it, smacking the back of her head.
"S-SASHA! You pervert!" Jean's eyes widened as he wiped a bit of blood dripping from his own nose.
Hange's eyes shined through their goggles. "I see..." they blushed, "the Ackerman clan must live on, after all..."
"COMMANDER?!"
The Tybur palace was unbelievable. Marble statues lined the echoed hallways; floors covered in crushed velvet of vibrant red, and the number of crystal chandeliers lighting the three hundred rooms from within were endless. The regality was unlike anything he'd ever seen, and Levi was surprised that Willy Tybur and his family were nothing of noble royalty in Marley.
It was a bit overwhelming. Not even a family the size of the Tybur's could utilize this much space, but if that excess was a common thing for the rich, then the man from the underground could never hope to understand that train of thought. He was fascinated, though. With curious eyes, he peeked into the hundreds of rooms as he passed — multiple kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms, playrooms, nurseries; all the size of a whole house each.
His stance was low as he peeked over a corner to the wraparound stairs at the center of the palace, checking another hallway before entering the large double doors on the third floor. The doors opened with a low-echoing clunk. Levi paused, glancing over his shoulders and scanning the perimeters before stealthily entering, careful not to make a sound.
Levi's orbs traced the curved ceilings high in the air; somehow, there were detailed hand-painted artworks on each panel. Shelves upon shelves of books surrounded him; a sea of knowledge was before his eyes in the most impressive display of a library he'd ever seen. For a second, he wished Erwin were there to consume all the books on the Marleyans and their history. Perhaps Hange, too — except they'd be too damn loud about their discoveries.
A large desk in the center of the library stopped him, a thick book lay open. Steel orbs peered into the dusty pages.
The fountains mingle with the river
And the rivers with the ocean,
The winds of heaven mix for ever
With a sweet emotion;
Nothing in the world is single;
All things by a law divine
In one spirit meet and mingle.
Why not I with thine?—
See the mountains kiss high heaven
And the waves clasp one another;
No sister-flower would be forgiven
If it disdained its brother;
And the sunlight clasps the earth
And the moonbeams kiss the sea:
What is all this sweet work worth
If thou kiss not me?
He flipped a delicate page that crinkled at his touch, allowing himself to get lost in a few more poetic stanzas for a simple moment.
But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we—
Of many far wiser than we—
And neither the angels in Heaven above
Nor the demons down under the sea
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.
He took a quiet seat atop the desk, contemplating. A man like Levi was no poet at all, yet he was convinced there was no vocabulary extensive enough to describe the depth of love he felt for his right-hand woman. To Levi, there were far more eloquent words than mountains kissing the heavens, or ocean waves greeting the shore, or fountains of rivers to define her.
A smile rose on his face as he softly placed the book down on the table again. This was no time to waste on love poems.
He counted thirteen bookshelves to the right of the eastern windows, removing a variation of books from the fifth row just as Carmen had described. By the looks of the similar secret entrance in her own basement, he'd wondered just how familiar Carmen was to Willy if he was involved in its construction. A bronze handle was revealed behind a blue book — as expected, it led to another room that felt... eerie. Vials and syringes, bottles of ointments and medicinal herbs galore. There weren't any windows to let light in, save for the candles of the library chandeliers still peeking through. This was definitely a hidden room for a reason.
His eyes quickly traced the room and found a metal file cabinet at the edge. Dammit. It's locked. His trusty knife proved to be useful as he pried the lock open, slamming the blade in between the wedges with Ackerman-force and breaking it open immediately. The cabinet rattled open; hundreds of files from patients labeled from A... O, P, Q, R, S...
Strauss. He peeked at Carmen's files; hundreds of checked boxes of normal review except a line reading Blood: Eldian (Devil). Seems they didn't keep record of her previous Stratmann name — not that she would've told them. He tucked the folder into his jacket.
Levi was halted to a freeze when he heard the creaking of the double doors behind him. Shit. A guard. He jumped back into the mysterious room behind the cabinets and slowed his breaths, gripping the knife in his hands and readying for combat. The quiet clicking of a person's step atop the tiles of the library was nearly silent; they were stealthy, but the ears of the captain whose life revolved around battle since birth proved to outweigh in experience. The steps reached the room by the book case, and Levi twirled the knife in his fingers before adjusting his stance to attack. A bead of sweat rolled down Levi's forehead.
