Chapter 13
"All Marley soldiers have been tied up, Corporal." Sasha says. "Good, lock them up and take away their weapons." Levi says, adjusting his cravat. He was slightly damp as he had to beat some of the Marley soldiers who were trying to escape after Armin blew up their ship. "Arrangements will be made for them to be sent to our holding cells in HQ, where all the other Marley soldiers are held." Rosaria said, glancing at Levi.
Their eyes meet momentarily before Levi nods. Levi disappears into a tent and leaves Rosaria to command the rest of the soldiers. Things had been downright awkward since their last conversation and neither had any intention of making things more complicated by conversing more than necessary. Rosaria sighed, watching Armin come back with Levi squad.
"Armin, all good?" Rosaria asks. Armin nods, his uniform soaked as he emerges from the shores. There are deep streaks under his eyes and steam emitting from his body. "All good, Captain." Rosaria nods. "Alright. Get changed, my squad will handle the rest." Armin nods before he disappears off into a tent.
Rosaria sits on a chair as she stares into the fire in the middle of the camp. A set of footsteps sit beside her. "Everything alright? Captain." Luca asks. Rosaria looks at the young girl and smiles. "Why? Do I look troubled?" Luca nods. "Yeah… the past few weeks you look less energetic than usual. Is it your ankle?" Rosaria looks down at her ankle. She could wear boots now but couldn't walk much unless she could lean on someone or something. "Yeah… I guess you could say it's bothering me. If a titan appears or if the Marley soldiers attack us now… I can't even protect myself, nonetheless my squad." Rosaria said, looking down at her ankle. She's reminded of Levi's words. They were lucky that nothing happened tonight but Rosaria doubted luck would always be on their side. Would a titan shifter appear in the next scout ship, hidden among the Marley soldiers? What then? Would a battle ensue here? Who would die?
Luca stares at Rosaria's downcast gaze as frowns. "I can protect you, Captain! No one can hurt you!" Rosaria raises an eyebrow. Luca was a fresh recruit, young and naive…. But she brought optimism, something that was rare in the military after everything they've been through. "You can barely fight a titan, Luca. If anyone needs to protect Captain, it's me." Sam said. The young man rubbed Luca's head and gave her a smile. "Oh, what's going on? Why is everyone here? Did I miss a meeting?" Samuel asks, worried. He was a batchmate from the 104th and was often quiet and a little timid, but nonetheless he was still a formidable soldier. Rosaria had long forgiven him for his mistake in Trost, but she wasn't so sure Levi would say the same. "Luca was saying she's going to protect Captain since she can't fight." Sam explains. "Eh, no way. I'll protect Captain. It's my fault she-" Rosaria laughs.
"Since when did you brats get so brave? Talking about protecting me when you shitty brats should only be worried about yourselves." Rosaria asked. The squad exchanged worried glances at each other. "That sounded like Corporal." Luca said. "Agreed." Samuel replied. "Have you been spending too much time with the Corporal, Captain?" Sam asked. Rosaria gaped and slightly blushed. "N-no. Now get back to work. I'm old and tired and need my sleep." Rosaria said.
Even with the threat of enemies on their shores and a secret plan that Zeke has conjured and wouldn't reveal, Rosaria found some peace with her squad in the oddest of times. It felt like family, a small one she grew to trust and swore to protect with her life.
"The volunteers are under our soldier's watch in our base in HQ. The rotations of their guards are a mixture of Scouts and Garrison for now." Rosaria says, flipping through pages of papers on the table. "Majority of Marley prisoners are still behind bars, as they absolutely despise Eldians and Paradis, and would not help us in any way." Levi sipped his tea. "On the other hand, Yelena campaigned for the rights of Marley soldiers and said that they should at least be given the opportunity to work at restaurants and bars as some form of freedom." Hanji nodded.
