Author notes:
Thank you to everyone who commented both here and at AO3 about a continuation! They were a great source of my motivation; as well as the kudos you sent me! *happy tears*
I'd also like to apologise that this took a long time hopefully the length made it worth the wait. I'm actually a slower writer who likes to take their time rereading character references from Interview with Isayama-sensei over and over again so it won't be OOC. Hopefully my (somewhat) in-depth research worked. *crosses fingers*
I'd just like to point out that some of my spelling may seem different to many of you (when I first moved to Australia it was hard adjusting from American English to British/Australian English).
This is my first fanfic that consist of more than one chapter story wise, I hope it meet your expectations! *sweating bullets due to pressure*
A week had passed since that… unfortunate day of not having his assistant beside him; Levi finally admitted it. He cared… about his subordinate. Having his assistant by his side, Levi found his mood improving greatly; well as great as it could appear on his face.
The moment he craved for tea, Eren suddenly appears with a pot of steaming tea. Peckish? Eren would bring him food straight after his training, showered and freshly dressed. He needs to pass paperwork to Erwin across the head quarters? Eren would do it for him.
He wasn't going to lie that having Eren by his side again (for the whole week), days were just speeding through like a well oiled 3Dimensional Manoeuvring Gear.
Even so, Levi knew there was that constant itch in the back of his mind; reminding him about his realisation earlier in the week. Damn it, he very well knew that he was procrastinating the fact he wanted to 'confess' his feelings… to Eren. Even with Hanji's and Erwin's encouragement that 'yes, Eren likes you the same way you do' and 'no, you cannot put it off. Have you seen how adorable he is?'.
Fine. He said, he'd do it. But its already been seven days since he admitted it. Because no matter how much he thought about it how does someone tell another person that you 'like' them.
Bluntly?
'I like you, in a 'I want to fuck you' sort of way'.'
Reluctantly?
'I have feelings for you that are pretty inappropriate for someone my age and position.'
He was fucked.
Before he knew it a week had passed and it was that time of the month again. The fortnightly spring cleaning. It was a time where the Corps would wait for approval for an expedition and most soldiers have nothing to do. New supplies won't arrive until after the expedition is given the green light so majority of them just hang around after they've completed their drills for the day.
It wasn't until Levi became the Captain and set these days as 'Compulsory Spring Cleaning Weekend' or otherwise known as 'Hell Weekend' by soldiers. Not only couldn't they refuse this order but also their Captain had such high standards that soldiers other than the Special Ops Squad had to redo tasked rooms several times. It was hell indeed.
But it was the one of two weekends where Levi was in an extremely rare mood.
Levi woke up after getting a full four hours sleep on his bed that he almost rarely used; he usually falls asleep on his chair and won't wake up until the next day tired and somewhat sore. As he finished making his bed he made his way to his own private bathroom and take a three-minute shower (combat-style).
Buttoning up the remaining buttons on his uniform Levi grabs his cravat as he left his room.
The way to the dungeons wasn't that far from his chambers, just a few flight of stairs. Levi left his cravat undone and lying limp across his shoulders. The torches in the basement had long been extinguished leaving the dungeons somewhat dark. The only light source it received in the day are through the small barred window that acts as a vent and light source to each cell room.
"Wake up Eren." Levi raked his fingers through his damp hair brushing his fringe back; a few strands stayed stubborn and fell on his face. Levi had left the dungeon door open to let some light through, it was a rule in the Corps to save as much supplies as they could. So lighting a torch just so he could see in the dimly lit cell, when it was already dusk, was just a waste.
As he reached the bottom steps he turned to his right was greeted by a quiet yawn from furthest cell.
"… Good..Mor-morning Captain." Eren yawned his greeting his eyes were still blurry from sleep and the lack of light was not helping; but he had gotten used to it long ago.
Even without the aid of a light source Levi could already imagine the rat nest of a bed head the brunet soldier could have. He shook his head mentally as he grabbed the key for the cell door.
