Another rainy week that's kind of dampened my inspiration, but rest assured lovelies that the updates will keep on coming. At the very least I'm grateful it's still cool outside, as opposed to last summer when we were roasting alive by this time of year. Hope you all have sunnier days wherever you are and a fun, relaxing weekend!

As always my lovelies, go ahead and enjoy this chapter and don't forget to toss me a little review, to let me know what you think~ ;)

P.S. All Attack on Titan characters belong to Isayama Hajime. I only own my OCs.

16. Only them

~ 850 ~

It had been five days since everyone had returned to Ehrmich and Levi had had enough of Natalie avoiding him like the plague. He would get answers out of her that evening, no matter what; even with reading the official reports, he needed to know what had happened out there! Upon arriving at the hospital, after Armin had told him she was still there with Erwin, he made his way to the man's room. Opening the door he blinked at the unexpected sight. Natalie was still sitting on the chair next to Erwin's bed, having dozed off as she watched over him.

She had been unmoving since their return, keeping watch day and night by his bed as they waited for him to regain consciousness. And though Levi hadn't said anything against it, he felt somewhat conflicted about that even as he walked over to her and gently brushed the bangs out of her face.

=0=0=

"They're coming back!"

The call from one of the Garrison soldiers drew his gaze away from staring pointedly at the floor of the wagon. Glancing over to the gate, his heart skipped a beat at seeing the bloodied mess the Survey Corps' survivors were. But then... then Natalie's voice reached him as she called for someone to help get Erwin out of the saddle, and he was left staring in shock at the state their Commander was in while two soldiers carried him off to the hospital.

"Natalie!" he called out, walking over to the group to ask for a brief report before he would let her go rest.

Yet the look of desperation mixed with sheer and utter terror that she gave him, made him stop in his tracks. She had all but crumbled to pieces right there, in front of his eyes, and it had taken everything he had to not go over and hug her in front of everyone. He could hazard a guess that she'd had to expose herself, so he would wait until later that night to talk to her in private.

=0=0=

But she hadn't talked to him that night... nor the following nights. After Erwin's surgery, she had taken up a chair by his bedside and practically lived in that hospital room. Sighing, he carefully picked her up from the chair intent on carrying her back to her bedroom at the barracks.

"Wha—" she mumbled at last, stirred from her sleep by the cold night air as he stepped out into the street.

Realizing she was no longer in the hospital ward, she lifted her head and her mind blanked at seeing Levi suddenly so close to her face.

"Idiot..." he replied, seemingly to her jumbled thoughts. "When is the last time you lied down to sleep? You'll end up in there right next to him, if you don't take care of yourself."

He wasn't looking at her and yet she felt just as naked and unable to hide, as when he set those scrutinizing ice-blue eyes on her.

'I'm sorry I ran away from you...' she pleaded, unable to say it aloud. 'But how can I tell you that I gave us away?'

Yet even as she thought that, she was aware that he needed to know what had happened. That she couldn't keep him in the dark, if he was to work with Erwin – once the Commander awakened – so he could survive. The weight of her decision, now with the added burden of shame for having been too cowardly to face him, had her burying her face in the crook of his neck with soft sobs.

'I'm sorry... but you're not getting away tonight.' he mused, letting her hold him as tightly as she wanted.

Upon at last reaching his destination, he set her down onto her bed and for a moment watched as she lowered her head in that particular manner that told him she was embarrassed. When he turned to the door with the intention to lock it, he failed to see her eyes snapping back to him, or the conflicted look on her face – torn between not wanting to talk and not wanting him to leave.

"Don't go..." she pleaded just as he was reaching for the door, freezing him in his motion.

When he didn't turn to look at her over his shoulder, as he always did whenever she called to him like that, her stomach squeezed with anxiety and she felt sick for a moment. If he walked out of that room, right then...

'Why do I feel like this? Like it's the last time we'll ever talk, if he leaves?'

"Please, Cap—" she said again, the word getting stuck halfway in her throat.

She had always addressed him like that, but now it refused to come out of her mouth. It felt like, if she called him that in that moment he would walk away.

"Stay... Levi..." she whispered and saw his shoulders jerk in surprise, before embarrassment took over again and she lowered her head.