"Yes… the prisons in our base are going to be overcrowded at this point." Hanji said. "We should just ship the useless Marley soldiers back to Marley with a note saying 'Zeke is a traitor'. I'd get a fit of seeing the shitty ape titan bastard tortured by his allies and fed to a titan." Levi said through gritted teeth. "You know we can't, Levi. Trust me, none of us wants to trust Zeke…. But this secret plan of his sounds legitimate. It hates me to admit it, but we need his help. We need allies." Levi clicked his tongue. Rosaria sighs. "Plus, there's the issue of the wireless radio that alerts us of incoming Marley scout ships. Without the volunteers, we don't know what's coming nor do we know how to operate the machinery. In the end, we need their help more than they need us." Rosaria says.
Levi glares at Rosaria before his eyes soften and he averts his gaze back to his cup.
"With that said, I've arranged for the Marley prisoners who have agreed to our terms and will give them jobs in certain restaurants and bars. We'll start with a small number first and see how the reaction is. The civilians are still… unwelcoming of our friends from Marley after all." Hanji nods. "There's also a taste test tomorrow…. To showcase Marley's food and cuisine to the upper ranks of the military and some nobles. Yelena's idea. She says the nobles will help push for securing jobs at restaurants for Marley prisoners after one bite." Levi shook his head and growled. "Is food all they think about? Shitty nobles and MPs." Hanji laughed. "Well, I think it's a nice idea. Food always brings people together." Hanji says.
Hanji gets up from her seat and takes the papers. "I'll see you tomorrow then. Levi, you're coming right?" Levi averted Hanji's gaze. "I have better things to do than enjoy a feast with our enemies." He abruptly walks out of the tent, eyes never meeting Rosaria's. "That was rude! Levi that little piece of shit! I have no idea how Erwin kept him in check!" Hanji yelled as she tried to calm her temper. Rosaria sighed. "It's not you, Hanji. It's me. Levi's the one who has a problem with me…. Don't take it too personally." Rosaria said, looking down.
"What? Why..?" Hanji hesitates to ask. She reads Rosaria's downcast expression and sighs. "I'm sure he'll come around. Levi's difficult… but he's a good kid." Hanji puts a hand on Rosaria's shoulder. Rosaria smiles, nodding.
"Are you sure this is edible..?" Jean asked, eyes glaring at the odd variety of food on the table. Connie poked at the red sea creature with shells on the plate and released a sigh when it didn't bite back. "That's lobster, Connie. Don't worry, it's dead." Sasha's eyes hungrily follow Niccolo's finger as he explains the various dishes laid out. "What about this? Isn't this similar to what Armin keeps in his room?" Eren asks, pointing at the open-faced white shells with a soft, brownish belly inside, accompanied with cloves of garlic, butter, parsley and tiny sprigs of spices. "Those are clams, best served fresh with a hint of lemon and aromatics." Mikasa raised an eyebrow. "Why is that black?" Mikasa asks, pointing to the black shells served with herbs. "That's mussels. Similar to clams and oysters, but best served in a tomato-based soup with bread." Niccolo explains. Sasha's mouth waters as her ears perk up at the mention of bread.
"Ah, isn't this the reddish-white creature that creeped Levi out?!" Rosaria asks, pointing at the dish. Everyone looks at the dish with urgency. "That's…. Aglio olio pasta with prawns." Niccolo explains, sweating at the difference in knowledge between him and the rest of the gang. "Weird name. What's inside?" Rosaria asks. "Lots of garlic, olive oil, parmesan cheese-" Sasha gasps and pants loudly. "That sounds delicious. C-can we eat?!" Sasha asks.
Everyone else is still hesitant and doubtful at the food in front of them. "I don't know about this… Didn't Corporal slice that thing when it crawled onto his boot?" Connie asks. Yelena comes forward with an apron and laughs. "You've never had seafood?" Everyone pales. "Niccolo is a master at Marleyan cooking." Yelena says. Niccolo stirs the giant pot with a tomato like soup and grunts. "Unappreciative jerks. If you don't like it, don't bother eating. Eldians like you don't deserve my cooki-" Niccolo's words are cut off when Connie screams.
