Chapter Summary: A sweet moment / things are set right between You and Levi

Author's Note: This has been such a fun little ride. It definitely has made me want to - at least consider - writing more Levi/Reader fics. Thanks for all of the kind comments and kudos. They mean a lot.

X

"Y/N! Y/N! Y/N! Y/N!"

The Scouts lifted you up and carried you around on their shoulders. You were wobbling dangerously but you barely even noticed. You were drunk off of your own ego, and the look that the Scouts gave you as they marched you around the campsite.

The outer wall of the city gleamed in the moonlight only a few miles away. It signaled Home: that beautiful and sacred thing. Your eyes watered at the sight of it. Levi had decided that the crew would spend the last night outside of the city, seeing as they hadn't had a chance to rest. Plus, their spirits had been reinvigorated by your tales of defeating the Titans and having seen the last one obey your commands. They felt invincible, and their voices were extra loud as they cheered your name. Perhaps they wanted to alert any remaining Titans to their presence, just to feel that exciting clutch of adventure again - and to possibly see you in action! In either case - whether they got their rest or killed more Titans - it was a surefire win for humanity.

They set you down, but still they crowded you with questions and praise, some of which included words like:

"Are you crazy?"

"How did you come up with the idea?"

"Were you scared?"

"You are crazy!"

"Not even Levi could handle eight Titans on his own!"

"You're amazing!"

"Y/N: the Titan Slayer!"

There had been no doubt about your victory. Earlier that day, the Scouts had agreed to travel farther in the forest, just to ascertain the number of Titans that you had killed. Sure enough, the eight bodies lay where you had left them. Then, farther off, you had discovered the body of another one. Its head had been ripped clear off of its shoulders - something that only another Titan could have done. It immediately brought to mind the image of the Titan with the tail and the blue eyes, the one that had obeyed your orders. But questions on this particular segment of your story were met with tight lips and crossed arms. You had your own inklings about why such a moment had come to pass, but telling it would make you seem crazier than they already thought that you were.

The Scouts began to clap and slap their hands against their thighs in an upbeat rhythm. Someone overturned a pot and began to tap at it while others snapped their fingers and wriggled around in endearing pantomimes of city dances. A young Scout stood upon a log and began to sing in a high, clear voice a rowdy song with impromptu lyrics carrying the sound of your name. They were celebrating more than your victory: they were celebrating a mission in which no human lives had been lost and Titans had fallen like felled trees. It truly was a moment for humanity, and perhaps that's why Levi allowed it.

You snapped your fingers and spun around in time with the singer's voice. Your hand found your hips and you shook them almost comically, making the people around you cheer and laugh. Some of the Scouts joined hands and began to dance in a ring around the fire while the others watched. By chance, you let go and were swung away from the firelit group of friends. You landed on your butt and then stood up with a smile. Grinning, eyes closed, you shimmied and swayed towards the man standing further back amongst a darkened grove of trees. You still saw him in your mind's eye: his hair brushing his silver eyes, his arms folded, his lips set, leaning against the shadowy trunk. While you were dancing, he had been watching you out of the corner of his eye, you had felt it.

"Levi," you sang in a low voice, rocking goodnaturedly back and forth in time with the music floating from the firepit. You had left the other Scouts behind and now it was just you and Levi in the grove. He glanced up at the stars and said nothing.

"Okay," you said, throwing your hands up. You leaned against the opposite side of the trunk and slid down to the ground, tucking your hands neatly beneath your armpits. "Okay. Fine. You win. Tell me."

"What do you want me to tell you?"

"Everything that you've wanted to tell me since I disobeyed you this morning. Tell me that I'm a terrible Scout and I'm insolent and you're going to demote me to horse shit duty."

He sighed. "And why would I do that?"

"Demote me to horse shit duty? Because-"

"Tch. No," he said. You looked up and around the trunk of the tree and saw that his eyes were closed to the world. "Why would I speak to you that way?"

"Because I disobeyed you. I went against a direct order from my superior-"

"And do you regret it?"

"Huh?"

"Do you regret disobeying me?"

You thought for a moment and then shrugged. "No," you said, shaking your head even though he couldn't see it.

"Then I'll repeat myself: why should I bother trying to talk to you in a reprimanding manner? Your skull's too thick, nothing'll get through to you, y/n. I think we both know that."

You leaned back with a smile on your face and wrapped your arms around your knees. "They'll want my head on a stick," you said, more to the stars than to Levi. "You may not be forthright with punishing me, but once the council hears that I went insubordinate...they'll want to make an example of me, I'm sure."