The sound of Eren's cell door unlocking resounded throughout the dungeons, accompanied by a squeak from the door swinging open. It had been a long time since Eren hadn't been forced to wear shackles to sleep, he assumed the reason had been their slow growing trust in him. Since then he had been eternally grateful to sleep soundly without metal chains rattling every time he shifted on his bed.
"I shouldn't have to tell you what your schedule is today, I'll see you in the mess hall Eren." The shorter man turned just as he heard the brunet replied with his voice laced with sleep.
"Yes sir…" A small thump could be heard, Levi assumed it was the brunet giving him a salute.
"Levi." A voice that usually sounded like they were on the verge of shitting themselves from excitement was unusually serious for once. Shit. That didn't sound good.
"What do you want shitty glasses?" Levi tried to keep the annoyance from his voice but he could only do so much with shitty glasses staring at him. It was too fucking early to deal with their shit.
"Do you remember what we discussed about last night?" The brunet had their elbows on the dinning table leaning forwards with their attention solely on their friend.
"…" The shorter man had tried avoiding the subject by pretending to give all his attention to tying his cravat.
"Levi…" Drawling out his name like a mother giving their child a warning.
Levi mentally swore at his fate of seeing them so early in the morning; he hasn't had his morning cup of tea yet.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Trying hard to sound as innocent as his monotonous voice would allow him.
"You have to tell-"
The older brunet was interrupted by the dark-haired man interjecting, "No I don't!"
They sighed.
"You promised us last night that you would."
"No I did not, both you eyebrows were drunk, you must have imagined it." He denied glaring at both of them.
"Levi, you know-"
"Tell HIM." Hanji pressed.
Before Levi could further deny his 'promise' to his friends he noticed a figure walking towards their table.
"Tell who what? Ah, Good morning Commander, Squad Leader and Captain." Eren greeted his superiors with a smile and a salute.
"Good morning Eren, how is our resident Titan doing today?" The smile on shitty glasses reminded him a Cheshire cat from a fairy tale book he'd once come across.
"No one, hurry up and eat your gruel. We have a long day ahead of us." Levi warned.
"Right away sir! See you after breakfast!" The bright-eyed brunet smiled his way as he turned around.
Levi suddenly felt his heart skip a beat, swearing to the high heavens at the timing, this wasn't the time to be all emotional.
"Look at him Erwin, he's blushing… He has it bad." Hanji nudged the tall blond beside them.
"So that what he looks like when he blushes… And here I thought he was constipated all this time." The amusement on the Blond's voice was evident.
Hanji snorted out loud as Erwin smirked at Levi's darkening expression.
"Shut up, both of you." The short man hissed under his breath, why was he friends with them again?
"I've finished cleaning with my assigned room sir!"
Levi glanced behind him and saw a soldier with a shaven head with a height even shorter than him, saluting. The boy's name escaped him until Eren walked in saying, "I've finished cleaning the two rooms and the checked other people's progress along the way sir. They are half way done. Oh sorry Connie."
Ah. That was it. He silently thanked Eren who had no idea about his dilemma just moments before.
"Eren you finished up here while I inspect Connie's work. Good work by the way." He patted the brunet's shoulder as he passed him by.
"I-It was nothing sir!" Eren squeaked.
Once Levi reached the supposedly clean room he lowered the white bandana covering half his face as he glanced around the room.
"…" Connie felt like this moment was just as scary as facing a titan alone.
"Connie…"
The boy gulped.
"Do it again, there are still smudges on the window, I still see dust on those bookshelves in the corner and sweep this room again."
"Yes sir!" He yelled, inwardly somewhat grateful to live another day.
"Ah welcome back sir! I've just about finished this room." Eren greeted as he saw his Captain enter the room. "I quickly ran down the kitchen and grabbed a pitcher and a glass of water for you sir! They're over there in the corner."
Just what he needed, Levi made his way to where the pitcher was and poured himself a cup of water. He sighed contentedly after he drank half a cup.