Sasha holds the lobster in her bare hands and bites down on its belly through the hard shell and tears the lobster meat open with her teeth. "Sasha!" Jean and Mikasa yell. Sasha then bites down on the flesh and jerks her head back, savouring the taste as she hurriedly swallows. The next second, she is already scooping the clams in her left hand and the pasta on her right, taking barbaric bites of the food straight from her bare hands. "So good!" Sasha screams, biting into the pasta and then going for the clams on her other hand. Everyone gapes at the woman like she lost a hand but Jean is the first to break the atmosphere.
"No fair Sasha!" Jean yells, hurriedly picking up the lobster himself. Connie follows suit, grabbing the clams and scooping the fresh meat out with his tongue. Mikasa and Armin at least have the decency to grab a plate and some utensils instead. Rosaria grabs the lobster with her bare hands, biting into the juicy flesh and chewing down almost immediately. "T-this is so good!" Rosaria says, talking with her mouth full.
"Niccolo-san, you're a genius"! Sasha yells with tears of joy as her mouth is stuffed full. Niccolo looks back, gaping as a blush stains his cheeks. "S-stop eating like a pig!" Niccolo stammers. His words are deaf as everyone is focused on stuffing their mouths full. Even if a titan shifter appeared, Rosaria was sure they'd still choose to eat before saving their own lives. "I've never had anything like this!" Sasha cries again, looking at Niccolo as she savagely pushes an entire lobster tail into her mouth. Niccolo stutters, a redder tint of blush against his pale skin. "There's plenty, so slow down!" Niccolo says, turning his back and returning to the simmering pot of soup. He blushes and sweat rolls down his forehead, evidently trying to hide his flushed and happy face of satisfaction over the standing ovation of his cooking skills by Sasha.
"Oi. Did you brats crawl out from the Underground? Who taught you to eat like a bunch of dirty undignified pigs?" Levi growls, eyes glaring with disgust as he eyes his squad and Rosaria eating the food like malnourished children in the Underground. "C-corporal…!" Connie greeted with a mouthful of pasta and clams. The juices bounced onto Levi's face and everyone paled. The next second, Levi is strangling the poor boy and the worse part is, everyone else doesn't even look as they are focused solely on the food. Levi grunts, shoving Connie's face into a plate as he forces the boy to eat like a normal child. "Oi, I've seen more dignified table manners from the starving kids in the Underground than you lot." Levi complains. He glares at Rosaria who shoves an entire oyster into her mouth and her tongue swirled around the juicy meat like a madwoman. Levi clicks his tongue, marching forward to grab her by the hair and pulling her to sit on the chair.
"C-corporal-" Levi pulls the shell out of Rosaria's mouth in disgust and grabs his cravat to wipe her mouth. "Dirty brat. And you call yourself a captain?" Levi continues to furiously wipe at the edge of her mouth as he complained. Rosaria grabs a fork and swirls the pasta around it, then proceeds to push the entire thing into Levi's mouth. Levi pales when a foreign object enters his mouth without permission and he glares daggers at Rosaria. Rosaria however, doesn't sense danger and smiles. "It's good, isn't it?" Levi looks down at the fork in his mouth and takes it out, then proceeds to chew the pasta in his mouth. Without realizing it, Levi swallows and gapes. "What is this shit?" All traces of rage and bloodlust on Levi are gone with one bite.
"Agor Aglae pasta! With those reddish-white creatures you hate!" Rosaria replies. Levi grabs another bite and swallows, enjoying the parade of spices and taste lingering in his mouth. He glares at the prawn stabbed in his fork and raises an eyebrow. "It looks less disgusting here." Levi says. "That's because the shells and heads are removed. And it's cooked." Rosaria replies. The next few minutes go by as Rosaria brings a sample of each dish and shoves it into Levi's mouth as he doesn't complain about it. Rosaria finds herself oddly relaxed, being able to converse normally with Levi after what seemed like decades of the bare minimum, following their continuing arguments.