For a moment that felt like an eternity, only the crushing sound of silence filled the room. But then she heard the door lock and saw him walking back to light the candles on her desk, before taking a seat on the chair. And she felt an immeasurable longing for him to sit on the bed at her side. He wasn't saying a word, yet his actions spoke volumes; he was upset with her and had every reason to be. But at the same time it felt like he had put up a wall between them that she didn't know how to take down. And his silence was worse than any torture, more painful than any wound, more terrifying than any monster.

"Forgive me..." she said in the end, not knowing how else to start.

Again he said nothing, forever it seemed to her, before he breathed a little sigh and rested his elbows on his thighs to lace his fingers together.

"Talk to me..."

Just what kind of magic did he always put into those words, to make her feel so ashamed for trying to keep things from him? But, as always, it also made her pour everything out with no way to stop herself. She told him everything that had happened since their arrival at the ruined castle, to her failed attempt to sway Reiner and Bertholdt, to their fight at the Wall and then the chase to the forest, to how she had been forced to turn in order to save Erwin's life.

"I... had to do it..." she said, lowering her eyes in remorse.

"I could tell that much. Why isn't it mentioned in any official report?"

"Erwin... ordered everyone to keep it quiet, on our way back. He already knew, anyway. Both about me and that you were protecting me."

"Erwin did...?"

His shocked tone drew her eyes back to him to find him staring at her with a mixture of confusion and consternation.

"Because he promised... I made him swear that he would protect you. I don't care what happens to me, if the Military Police jail me or execute me. But humanity can't afford to lose you!"

'This idiot...' he mused in both amusement and surprise. 'She really forced a promise like that out of Erwin, in a life or death situation.'

He had to admit it was impressive to see just how far she was willing to go for him. She had blackmailed the Commander of the Survey Corps, just to ensure he would be safe. Still, part of what she had said irked him to no end. After all that time, she still thought herself so unimportant, so expendable, when she was one of the most valuable people alive; to humanity, to the Survey Corps... to him. He was certain that she had told him her version of events; the version that made her role seem insignificant, where she hadn't done anything noteworthy. She always did that and sometimes he wondered if she really didn't notice, or if she did it intentionally.

'I'll get the true story from the others later.' he decided.

The more important problem, once Erwin woke up, was to discuss the issue of her powers with him. However, for the moment he had something even more urgent to handle.

"If you keep her at your side without giving her a clear direction, she'll end up losing herself." Hange's words echoed in his memory as he stood from the chair.

It wasn't often that his intuition would overwhelm him like that, even if he relied heavily on it. But that moment... that felt like the right moment; the right time. He had dragged things out long enough, delayed talking to her long enough. When she had revealed herself to everyone, that had been the mark of a new period in their lives. He could feel that things would not be the same anymore, once Erwin awakened. That things between him and Natalie had to change, or he would end up losing her. And he knew with daunting clarity what he had to do...

~ oOo ~

It was almost like an out-of-body experience, the couple of steps he took towards her, like he was watching his body move but wasn't the one moving it. And he realized that he felt nervous. He couldn't even remember the last time his heart had raced for a reason other than adrenaline; the last time he'd had a knot in his throat, or the last time he had felt so hyperaware of everything about him and around him.

His act of sitting down and pulling her into his arms was so natural to him, like breathing, even though it startled her and made her gasp. But it felt the same as it had on the night after she had come back to him from the forest. The silence between them was comfortable, it was so light yet it felt so incredibly heavy – or perhaps that was simply the unfamiliar weight hanging in his chest. The one that made him want to see her all the time, the one that left him feeling incomplete when he wasn't holding or even just touching her. The one that had been there for so long without him noticing it, as if waiting for the right moment... for someone to point it out to him.

"If you'll let me protect you, I will." he reminded her, his mind and heart – united as one – finishing what his lips couldn't, just yet. 'If you'll let me love you, I will.'

That promise seemed so long ago now, almost like he had made it in some other lifetime. Ever since he had first seen that Titan's body taking shape before his eyes, he had known the moment would come when she would have to make use of it. And he still felt the same desire to protect her... if anything, he wanted that even more now.

"You didn't make the wrong call. You saved Erwin's life... thank you."