The occasional screech that came as Eren moved some of the furniture around, disrupted the comforting silence the filled the room.
Peace and quiet at last…
Since the room was nearly done Levi opted to sit down instead of helping Eren finish up. Levi was immersed in his thoughts when he realise that this was the perfect opportunity to-
Scratch that thought. SCRATCH THAT THOUGHT.
After a few minutes peaceful silence the shorter man felt a shiver go down his spine, a trained condition for ominous events about to occur. Suddenly he could hear a familiar set of footsteps down the hallway accompanied by a familiar assistant reprimand their superior. Levi knew he couldn't escapes since they would see him leave the room, he had no other option but to sit tight and await his doom. The footsteps stopped in front of the door, Eren his somewhat oblivious assistant was humming to himself and probably didn't hear them.
Bang.
The door burst open making Eren jumps several centimetres in the air, his vocabulary was particularly colourful then.
"Leeeeeviiii! OH! And Eren as well…" The amusement on their voice was clearly evident, Levi wanted nothing more than to jump out the window and manoeuvre his ass out of there. But sadly he didn't have his 3DMG with him, he cursed lady luck for abandoning him at that moment.
"What the fuck do you want Shitty Glasses? Don't you have cleaning to do?" Levi attempted to change the subject they were clearly trying to discuss; keyword being 'attempt'.
Hanji turned and gave the shorter man a face saying 'Ohhh… You are not getting away that easy' then plastered an innocent smile on their face. The face they often used when they were planning something in that intangible head of theirs.
"I just came in to tell you that I have a few errands to run with Moblit and wanted to remind you about what we talked about last night. Remember… TODAY." They narrowed their eyes at him then turned to leave a dumbfounded Eren and a somewhat nervous Levi.
Once again cursing his (bad?) luck, he silently vowed never to drink with those two assholes again. His tolerance for alcohol was alright, he's had his fair share of drinks but he tries not to get drunk but that doesn't mean it will stop him from making (stupid) promises when he's slightly inebriated.
"Um… Should I even ask?" Eren inquired, holding the long broom close to his chest.
"No."
Eren didn't ask any questions after that.
The atmosphere before glasses arrived was long gone leaving both males in an oddly tensioned room. Levi wasn't the best at reading atmospheres like Hanji, Erwin or Armin. But he could tell that had to at least say something to get rid of the uncomfortable atmosphere between them.
He let out a long sigh, he might as well get it over and done with, so here goes nothing.
"Eren."
The brunet who had his back turned on Levi suddenly stopped sweeping, he quietly gulped to himself at the serious tone in his Captain's voice. He hoped he would live long enough to see the extinctions of titans. "Yes… sir?"
'Now what?' Levi silently questioned himself, he wasn't the best speaker of such subject and he didn't have a script memorised. How the heck do people say they like someone? It wasn't like he could just say it out loud… could he? Shit, he should have asked Eyebrows or Glasses for advice. He sighed, he might as well wing it.
Eren didn't know what he did to deserve this, one-minute he was happily cleaning the room then the next minute he was just standing there awaiting his doom in utter silence. He finely combed through his memories to see if he did something wrong to bring this terrifying situation to himself.
"Eren." The brunet looked at him in the eyes, Levi held the eye contact for a few seconds then looked away staring at the window as though it had the answer to his questions. "Eren, I just…" Levi's eyes suddenly zoned in on a particular spot on the window, "I just wanted to… to…" Was that mould he saw, shit, how could he have missed such a thing; in an obvious spot as well. Completely forgetting his previous mission he suddenly charged ahead and yelled, "Eren get me my special tincture, the one in my room, I cannot believe I missed a spot."
Eren flinched at the sudden change of tone Levi used and could do nothing but stutter out his reply.
"Hurry! For as long as I live, there won't be a single mould growing in this castle." The dark-haired man hissed, he strutted his way to his small portable supply of cleaning goods and grabbed a damp cloth ready to be used.
As Eren exited the room, he wondered what his Captain was going to say, but quickly shook such thoughts out of his head. He had an errand to run. He jogged his way to Levi's office.