The backlit shadow revealed a lone guard; Levi could take him out and still not be noticed. Easy. He took a deep breath and pounced outwards, hurling himself towards the man, landing atop, pinning them down and holding his blade in his fist close to their neck—
No… A scarf...?
"C-captain!?"
Levi withdrew his knife in shock and threw it beside him, recognizing the voice of his comrade beneath him. "Mikasa, what the hell are you doing here?" He hissed through his teeth, his left hand still holding her wrists in place above her head on the ground as he hovered above her.
"I-I... The men... Tybur and Magath..." Mikasa was out of breath; the fear in her eyes beneath him was unnerving.
"What are you saying? I ordered you to stay back—"
"Tybur and Magath came back. I saw them. I needed to warn you."
Tsk. He'd been so caught up in the files and books that he hadn't even taken a notice of the Marleyan men's arrival. Still, Mikasa came to help and save him. Why are they here early? Are they inside the building? How do we get out of here unnoticed now? How many guards are here?
"U-um... Captain...?" Mikasa's shy whisper shook him out of his thoughts.
He glanced down at the panoramic view of a blushing Mikasa beneath his legs, her arms still held against the floor in his strengthened grasp. He couldn't see her blush in the dark, though he could feel the heat rising from her — thank god there wasn't enough light to reveal his own reddened face. Levi jolted backwards off of her before he stood, attempting to keep his cool. He reached a hand to Mikasa, helping her up as she shivered at his touch.
"...Right. Let's go."
The two soldiers exited the mysterious room, carefully closing the bookcase that concealed the entrance. They swiftly passed the double-doors of the library and ran through the hallway, down the stairs with the lightest of steps, concealing any possible sound. Levi led the way in the familiar halls, retracing his steps before being stopped at the sound of the main palace doors opening. The murmurs of two men approached — Tybur and Magath.
Levi pivoted, immediately taking Mikasa by the hand as he pulled her into the nearest door, closing it quietly behind him. He placed an ear to the wooden surface of the door, hoping he could make out the muffled exchange of words between the two men. The voices got clearer and closer...
"Let's go into the office and discuss."
Mikasa aggressively tapped Levi's shoulders, a look of frantic worry was on her face as she quietly pointed to the room that they were standing in; a lavish space full of world maps and documents of...
An office. Shit.
The footsteps and murmurs grew closer.
Levi looked to Mikasa, who was in a battle stance ready to fight awaiting their entrance. The captain shook his head at her with widened eyes before quickly pulling her away by hand once more. His eyes shot to a single door on the west side of the room. Levi opened it, revealing nothing but a small coat closet — and the only possible place for them to hide. He quickly nudged Mikasa in and instantly followed behind, pushing himself into what little space they had and silently closing the door — just in time as the office handle rattled open. Their bodies crushed together entangled, facing each other against a wall of dusty coats.
Levi and Mikasa watched the crack of the door turn bright as one of the men turned on the lights. The sound of a wooden chair pulled outwards on the marble tile. "Willy, may I take your jacket?"
Both soldiers' breaths hitched.
The sound of military boots approached. Mikasa's breath was shaking now; Levi abruptly put his right hand over her mouth. It was dark, but Mikasa's adjusting eyes could see Levi lift his index finger atop his lips as he tried to silence her. His left hand reached for the door handle inside, gripping it tightly. Shadows moved outside of the door in the sliver of light, and the handle twisted. Levi gripped harder, keeping the door tight shut, resisting the aggressive rattling from who he assumed was Magath.
"Hmm, it's locked?" Magath twisted the handle once more, trying again with even more force. The door didn't budge an inch. The shadow stayed put in front of the door for a silent moment. Mikasa was holding her breath against Levi's hand. She felt as though her lungs would burst.
"Gertrude must have accidentally locked it. Moving along," Tybur's voice came from the center of the room, and the shadows beneath the door moved away in that direction. "Tell me more about your soldier."