He was usually a man of few words and so far it had never even occurred to him to change that. Yet now, when he had so many things he wanted to say, it irked him that he couldn't find the right words. But then, as she always did, she read so much more into what he had said – he knew it in the way her arms went around him, in the way she pressed her face to the crook of his neck. Letting her go when she pulled back, he instead cradled her face between his hands and leaned in to partake in the sweetness of her lips. He had never been a good talker, certainly not as good as her, and so he would show her instead. She would understand, as she always did, everything that he couldn't say.

But this time it was different... this time he felt her moving on her own against his hands; felt her leaning in as well, meeting him halfway. And though he closed his eyes to savor her taste, it wasn't long at all until he found himself watching her with a half-lidded gaze as they kissed. Her own eyes were closed and he could only hope she was lost in the pleasant sensation, in spite of the teardrops clinging to her thick lashes. He pulled her closer, wanting to ensure he would take her away from their terrible reality to a world of their own making... to their world. An arm wrapped about her waist, the other hand tangling in her hair he used his own lips to part hers, to give himself leeway for his tongue to seek out her own.

This time she wasn't startled, she only melted against him and he knew she needed this... needed him... just as much as he needed her warmth, her tenderness, her kindness... just as much as he needed her.

Without any conscious thought on his part, his arm moved around her to take hold of her breast. That did startle her and when she touched his hand he thought she would stop him. But she didn't, only covering his hand with her own, and he just had to break the kiss to see what expression she would make at him.

"You're so beautiful..." he heard himself saying, the words coming out as easy as the breath leaving his lungs.

And she was truly beautiful, more so than he had ever seen her, with her cheeks flushed from both his actions and his compliment; with her lips still parted so she could take in air and release it in heated breaths; with her eyes shining like precious jewels in the flickering candlelight.

"Do you want me to stop?" he asked when he felt her squeezing his hand as he moved it back down to her waist, out of a need to hear her say that she wanted him.

"Will you regret this tomorrow?"

Her replying with a question of her own was not what he had expected, even if his answer came with no hesitation.

"No."

"Will you regret it in the future?" she asked again, her gaze trailing down to his lips.

"No... because my future and yours lie on the same path."

He had promised that when the time came, they would talk about their future... their future. This was the time and if he missed this moment to let her know how he felt, he was certain it would spell out the death of their future together. And he knew she understood what he meant, when her eyes snapped back to his and she gave him one of her unabashedly disarmed stares.

"I know I said I can't offer you a future, but I don't care about that anymore." he said, the words spilling from his lips with no hope of being restrained. "What I can offer you is my vow that I'll do my best to live as long as possible, to be by your side as long as you'll have me. I'll do my best to live for you, as long as you keep living for me. I don't know what will happen to us in the future; maybe the fighting will never stop, maybe one or both of us will die. I don't care... that's so far away that it might as well not even be real. But what I feel for you right now... this love, this lust... this is real."

Slowly she reached for him and he expected her to cup his cheek as she had before, only to feel her fingers ghosting over his lips. Then she smiled – timidly at first, before he heard a laugh escape her as a grin lit up her entire face like the sun. And she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, her happiness the most sweetly intoxicating drug, her gentle touch the most maddeningly arousing experience. And he just had to go back in for another kiss, wanting to get drunk on her taste, on her scent, on the feeling of her body against his... wanting to get drunk on her.

"Come here..." he breathed, and she understood he wanted her to sit in his lap.

Like last time, she didn't resist when he reached for her jacket tossing it across the room. Giving her that moment to remove her boots, he let the coat fall from his shoulders and pushed it off the bed. The harness, he felt, took forever to take off of her though in reality he was frighteningly quick and dexterous at undoing the leather belts. He felt her leaning in, fingers curling into the front of his shirt, felt the pleasure rolling down his spine like liquid flames making his whole body alight with desire. But he didn't stop or deter her, curious to see what she would do – enticed, as always, by this glimpse of her assertiveness.

The first kiss was such an innocent, timid touch that all he really felt was the faint spark ignited by that contact and gone just as swiftly. The second one was his doing; it was harsh, possessive, hungry... driven by the rawest of cravings. A merciless assault that she accepted without flinching or recoiling – only submitting herself to his lead. And he knew there was no stopping anymore, when she took hold of his hand and moved it from her hip back up to the clothed mound of her breast. Involuntarily – as though his body had switched to a mind of its own – his fingers dug into the supple flesh, and the hypnotic sensation of her thunderous pulse filled his senses as if he was holding her very heart in the palm of his hand.