"I'm back Commander! Did anything… interesting happen whilst I was in town?" Hanji reported to Erwin who was currently pulling out weeds in the backyard. Although the spot was quite hidden away from the prying eyes of soldiers, It was a well known fact that during 'Hell Weekend' everyone was required to participate, everyone also meant the Commander.
"Not much, but if you count the number of times Levi tried and failed to tell Eren his feelings, then yes a lot happened. He failed four times already." Erwin stood up from his crouch and stretched his aching muscles. He could hear his joints snap into place leaving him sighing contentedly.
"Are you serious!"
"Quite, the first time Levi was distracted by the fact he missed a spot in the room he was cleaning. It wasn't just smudge of dirt but an actual mould growing on the bottom corner of the window. I could hear him from several rooms away." Erwin sighed exasperatedly. "The second time he was interrupted by a soldier reporting that a fight had broken out between veterans, something about having the last clean cloth- that was probably Levi's fault, him and his high standard cleaning. The third time, Mikasa and Armin called Eren to lunch. That one was painful to watch, Levi only needed to say the word 'like' and he would have done it. Lastly by the time of the fourth try he chickened out, it was so hard to hold in my laughter."
"We knew he was clumsy with romance but to think he was this appalling…" Erwin could hear the barely audible snorts his friend made.
"This piece of knowledge can probably fuel my laughter for a whole week." Erwin mused, indeed it would.
"I wish I could have seen it!" Hanji complained, they would have documented the whole thing and write up several pages of analysis on Levi's psychology. They curled both their fist in regret at missing such a rare opportunity!
"Erwin!" They suddenly looked at the blond with eyes shining with a scheming light.
"I know this calls-"
"For DIVINE INTERVENTION!"
"Ok I have a few plans running through my head, how about you?" Erwin rubbed his chin in thought.
"I can think up of a few-" Hanji stopped talking when they could hear a familiar pair of voices, they quickly grabbed the tall blond and pulled them down to hide behind the bushes.
"…ren, there isn't much left to do. We just need…" Levi's voice was too far away to be heard clearly.
"..s Sir! I can do…" Eren replied with much gusto.
"Erwin are you seeing what I'm seeing? Or have I finally snapped because of the amount of work I have to do in my room…" Hanji dawdled their last sentence as they peered out over the wild untrimmed hedges.
"If you see Eren and Levi alone together then yes… I do see what you see."
If anyone where to see two of their superiors hiding behind the bushes with their eyes stalking the scene in front of them, then they would have just turned around and forcing their brains to 'wash away' everything they saw.
"Awww… Look at him Erwin, Levi has that constipated look again. Look Eren isn't being fair, if he keeps smiling like that or look at Levi with those eyes I don't think our midget would be able to say anything."
"Hanji be quiet, Levi has that look on his face again, I think he's giving it another go!" Erwin shushed the older brunet.
"I know that throughout the whole day… trying… something." Levi brushed his hair back, probably a nervous trait of his.
"Damn it, I can barely hear a word he's saying!" Hanji hissed as quietly as they could. They tried moving closer in to the bush as though it would help.
"Stop moving Hanji, you're making too much noise!"
"No we can-"
At their abrupt stop mid-sentence made him turn his head towards them, even with their glasses on their face he could see the a familiar furrowed expression when people-
"I just wanted you to know that I-" An explosive sneeze interrupted the most important word. "You…" Levi widened at the sudden noise. The dark-haired man swiftly snapped his head at the direction of the sound. He locked eyes with the culprit, he should have known.
"Eren you finish up here, I have to go murder someone." At Levi's darkening voice Eren nodded nervously and silently prayed to Hanji to live one more day, their Titan Research was quite valuable to the Corps.
"Now, now Levi… Let's not be too hasty. You can't kill me yet, the Corps need me!" Hanji pleaded.
Erwin wasn't even helping them, he just stood there with both his palms facing Levi in complete surrender as well as his face saying 'I had nothing to do with this'. Traitor… the older brunet branded the blond Commander.