Levi removed his hand from covering Mikasa's mouth in the dark at long last. She silently gasped for mouthfuls of air, crushing her face into the fabric of Levi's shirt to mute the sounds of catching her own breath. Levi rested his arms around Mikasa, stroking her back as she tried steadying her lungs. He continued listening closely to the men outside of the door.
"We had a very talented young man," Magath spoke, "We recruited him just three weeks ago. Came out of the blue."
Eren. Levi's eyes widened in the dark. Mikasa lifted her head from his shoulder, her breathing finally reached a stabilized rhythm again as she began closely listening along. The Marleyan commander continued. "Had he joined years ago, that boy would have been suitable to be next in line for the Armor."
Tybur made a noise of interest. "Let me meet this soldier, Commander," he leaned back into his chair, "If you think he'd be suitable for the War Hammer." Levi could feel the way Mikasa tensed against him, and he knew she had just as many questions as he did in that moment. The War Hammer...? It was a Titan shifter they had never heard of or seen.
"Unfortunately... The soldier was hurt in battle last week. Lost a leg and an eye in the process." Magath sighed, and there was disappointment in his tone. "All that prime talent, wasted in one goddamn battle."
An audible gasp slipped out of Mikasa's lips as she visualized Eren in battle, brutalized in the way they'd described. She bit her lip and grabbed ahold of Levi's forearms surrounding her in the dark, squeezing tightly for comfort.
"The War Hammer has four years left, Magath."
"Still plenty of time. Be patient, Willy. We will find you the perfect devil soon enough."
The men shared a laugh, rising from their seats. The pair of footsteps trailed off, exiting the office at long last. The lights peeking through the gap of the door turned off as the doors clicked closed, followed by the sound of a key locking behind.
...
...
Levi and Mikasa stayed unmoved in the enclosed space for what felt like an eternity, ensuring the two men were far from the room. It was silent; only the quiet sounds of them breathing could manage to be heard. Mikasa's fingers lay rested on her captain's arms; her grip had relaxed now. His hands loosely wrapped around the smalls of Mikasa's waist, still protectively holding her closely to himself; not that there was any possibility of creating distance between them, anyway.
Mikasa felt Levi's pulse rise through the veins of his arms. The temperature of his skin began to feel hot in her hands as she moved even closer to him, a skip of beat in her heart made her tremble. Levi gulped. "Mikasa, I think the coast is clear now. We should..." his slowed words fell into the back of his throat as Mikasa brushed against him even closer, fully pressing herself onto him now.
Her hands crept up from his forearms, following the trace of his muscles in the dark. Levi desperately wished he could see Mikasa through the darkness; but the lack of vision couldn't take away from how intensely he could feel her — every breath, every movement. If anything, it heightened both of their senses, as if a simple touch could echo in silence.
Mikasa felt the way he reacted beneath her hold; it tugged at her heart. Ah… There it is again, she thought. That burning desire for his secure touch. The need for his total attention.
She stopped.
More than anything, more than this primal desire to delve into one another, there was something much deeper; an unending longing for all of Levi — to be close to him and protect him. More than a touch, she craved the gaze in his eyes. She wanted to simply be the one beside him in this cruel world. And when she disobeyed his orders, snuck into the palace risking her own life without a second thought to make sure he was safe, her eyes pooled with happiness when she found him.
It was as if something had switched.
This was no just longer about how Levi made her feel. It was about returning the warmth and safety he'd given to her selflessly for years. Because even in that moment being surrounded by men who threatened their lives, in a land of enemies a world's away from their home — even in the hopes of facing Eren soon once again — she never felt alone when Levi was the one with her, and Mikasa wanted him to feel the same exact safety with her. Levi has continually prioritized and protected her before himself since the day they met; she wanted humanity's strongest to understand that there was someone who would willingly fight for him, too.
None of this was about Eren. None of it. Because that tender care and attention Mikasa had been receiving from her captain was something Eren could never give her. This was no longer something that could pain her in the light of the love and care Levi effortlessly exuded with her.
And as she stood before him, feeling him breathing in her arms, her gray eyes came to understand that there was no longer anything she wouldn't do for the man who was holding her. Mikasa knew she would always fight for Levi; not because she was a loyal soldier or comrade or a slave, but because Captain Levi had undeniably grown to be precious to her.