'I want you... all of you... I need you... I love you...'

It was like his mind had finally caught up to his body, and before he knew it he was pressing deeper into the kiss, his tongue slipping in between her lips to seek hers. Oh, how wonderful she was; how calm, despite her frantic heartbeat; how timid, despite her clear desire for him; how mellow, how docile, how submissive. And in that moment he was overwhelmed by the urge to taint that purity she had always embodied in his eyes, to leave his mark all over her.

As their tongues danced, so did his fingers along her shirt undoing the buttons and tugging the edges out of her pants, baring her to him. Pulling away from her lips at the same time as he gently squeezed her delicate breast, he was left to enjoy the subtle tonality of her melodic moan.

'You're so beautiful...'

He couldn't help it; that thought would not give him pause as his eyes trailed hungrily down the line of her neck, to the bra still hiding her from view, which he impatiently pulled over her head and tossed to the floor as soon as the shirt had come off. Again he leaned forth, leaving a trail of feathery kisses along her collar bone, feeling her gentle fingers through his hair whilst she tilted her head back. Again she sighed when his lips traced an invisible path on her skin, and he felt her trembling in his arms when his teeth grazed along the peak of her bosom. Poking out his tongue he ran it over the hardened pearl of her breast, before wrapping his lips around it to tenderly roll it between his teeth, his senses overloaded by her sweet taste, her exquisite fragrance, her mesmerizingly soft cries.

One arm hooking around her waist, the other came up to let him tend to her other breast, begging for his attentions. Only when her fingers curled into his hair did he give her a moment's breath, but rather than rest she used that to untie his cravat and toss it away. It seemed she had interpreted his savoring of her body as hesitation, going by the feverish way she was unbuttoning his shirt. Then again, her motions did have a specific touch of inexperience which told him she likely wasn't versed in bedding a man.

"I'm not going anywhere." he promised, reaching to cup her flushed cheek. "Not anymore..."

"It's not—" she bit into her lip, clenching onto his shirt to steady her trembling hands. "I'm just... nervous... I've only ever done this once and—"

"Shh..." he hushed her, pulling her lips to his. "You don't need to tell me anything... your body will talk for you."

Grasping her thighs he stood, her gasp warming his lips as she instinctively wrapped her arms and legs around him. In one smooth motion he turned around, set one knee onto the bed and leaned forward, letting gravity do the rest until her back hit the mattress. Pulling away from her alluring embrace he finished removing his shirt, finding her gaze utterly arousing as it caressed over his chest. He saw her tongue flicking over her lips and had to reel in his desire to just... have her; to ravish her until she couldn't even moan anymore.

But this was not the night to fully give himself over to the passion she had stirred in him. She was still new to the carnal pleasures and he didn't want to overwhelm her, to scare her. Instead he leaned over her, his hand again finding her cheek, and heard her breath hitch when he smiled. As much power as she held over him, he too held over her and she knew it.

"Do you trust me?" he asked, his hand sliding down to her neck where he felt her pulse fluttering beneath his fingers.

"Always, Levi..." she breathed.

His name falling from her lips was the strongest aphrodisiac and his mouth crushed hers in a heated embrace. Crawling closer until he could feel his growing arousal pressed up against her pants, his form snugly fit between her legs, his hand again found her breast. As his thumb taunted its sensitive nub, he began to rock his hips – slowly at first, then picking up the pace when she sighed a timid mewl into their kiss.

'I love your voice...'

The sudden feeling of her trembling in his arms brought him back to the moment, after who knew how long of having lost himself in the sensations, and he freed her mouth just as a shudder coursed her body. Only when he ceased moving his hips did he notice the warmth surrounding his manhood, now uncomfortably erect in the confines of his pants. And he looked down to the sight of Natalie as a flushed, disheveled, panting mess lying beneath him. Suspecting what had happened, he trailed a hand down her stomach causing her sensitive skin to twitch. A moment later he reached his destination and unbuttoned her pants, sliding a hand within to trail two fingers over her now soaked panties. The amount of moisture made him hazard a guess that she had nearly orgasmed, and he felt a surge of emotion like the high of adrenaline at the thought that she had so enjoyed his attentions.