Levi cracked his knuckles and said, "When I was finally confessed to him you freaking interrupted me!"
"Please have mercy… No wait Levi… No…!"
For remained of his day, Levi didn't have another chance to talk to Eren until it was time for bed. His face didn't show the disappoint he felt at his failure(s) to do something so simple. He probably had to try another day.
"Eren tomorrow you will need to inspect the west wing of the headquarters, then you report to me after you're done." Levi unlocked the door to Eren's cell and waited for the shifter to walk through.
"Yes Captain Levi."
Eren was unusually silent, just before Levi turned to leave he said, "Um… Sir?"
Levi halted, he turned to face Eren, the brunet seemed quite nervous.
"What?" Levi tilted his head on one side as he crossed his arms.
"You may punch me after I do this…" Eren felt like he was sweating bullets.
"What are you talking about-" Levi was interrupted by the feeling of warm slight chafed muscles on his lips.
It took a while for the gears in Levi's head to start moving again, once it did he pulled the brunet down by the neck and returned the chaste kiss Eren initiated.
The sound of lips smacking lightly against each other made both their faces flush in embarrassment. Then they slowly parted and looked at each other in the eye.
"I feelings for you sir, in a way, that is very inappropriate for a subordinate would feel about their Captain."
"I like you too brat. Feelings that are pretty much inappropriate for someone my age and position."
.
.
.
.
.
That night Levi left the dungeons ten minutes later than usual, his hair somewhat in a mess and lips glistening a delectable red.
"Damn Levi still hasn't told Eren his feelings yet." Hanji pouted whilst nursing a mug full of wine.
"Hhmmm…" Erwin hummed around his mug of wine, silently weighing up his plans against each other.
Their conversation was silenced by a quiet knock.
Erwin slowly swung the door open, and was greeted by a boy with shoulder length hair blond hair. If he remembered correctly this was the boy who was often found hanging around Eren, Armin Arlert was his name.
"Armin, what are you doing up this late at night?" Erwin was surprised that Armin actually broke the curfew.
"Umm… I heard about Captain Levi's promise last night when I was on my way to the bathroom. I also noticed the Captain acting slightly unusual today so I came here to ask if he was able to succeed in confessing to Eren."
"Damn it blondie, we should have had you with us in the first place!" Hanji snapped their fingers in regret.
"Come in you can sit down" Erwin ushered him inside.
"No nothing from our end, it was like fate wouldn't let Levi confess." Hanji sobbed. "My poor sexually repressed midget!" They banged on the wooden table.
"Indeed." Erwin shook his head disappointedly.
Armin let the two mourn their failed plans a little bit longer.
"If it makes you feel any better, I pushed Eren into confessing his feelings instead." Armin meekly commented.
Silence. The gears in both their head slowly turn into motion.
"What!" Hanji jumped up nearly knocking down their drink.
"Why didn't we think of that! Erwin I'm heading to Levi's room! I want answers!" Hanji stalked around the table to reach the door. They flung the door open and marched their way to Levi's bedroom.
Levi leant on his favourite chair reminiscing about the kiss he shared with Eren.
Completely oblivious to the fact that someone was about to interrupt his night.
Author Notes:
For some reason this turned out more humorous than I intended it to be, I blame Hanji and Erwin.
I'm sorry about my lame humour, if I wasn't able to make you laugh at any 'intended' humorous scenes... well... *sweats*
I may have failed my job as an author... (I'm sorry, I'm so lame...)
I'm not gonna lie that chapter 62 delayed me finishing this up for two days.
Any errors are my fault, sorry about them
Please comment below your thoughts, constructive criticism or how OOC everyone is.
Actually I wanted to ask someone about Levi's tolerance for alcohol, is it:
[A: No matter how much he drinks he can't get drunk?]
[B: He can get drunk, but he doesn't want to]
You can interpret the comment from Isayama-sensei in both ways (so I just picked a random one).