Rosaria hadn't really tried to downright avoid Levi, she was often needed to talk to him for work after all, but Levi had other intentions. He would always avoid her when possible, even disappearing from meetings if he could avoid it. Rosaria felt slightly happy that Levi didn't reject her now and instead was compliant with her shenanigans. She once again understood that her feelings for Levi were getting more serious, even if the distance between them was only bigger. Somehow, it felt like the distance made her feelings for Levi stronger. As if the lack of interaction with Levi, his absence in her daily routine, his lack of tea and complaints or shitty jokes… made her feel like something was missing. It felt good to enjoy small moments like these again, even for a short moment. Rosaria felt herself smile as she watched Levi hungrily swallow the food in front of him.
"Hey… Doesn't Corporal behave differently around Captain?" Mikasa whispers from the other end of the table. The 104th cadets glanced at the two older members immediately. "Corporal's letting someone put food into his mouth and he's not even complaining!" Connie gasps as he observes the two. "You know, Corporal was trying to send Captain back to HQ. Hanji interfered and dismissed Corporal's orders. Though I heard her say that the Captain has feelings for Corporal." Jean whispered. Armin gasps. "What? Really?" Jean nods. "Why would anyone have feelings for a short man like Corporal?" Mikasa asked, honestly confused. "I mean look at the man…" Mikasa raises an eyebrow when she watches Levi wipe Rosaria's mouth and click his tongue like a mother taking care of a child. "Did Corporal just… smile?" Sasha asks in between bites of food. "No way. Are my eyes deceiving me?" Eren asks worriedly.
"No, I think it's real." Armin replies. "Well to me, it looks like Corporal's the one who is catching feelings." Connie said. "No way…. Do you think Corporal is capable of something like that?" Jean asks. "Humanity's strongest? In love?" Sasha whispered. "What's this? Is Levi in love?" A foreign whisper by the ear of Connie erupts. Everyone screams, turning their heads to find Hanji appearing behind the young members of Levi squad. "H-hanji-san!" Jean and Eren said in relief. They were dead if Levi was the one who overheard their conversation after all. Hanji laughs, glancing at Levi and Rosaria exchanging words and eating together.
"Ohh…. Looks like my sacrifices weren't in vain." Hanji whispered to herself. "Would you look at that!" Hanji squealed, adjusting her glasses. Hanji laughs to herself, taking in the scene of Levi being fed and he actually seemed happy about it. "Well, looks like something good came out of this after all." Hanji said to herself.
Rosaria pants, sweat sliding down her face and soaking her sports bra as she rested her palms on her knees. The sun was hot today, especially near the shore. Still, Rosaria didn't let the weather discourage her from her road to recovery. "Alright, a little bit more." Ronnie's voice sounds beside her. She looks up, finding warm blue eyes observing her. Rosaria nods, catching her breath as she stands straight. She hooks her right arm on Ronnie's bicep and leans into him, then slowly drags her left ankle a step forward, then the other, then again - repeating the process until she reached the other end of the shore.
Rosaria panted heavily, the sweat on her face glistened against the bright rays of sunshine in the afternoon. She looks down towards the ground, deep in her thoughts. It had been a week since Ronnie first came to help with her therapy. A week. Yet, Rosaria could barely manage to walk across the shoreline even with help. How much longer would it take for Rosaria to resume active duty? To be able to wear 3DMG? Would she really be able to protect herself and her squad in combat?
"Rose? Everything okay?" Ronnie asked, worried. His eyes look down at her with a worried gaze. "Y-yeah… I'm just, kind of exhausted." Ronnie scoops his arm around Rosaria's waist and pulls her up, letting her head rest on his chest. Ronnie was taller, so Rosaria's forehead rested around just slightly below his armpits. "Alright, let's rest a bit." Ronnie said. Rosaria blinks, breathing in his musky scent. Rosaria lets herself close her eyes and let the seconds pass until her heartbeat is back to normal. When she is about to reopen her eyes, a voice interrupts.