Shifting his weight onto his knees he took hold of her pants and pulled them down her legs, baring her to the hunger glinting in his eyes. Deciding to give her a breather he reached to unbuckle his own pants and make away with them, the dark fabric now wet with proof of the heights of pleasure he had just taken her to. Far were any remnants of hesitation... all his mind could focus on right now was her, and his desire to go with her to that peak of absolute bliss.

"Don't..." he said, reaching for her wrist when she tried to cover her face; aware that he now had an unobstructed view of her body.

Bringing her hand to his lips he kissed her knuckles... one, two, three... then he switched to her palm, to her fingertips where he tantalizingly wrapped his lips around two fingers. His ministrations seemed to help her forget her timidity yet again, when he felt her responding curiously to him flicking his tongue against her skin, by gingerly pushing back against it in a playful manner. Releasing them with a soft pop, he brought her hand to rest upon his chest, his soft smile encouraging her to touch him, to take what she wanted from him.

Again he covered her body with his own, tasting her lips before his kisses took him to her ear. Tenderly biting into the soft flesh, he trailed the tip of his tongue along its contour feeling her quiver beneath him.

"I love you."

His whisper was so soft that he doubted she had heard him; even doubted he had said it aloud and not just in his head. But the way she gasped and stilled like a statue, told him she had picked up on it. Then that tiny sniffle of hers made him smile softly at what he already knew he was about to see when he leaned back.

"Don't cry, idiot..." he said, stroking her hair as he kissed her forehead.

"I'm sorry..." she replied, trying her best to hold it in without much success. 'I don't even know if this is really happening, or if I'm just dreaming. Or if I heard you wrong... or...'

Her thoughts were quieted by his mouth once again embracing hers, just as she wrapped her arms around him while he tenderly cradled her head between his hands. Those frighteningly powerful hands, which had imparted so much violence and death, were so warm and tender and careful now. And she loved every moment of it; she loved how safe and wanted and needed he made her feel; she loved how she could see herself reflected in his eyes, how it made her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. How to him she was so much more than just a vessel to give him a child, so much more than a rich heiress, so much more than a good name. More than any word, his eyes told her that to him she was everything he had ever wanted.

She was holding him so tightly that he could feel the pressure against his ribs, and was about to pull away from her addictive taste. But she loosened her grasp and he felt her hands exploring his back, her fingertips ghosting over the sensitive scars left by his harsh environment, making his muscles twitch. She enjoyed that... he could tell by how she did it again and again. She enjoyed seeing what kind of reactions she could elicit in him, and with that in mind he at last freed her lips to once again bask in her adoring gaze.

"Do you trust me?" he asked again.

"Always, Levi." she breathed against him without hesitation.

"Then close your eyes..."

And she did as he asked, leaving him to move his lips down to her collar bone which he revered with kisses, just as he would do to the rest of her. There was something so pure and sincere, so raw and so perfect in their closeness... there always had been, from the moment her eyes had first met his. This was simply the natural culmination of all the shared, yet repressed feelings on both their parts.

Again she quivered when his feathery kisses reached her chest, soon replaced by the hot breath he released along with the quietest groan of satisfaction, upon burying his face between the delicate mounds. With her other senses overloaded from the lack of eyesight, she could still perfectly picture the shape of his nose, the contour of his lips, the outline of his fingers as they sank into her soft flesh. She could feel every motion he made no matter how tiny. How he tenderly squeezed her breasts and greedily breathed in the scent of her. How he kissed a trail around them, the scalding breath he ghosted over one of her nipples. Then – oh, bliss! – the softness of his lips closing around the sensitive peak, and the plush warmth of his tongue teasing it, while his fingers imparted their ministrations upon the other one.

This was who she truly was; not some proper, prissy young lady like her parents had always wanted. Not some exemplary, obedient daughter who waited around for others to decide her life. She was the kind of woman who fell in love with a man like Levi... the kind of man her parents hated the most, because he had taught her that freedom was hers for the taking; all she needed was the courage to grasp it. He had taught her that no one could make her choices for her, that she should live her life such that she would have no regrets at the end. He had made her into what she was now; and she loved him for it more than any words could ever say.

All she had ever dreamed to be, all she had ever wanted or needed to be... he had guided her on the path to achieving it. And for that her love for him rose, soaring like a bird towards the sun such that she feared for a moment it might scorch both of them.