"Why?" he asked in a smooth voice. It was as if he was testing you. "Your horse spooked and carried you beyond the gates, where you encountered eight Titans and were forced to kill them all on your own. It's...quite heroic, don't you think?"

Ah.

So that's the game that Levi was going to play.

You both knew damn well that you had left the city of your own accord, but if the Scouts and Levi were willing to turn a blind eye and feign your innocence then who were you to complain? But you could tell that this put an immense weight on him. Levi was a man of severe discipline, a beacon of lawfulness and order. Lying in your defense must have been difficult to him, and he seemed to struggle with it even now. You wondered what that meant for the relationship - or perhaps now, the acquaintanceship - between the two of you. Surely, after all that you had put each other through, there was simply no chance of love everlasting.

From the corner of your eye, you could see his hand dangling by his side. It was slender and pale as a young dove. You wished that you could have kissed it, like you used to in the abandoned basements and fields of lavender. How could two people who had been so close have grown so distant? It felt like eons separated you, when in truth it was only a tree trunk.

It was then that you suddenly understood what he had told you on the previous mission. "It seems as if humanity has won, and in its desperate attempts for freedom, I have lost." It was true that humanity had scored a victory that day, but it had come at the expense of the relationship between you and Levi.

You braced your chin against your knees and huffed, trying desperately to keep the tears at bay. "But that's not all," you said in a weak voice. "I know you well enough. There's more that you want to say. Talk to me, Ackerman."

He was quiet for a long time. You waited in eager anticipation for his next words, but you wouldn't press him. He was struggling with whatever it was that he wanted to tell you, and no good would come from rushing him. You heard him sigh again, followed by a soft rustling of clothes as he stepped around the tree and stood in front of you. He stared at you for a long time, his countenance bathed in shadows, before he finally spoke.

"I have no right to ask for your forgiveness," he began in a tone that was pressingly formal and empty of emotion. "So instead I ask that you understand how deeply I regret my treachery against you. By being overprotective, I used my position of power to undermine and cheat you of the duty that you so bravely sought to carry out." He looked away and swiped a strand of hair from his eyes, lost in a space that was far, far away from you. You drummed your fingers on your knees as you stared up at him. It wasn't lost on you, the fact that he was standing above you as you sat upon the ground, looking up at him. There was a power dynamic that existed between Levi and the rest of the world, and you were obviously no exception. He continued slowly, his gaze fixed upon yours. "There's obviously a conflict of interest between you and I. And so, starting today, I relieve you of your duties on this crew. You'll be transferred to Captain Izaya's scouting team. I'll be sure to put in a word of praise on your behalf. You are, after all, a formidable soldier. Hot-headed, but formidable."

Of course. He was only doing what had to be done. You had long ago come to expect that he would be forced to dismiss you from his crew, and so the news barely affected you. All you cared about at that moment was the fact that you had made history by taking out a group of Titans on your own. You were a legend, no matter where you were placed. He was toying with his hair, and the fact that he didn't seem privy to it was unexpectedly endearing to you.

"Hey...You'll make a great leader one day, Y/N. Strategic, driven, diverse when it comes to weaponry and combat. I can only hope that-" he paused and seemed to realize what he was doing. He sighed. "Huh. Whatever."

He let the strand of hair go and slid his hand neatly in his pocket. When he looked at you again his expression was warm, and even apologetic. "You do understand that I am letting you go only in body, not in mind?"

That did it. Those were the words that you had been waiting to hear.

You stood up and brushed the dirt from your pants, a small smile gracing your lips. Levi still loved you, even though he hadn't directly said it. And you still loved him with a ferocity that made your heart beat tenfold. It would be easier pursuing something greater, and more intimate between you two now that you were no longer under his direct line of command. And perhaps that's why he had done it….or perhaps he was just being careful. Either way, you felt that familiar spark of kinship between you two. You could tell that he felt it, too. He was waiting for you - no, waiting on you - to give him the positive affirmation that you both so desperately craved.

You tilted your head towards the glistening pond that lay a few feet away from you. "It's been such a long day. I feel filthy. I'm going bathe," you said in a voice saturated with a fiery sweetness, like sunkissed honey dripping from a comb. You began to walk away from him, relishing the heat of his gaze along your back. Your next words were a gentle whisper carried by the sweltering breeze, "you should join me."

X

Ending Notes: If you're interested in smut, then I have one more chapter for you.

If not, consider this chapter the end to You, Above Anything Else. And thank you for joining me on this wild ride ;)