She'd restart this journey with him over a thousand times if it meant getting to share this feeling and this touch, again and again and again. And if Mikasa could have looked into his eyes right then, she'd have sworn to Levi everything she was feeling at that moment.
Maybe there was hope — hope that he could love again, and hope that she could, too.
Maybe I already...
Something overtook Mikasa as she closed her tearful eyes and slowly leaned forward in the darkness; her soft lips gently pressed against Levi's in an innocent kiss that lingered for sweet seconds — a long awaited moment.
The darkness could not mask the awestruck look on Levi's face. He pulled back from Mikasa's lips with eyes widened, blinking as he soaked in the brevity of the precious moment that Mikasa Ackerman kissed his lips. The man was dazed and speechless.
"I-I'm sorry..." Mikasa retreated, shaking her head in embarrassment. "Um... We can go now—"
Levi didn't utter a single word. His hand quickly reached to the stuttering woman, lifting her lowered chin up to his face. All fear and hesitation between the two dissipated as he drew her in once more, returning her tender kiss with one much more delicate, and another with sweet and aching fervor. A swell of passionate bliss overtook Levi as he tasted the alluring lips of the woman he loves for the very first time. There was nothing compared to this moment.
The two breathed each other in before finally calmly pulling away. Levi reached for the door handle and opened it carefully, exiting the closet and tenderly leading Mikasa out with her hand in his. The flood of moonlight washed over their features and gleaming eyes as they refocused on each other in the radiating glow of the night. Indigo eyes stared into gray eyes — slowly blinking, fully mesmerized.
There was no hint of embarrassment between them, no awkwardness, no moment of looking away from each other as usual. Both of them saw something sure, something entirely secure and safe reflecting in each others' eyes. Maybe, for this moment alone, they could finally let go of their fears and demons.
Is it possible to love again?
Mikasa's question in the forest rang in his mind. Levi took a hold of both of her hands and faced her. He looked down at the way she caressed the calluses of his palms before intertwining fingers with his. He was beginning to understand; beginning to make sense of how Mikasa Ackerman sees him, and Mikasa was beginning to understand the same. And although neither of them could put any of it into words in the heat of the moment, Levi dared to try. He needed to.
"Mikasa... I..." Levi imparted a warm kiss to her hands he lifted to his lips, "I need you to know—"
Levi's ears twitched.
Shit.
The doors of the office kicked open with force, slamming into the walls. A group of guardsmen flooded in with loaded rifles, one yelling at them to freeze.
Levi and Mikasa jumped from each other; hands flew into the air as lights unveiled the many guns pointed at them. Levi slowly stepped forward in front of Mikasa, an arm extending out to protect her. His left palm faced downwards hovered in the air in front of her, flat in a line with all five fingers touching together. Mikasa stared at her captain's discrete signal that she knew very well from years of fighting side by side.
The long-haired blond man Mikasa had seen entering the palace emerged. Tybur spoke. "Who are you?"
Levi and Mikasa remained silent as they scanned the room, both counting the men and the number of guns while processing an escape.
"Not going to answer, are we?" The guards cocked their guns in response to Tybur's words; their fingers rested firmly on the surface of the deadly triggers. "I suggest you answer soon."
"Just a couple of caught bandits." Levi's low voice hissed through a sly smile.
"Empty-handed bandits in this palace of riches in every room?" Willy laughed in disbelief. "Who sent you here?" He worked his way through the line of guards towards Levi and Mikasa. "And who are you to have broken into a place like this?"
"You don't want to know."
Levi signaled Mikasa — his swift palm opened, flashing three fingers pointing right of Mikasa. They ducked and rolled to the ground, lunging to the guards with a speed that no known man could even dare to compete with. Levi launched forward, punching the hull of one man's gun up into the air as it shot. He twisted around, elbowing the soldier in his gut and throwing him to the ground. He kicked the man's gun up, grabbing it mid-air to quickly knock out three more men with the metal handle — four, five, six men easily down.