Again he moved, lower and lower still, leaving a trail of love bites down her stomach to her navel. And when he went lower still she gasped at the heat pooling in that spot, beneath his lips, while his hands took hold of her panties and started pulling them off. She couldn't tell what he was planning when she felt him spreading her legs with his own body, his lips pressing a soft kiss to her knee; not even when he started moving along her thigh with tender nibbles that tickled her.

"Don't open your eyes..." he said, the vibrations of his deep voice making her entire body clench in pleasure for a moment.

"I won't." she promised on a soft breath.

His hand trailed along her other leg slowly, tauntingly, and he felt her fighting the urge to squirm impatiently. Finding her entrance he slid his prints along her sensitive skin, he felt her tremor yet again as she bucked her hips thoughtlessly, before he pulled his hand back.

"Be patient, you horny brat..." he huffed, smiling at the sound of her giggle.

"As long as I'm your horny brat."

At first he didn't respond, only lowering his head until he could trail his tongue along her entrance, making her jerk and gasp at the unfamiliar, unexpected sensation.

"You are mine!" he said on a raspy tone that admitted no contradiction, hooking his arms around her legs and greedily pressing his lips to her slick skin.

The taste, the scent, the feeling of her walls squeezing his tongue, the growing sound of her enticing moans, the way her fingers combed through his hair twitching and spasming every time he did something different. It was all going to his head, driving him to push her towards orgasm. He wanted to see that absolute bliss on her face, without his mind hazy from the pleasure of being inside her. Moving up to the bundle of nerves, he trailed his tongue over it before focusing his attentions there. One hand again found its way to her entrance and he gently eased a finger into her heated depths, hearing her moan out his name and feeling her fingertips press down on the back of his head. So it seemed that was the key to bringing out her demanding side.

Humming contently, he felt her tremble when the vibrations further stimulated the sensitive nub he was taunting with his tongue. With the moisture he could feel, he chanced slipping a second finger in and though her muscles tightened, her moans told him she was fully enjoying his efforts. Slowly at first, he began to thrust his fingers into her and felt her grasping at his hair, her hips bucking lightly against his hand. And when he curled his digits inside her, she sank her nails into the mattress, grabbing at the sheets. By now it was no longer a matter of simply wanting to make her orgasm... he was compelled, fully driven by his desire to take her over that blissful edge.

Try as she might, she couldn't hold back her voice. He was eliciting from her sounds that she hadn't even known she was capable of making. What at first had been an unfamiliar feeling was now rapidly growing into an addiction. And the fact that it was him... that was better than any physical sensation. With her other senses sharpened, as she kept her word of not opening her eyes, she could perfectly feel the shape of his fingers as he repeatedly plunged them into her, could feel the way her walls throbbed around them each time he curled those digits, could feel the growing tension in her body as he suckled and taunted that sensitive nub.

And then her pleasure took an unfamiliar turn, one she certainly hadn't felt the one previous time she had slept with a man. In some way it made her anxious, not knowing what to expect from it, and she instinctively moved away from Levi's hair, seeking out his hand. As if he had already read her hesitation – perhaps in the way her voice had changed when she called his name – his free hand abandoned her hip and he laced his fingers between hers. It was enough to calm her, even as he kept working her up, spurring her towards that unknown peak.

At the last possible moment he gingerly trapped her clit between his teeth, feeling her walls spasming around his fingers as she came undone from that last push. And he didn't relent until he felt her body easing back down onto the sheets, until her moans became soft whimpers, until her grasp on his hand gained slack. Only then did he pull back, licking his lips and enjoying the drops of sweetness, the taste of her very essence.

Giving her a moment to catch her breath, he slipped off the bed to grab a cloth from her wash basin, wiping his hand and face. He was by now aching with the desire to be inside her, yet somehow felt the need to not rush things. Heaven knew she hadn't had much to enjoy in her life, and he wanted that night to be for her more than for him. When he returned to her she reached up for him, her flushed face and half-lidded gaze impossible to resist. Again he smiled as he complied and leaned over her, letting her wrap him up in herself while he kissed along her jaw line.

"Do you see what you do to me?" he breathed out, his husky voice making her shudder in his arms.