"Oi. What the hell do you think you're doing?" Levi asks in an annoyed voice. Rosaria raises her head to see Levi standing behind them with a clearly annoyed face. "Corporal?" Rosaria asks. "I'm asking you, pretty eyes." Rosaria is confused as she looks at Ronnie. "What?" Ronnie asks, raising an eyebrow. Levi marches forward and glares at Ronnie, his mouth now a thin line as he scowled. He grabs Ronnie by the collar and yanks the taller man down so that their eye levels were aligned. "You think I didn't see you peeking at my subordinate's breasts?" Levi says through gritted teeth. Ronnie gapes, shocked; but Rosaria only raises an eyebrow and tilts her head as Levi shoves her behind him as if he was trying to protect her from some unknown threat.
"I-I don't know what you're tal-" Levi grunts and yanks the man closer to him, their eyes inches apart. "I know what's running through that small head of yours, boy. She may be dumb enough to not see your intentions, but I'm not." Ronnie's eyes shake in fear. "Don't get me wrong. All men like to see a good show, especially if it's a pretty one. But if I catch your pretty blue eyes linger on the wrong parts longer than I'm comfortable with… I'll gauge those eyes out so you won't ever make the same mistake twice. Understand?" Bloodlust covers Levi's grey eyes as he glares at Ronnie through gritted teeth. Before Ronnie can even groan, Rosaria shoves herself between them and glares down at Levi.
"Corporal! What the hell is wrong with you!" Rosaria yells, placing Ronnie behind her and reaching her arms out as if Levi was going to hurt Ronnie. "You can't just threaten to gauge a civilian's eyes out! Especially my childhood best friend and a respected and renowned doctor!" Levi rolled his eyes. "His eyes were about to pop out of his eye socket as he enjoyed the cleavage of your breasts, Captain." Levi exclaimed, crossing his arms. Rosaria opens her mouth to retort, but she looks down at herself and her own cleavage and closes her mouth. She blushes awkwardly and scowls. "I've known Ronnie for years. He's not a pervert. He was probably looking at my scars." Levi clicked his tongue in anger. "Really? You're letting her defend you?" Levi yelled at Ronnie. Ronnie kept quiet and lowered his head.
"R-rose, I-" Ronnie says but Rosaria cuts him off. "Corporal, if you have something against me just take it out on me. Don't take it out on Ronnie-" Levi growls and marches forward to Rosaria. "You think I'm petty enough to take my anger out on innocent people? Is that what you think of me?" Levi asked, glaring at Rosaria. Rosaria hesitates and bites her lip. "Then why are you treating Ronnie like this? He's going out of his way to help the scouts by travelling all the way outside of the walls to heal a stupid broken ankle like mine! You should be thanking him, not threatening to gauge his eyes out!" Rosaria yelled back.
Levi grunted and placed a hand on Rosaria's sports bra, trying to yank her towards him in a fit of anger like he always does. "You think pretty eyes here is helping the scouts?" Levi scoffed sarcastically. He yanks her sports bra tighter, pulling Rosaria's face closer to his. "He's doing it for you, Rosaria. He doesn't care about the rest of us or the military. All he cares about is yo-" Levi's words are interrupted when a tear sounds through the air. He looks down at the source of the sound and finds the fabric of Rosaria's sports bra torn through the edges and slowly slips off her body. The entire world seems to stop as Ronnie and Levi watch bare breasts slightly bounce with the impact of the torn fabric slipping off and both men blush - well, Ronnie blushes more. Rosaria's mouth opens as she looks down at her chest, finding it utterly bare and then meets Levi's and Ronnie's eyes in slow motion.