Mikasa was perfectly synchronized to her Captain's combat. The girl worth a hundred soldiers dodged each attempt of a hit from the three men surrounding her. She feigned left, then right, her arm hooked beneath a guard's arm as she grasped and twisted it backwards to a loud crack. The man writhed in pain as she dodged the second man's bullet; it shattered the large stained window behind them. Mikasa took the remaining two men down with a heavy kick to the jaw and a jab at the throat.
Willy Tybur disappeared from sight of the room amidst the combat.
"MIKASA, let's go!" The guards were down and Mikasa raced to follow her Captain's voice out of the office. Levi was at the door as he watched her sprinting to him, as if in slow motion, while he counted the nine fallen guards.
No... There were ten.
He spotted movement at the corner of his eye; the missing guard peeked from the corner of the desk, his gun pointed clearly at Mikasa, who had zero awareness of the threat behind her. The man's finger tightened against the trigger.
Levi's nightmare of Mikasa's blood in his hands flashed in his memory for a split-second.
"MIKASA!"
Mikasa turned too late.
The gunshot echoed in the palace.
Captain Levi fell against Mikasa with force, blood on the back of his shoulder splattered onto the floor as he shielded her.
Mikasa was too stunned to react as she sprinted to the guard and snapped his neck before dashing back to an injured Levi on the ground. She lifted him onto her lap, holding him in her desperate arms, trying to cover his wound with her frantic and trembling hands. Mikasa stared with widened eyes at the amount of blood on her palms. Levi breathed heavily through his teeth, his face winced with an immense amount of pain. The skin of his face turned white from sufferable shock.
No, no, no...
Mikasa's ears caught the sound of more guards trailing the hallways and getting near.
This isn't what was supposed to happen.
She fought back a panicked sob and wiped her face, her breath turned shaky as a trail of Levi's blood streaked her forehead. Mikasa took a deep breath. "Levi... Levi, I'm getting us out of here."
Mikasa lifted Levi by an arm, a distressed groan of agony left his mouth. Levi's limp weight fell atop of Mikasa as she led them to the opening of the shattered window. Mikasa stared out, scanning the area outside of the window and realizing the height of the palace's second story — without any ODM gear, the distance to the ground felt frightening.
Shouts of more armed guardsmen trailed closer behind them. Shit, shit, shit...!
"Mikasa..." Levi groaned; his shirt was soaked in blood and he breathed deeply in between his words, "We need... to jump now..."
Twenty more armed men entered the room. There was no other choice. Mikasa could no longer hold back the hopeless sob that finally escaped her mouth.
The two soldiers held onto each other as they jumped out of the window.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Ugh. Guys.
My heart.
I took a little longer than I'd expected with this one, but I put a lot of love and care into it.
Mikasa and Levi finally had their first kiss. ;-; FINALLY. As much as I could've written in a steamy 'stuck in a cramped space' scene (lol!), I wanted to force those two to get close again - I wanted Mikasa to realize that she doesn't just want him because of her physical desires, but to realize! She! Freaking! WANTS! LEVI! For nothing else but him. I needed for Mikasa to be the one to initiate the kiss.
Sweet, sweet Levi. I could feel his heart just completely burst as she kissed him. These years and months, the weeks of being together and him fighting back how he expresses his love to her. I'm obsessed with how he kissed her back.
Levi and Mikasa had finally caved into their romantic feelings. When will Mikasa finally admit that it's love? Will Levi have another attempt to tell her how he feels? (Without being interrupted by danger ;-;)
Keep in mind... At this point, Levi's biggest walls regarding love is that in his past, he kissed Petra and she was killed the next day. Mikasa and Levi finally kissed here, and the next moment, a gun was shot at her. He wanted to avoid that curse becoming a reality again and sacrificed himself.
FML. I'm sorry y'all. But wow, I really loved writing this one. 3 I hope you enjoyed this. Please look forward to the next chapter! Levi is badly injured - where will this take them now?
(P.S. Cute little note are the two poem excerpts Levi reads in the palace: one about a kiss, and one about a man in love :') The first is "Love's Philosophy" by Percy Bysshe Shelley, and the second is "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allen Poe.)
((P.S.S. If you read this right after I published, thank you for your patience! I got too excited and published right before leaving a coffeeshop, but I went ahead and cleaned things up a lot more. Cheers!))