It was those words that made her realize all of a sudden, that he was weighing down onto her still twitching womanhood. He was so hard and hot against her that it baffled her to, for the first time, truly realize the kind of effect she could have on him. At that he pressed his aching desire intently against her yearning entrance, to let her know that the kind of sway she held over him was affecting his body just as much as his heart and mind. He would never let her believe otherwise. And she arched up into him with a soft moan, when her body took him in with barely any resistance, so ready and eager as she was for him.

Again he pulled back from her arms, and she was instantly and utterly smitten with the sight revealed to her. Perfectly sculpted muscles wrapped in alabaster skin, the damp sheen covering him giving it a shine akin to silk; hair as dark as the night sky and his eyes shining in dazzling tones of silver – the image of a painfully beautiful god, trying to tempt her.

Just like her, he too gazed upon his woman... his woman... finding her so deliciously disheveled and flushed, the beads of sweat on her shining like so many diamonds, the emerald of her eyes so darkened with desire. She was beautiful and her body was perfection – the silky skin, the well worked muscles, the entrancing curves – every inch of her was a work of art. And it was his to admire, his to enjoy, his to ravish... his to own!

'Mine... mine alone... all of you...'

The mixture of emotions rising within him as his mind conjured up those words, was both elating and frightening. Never had he desired anything so badly, never had he felt more possessive and entitled to something. And yet she was looking up at him with such unabashed lust, with such boundless love, a soft smile curling her lips as she reached up to stroke his cheek.

"Don't stop... please..." she whispered breathily. "Do you know... how many times I dreamt of this? How much I wanted to have you like this?"

For a moment she felt so unworthy, so undeserving, so unfit for him. Yet, when he leaned down to sate his thirst on her lips once again, his kiss quieted her mind and soothed all her fears. And she was reminded that he had chosen her, that he needed her, that he wanted her.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry you had to see this side of me. But I wanted this so badly, I thought I would die. I really love you... I love you so much!" she said, her feelings spilling from her without any further restraint.

For a moment which felt like an eternity he didn't move, but then – then! – he cautiously pulled his hips back and when he thrust into her, all of her thoughts and feelings unraveled. All of it fell away, and in her world there was no longer anyone else but him. She couldn't tell what caused it, but she saw the moment something sparked within him, one of his hands grabbing a fistful of her hair, the other arm wrapping around her waist. His mouth again covered hers, a blessing she coveted more than any other; his tongue, sweet-tasting, assertive and confident, demanded that she respond in kind; his soft, quiet grunts were both her lifeline and her undoing. And as he moved his desire consumed her, pulling her into his rhythm – at first, slow enough to be a tease in and of itself, but gradually quickening as Levi asserted his will upon her.

She could do nothing but hold onto him, letting him sweep her up into the sensual hurricane of his craving for her. She no longer belonged to her family, to the military, to the Survey Corps; she no longer belonged to herself... no longer existed for herself. She existed for him and he existed for her. But in their world, there was no more him or her... there was only them; their hearts had melded into each other, just as their bodies were now trying to.

He had filled her with all of himself, moving steadily and with purpose. He was heading to the same heights he had just taken her to, and wanted her to join him on that blissful peak from where they could soar together. When she grew tense in his arms and clawed at his back, he knew he'd succeeded in taking her up there with him. But he wanted to see it... to see her face when he pushed her over that euphoric edge; to see her enjoying the rapture that only he could give her. He wanted to see the elation in her eyes, when he showed her the pinnacle of what she could do to him. He wasn't the most expressive person, but she would see it – of that he was certain; she always had seen everything in him like an open book.

For that he released her mouth when he felt that telltale tension rapidly growing within him, forcing a quiet groan through his lips.

"Look at me, Natalie!" he demanded, his voice – heavy and full of need – losing none of its strength despite his heaving breath. "That's right. I want to see all sides of you; I want to love all sides of you. So look at me... only at me..."

And look she did until her climax all but choked her, robbing her of awareness for a moment. The sight of her coming undone and the sudden way she all but screamed his name, was what drove Levi off that edge along with her. With one final effort that lodged him as deep within her as he could ever be, he too found blissful release, with a raspy grunt not even his clenched jaw could hold back. But when he glanced down again, after the tension had begun to fade, he found her still looking at him. And her eyes, glazed over from the afterglow of their union, were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

No, in their world there was no more him or her... there was only them.