It takes her five seconds before she moves her arms to cross around her chest as she blushes and squats down… then proceeding to cry. "R-rosaria!" Levi stutters, kneeling down immediately to put his hands on Rosaria's shoulders. "W-why are you crying- S-stop being a brat- I-it's not like I haven't seen it befo-" Rosaria sobs and releases a high-pitched whimper in a state of panic. Now Levi turns to panic as he pulls his brown uniform jacket off with one single motion, watching it fall down onto the sand. "D-don't cry brat!" Levi scolds, eyes wandering around to see if other people are in their perimeter. Levi then unbuttons his blouse at record speed and yanks it off his toned body, then wrapping it around Rosaria's upper body. Her glassy green eyes meet Levi's uncomfortable grey ones and a cry stops in her throat.
"Oi, pretty eyes. If I catch you staring I will honour my threat to gauge your eyes out here and now." Levi warns without even turning his head to see the panicked expression on Ronnie. Ronnie immediately turns his head the other way, his face bright red. Levi then pulls Rosaria's arm through the sleeves and proceeds to button the rest of the buttons until it fits snugly on her. When Levi is done, he releases a heavy sigh and meets her eyes. "Are you done crying?" Levi asks, softer. Rosaria hiccups and hesitantly nods. Levi places a hand on her back and then scoops his other hand beneath her thighs, pulling her easily as he carries her. Rosaria doesn't flinch, instead, she feels a sense of relief when she feels Levi push her chest toward his own, trying to shield her as much as possible.
Levi then tightens his grip on Rosaria's back, glancing down to make sure her face and chest were facing him instead. He didn't want any foreign eyes to even so much as glance at her vulnerable state right now. Levi feels Rosaria lean into his chest and wraps her arms around his neck. Levi nods, carrying her weight as he walks back to the directions of their tents.
Levi is briefly reminded of their interesting and intimate sessions of Levi carrying Rosaria's bare body to the bathroom in Trost almost three months ago. His mind wanders to the beautiful milky breasts he just saw, how her nipples bulged from them and pointed at him seductively - gods, Levi had to mentally stop himself and bit on his lower lip. He sprints faster now, trying to reach Rosaria's tent faster as he could barely hold his own thoughts…. Especially when her very bare breasts were pressed very firmly against his bare chest.
Levi received countless stares from the soldiers stationed outside the tents, surely confused at why he was topless, and carrying a Captain - but Levi ignored the stares and rushed into Rosaria's tent instead. He places her onto the makeshift bed on the ground and then meets her eyes, still slightly glassy and hesitant. Levi sighs, going back to close the tent flap and then returning back. He looks down, glancing at Rosaria's chest as he could make out the faint outline of her nipples through his sheer white blouse.
"What are you waiting for? Get changed." Levi says. Rosaria blinks, some sense of rationality finally making its way back to her brain. She nods, crawling to her little bag of clothes. She rummages for a few seconds before she finds a black lace bra and places it on top of her lap. Levi's eyes almost drop out of his eye sockets when she starts to unbutton her blouse without any signal to Levi. Levi bites his lower lip, immediately turning his head to face the wall. Seconds pass and Levi hears fabric rustling, so he turns his head slowly back to her. He sighs in relief, seeing that she was fully clothed.
"T-thank you…. Corporal." Rosaria stutters with a faint blush. "I know you have an obsession with cleanliness so I'll… wash this and return it to you tomorrow." She looks down at her blouse and clutches the fabric in her hands. Levi's blouse is a little big on her, which was a surprise considering Levi was small for a man his age. Rosaria realizes that the fit around her biceps were a lot looser, indicating that Levi had really big biceps and muscles, even for his size. "I'm not worried about a piece of fabric, brat. I'm more worried about you who started crying like a little girl." Levi says. Rosaria blushes and averts his gaze.
"I-I just… panicked that's all." Levi raises an eyebrow. "What's there to panic about? It was an accident." Levi briefly wonders if Rosaria thought he intentionally tore her sports bra. "N-no, I-i mean I understand you didn't mean it….. But we were out in an open space and Ronnie saw me like that….. It terrified me." Levi felt a bitter aftertaste in his mouth at the mention of Ronnie's name. Levi doesn't say anything for a bit until he decides to ask anyway. "What about me? You weren't concerned about me looking?" Levi asked, looking into her eyes. Levi's question surprises even himself, but he found himself looking forward to Rosaria's answer.
Rosaria looks confused, looking into Levi's eyes. Levi felt the slow tendrils of anger peeping out, anger that he always kept in check behind his head. "You?... I mean…." Rosaria thinks about it, blinking. Levi finds a sour feeling in his chest. Was he jealous of Ronnie? Of the fact that Rosaria was more concerned about another man looking at her bare body than Levi? Levi didn't understand where those emotions were coming from. Rosaria was free to think or do whatever she wanted. She was single and beautiful. Levi had no right to tell her what to think or do. It was none of his business. Yet, Levi found himself curious about Rosaria's answer. He wanted to know how she saw him.
"If I think about it… I guess I'm more concerned with Ronnie looking at my body like that… you know? Y-you've already seen everything on my body after all, so….." Rosaria's ears turn red. Levi blinks. He finds himself staring at Rosaria's red ears and her slightly flushed face. Then her blouse, or rather his blouse. He finds himself oddly happy with her response. Why? Levi couldn't understand why. What exactly about her response made him feel…. Happy?
Levi found himself having a mental battle in his head with himself and didn't even notice when Rosaria appeared in front of him. "Corporal…" Levi blinks, blinking out of his thoughts. He's greeted with a green fabric in his lap as Rosaria shoves something to him. "Open it…" Rosaria says. Levi nods, opening the fabric slowly to reveal the Scout's cloak with the emblem of the wings of the freedom on the back. It looked like the one he had in his drawer, standard-issued; but upon closer inspection….
"I submitted new designs and asked them for an upgrade of the Scout's cloak. This is made with the new dry-fit material, kevlar - and the button is replaced with a zip instead. The colour is a darker army green now, more suited for covert operations." Rosaria explained as Levi fumbled with the material and was amazed at the improvements. "Oh, this is the best part!" Rosaria exclaimed happily as she took the cloak from Levi's hands. She then folds it at various angles until it resembles a square and folded it inwards again, revealing a small flap on the inside. She then pushes the folded cloak into the flap and clasps a hidden button. "See, it turns into a little bag! So you can carry it wherever you go!" Rosaria exclaims with stars in her eyes. Levi laughs, shorting as he sees Rosaria's expression. Rosaria raises an eyebrow at him.
Levi finds himself in awe of the woman in front of him. In just a matter of minutes, she could make him angry, scared, worried, happy and even shocked. Even Erwin would be amazed at her and her ability to entice emotion in Levi. Levi grabs the cloak and gently places it on the table before turning his head back to Rosaria. She looks at him, still confused. Levi takes a long stare at her before he hesitantly places his arms around her waist, pulling her to his chest. Rosaria's eyes widen.
"Thank you, Rosaria." Levi says, gently. Rosaria blinks, closing her eyes as she inhales Levi's scent. She wraps her arms around Levi's back and places her head in the crook of his neck. Her nose touches his skin and her hair brushes against his face awkwardly. She remembers that she should be angry, mad even after everything Levi has said or done in the past few months… but all of that fades when he rubs gentle circles on her back and plays with her hair. Rosaria gently pats Levi's back and smiles.
"You're welcome, Levi."
Author's notes:
I'm really sorry for the late update. I actually already wrote this chapter a few weeks back but I was struggling to write the next chapter and work was HELL these past few weeks…. Hope you guys still remember this fic :( I also have been so bombarded with work that I hadn't had the chance to watch the final episode of the anime yet... but I am a manga reader so I know what's going to happen and I am gonna be heartbroken to see Levi! Can't believe we have to wait till September for the final part though... but I guess it's worth the wait since MAPPA is going such a great job! And Jujutsu Kaisen just finished so I'm sad about that too! Anyways, please leave a review and look forward to the next one!