I know you love it babe, 'cause I'm a risk

But if you put it on me, I'm a win
And if you give it to me, I won't forget
When I'm a legend baby, and we're all rich;

She slept for days after he left her in her room. Levi didn't dare make an effort to disturb her; he even operated out of the lower reaches of her townhouse. Zoe gave him an excellent excuse to hush anyone who came near him, glaring daggers at the people who tried to go up stairs to the bathroom. When he was given a chance to sleep, he took it, sleeping on her couch mostly, eyes on her bedroom door when ever he was awake and upstairs. He was going to get gray hairs because of her; he wasn't looking forward to aging as badly as Erwin had.

In a couple days, everything had calmed down, giving him time enough to clean her townhouse up, the action as therapeutic as always. Even as sweat beaded his brow, the repetitive scrubbing movements gave him some solace, mind going blank, his compulsive need for organization and cleanliness dictating his every move. He went into her room for the first time in three days, keeping his movements quiet as he reorganized her drawers, taking out her laundry. Her dirty uniform was the only thing in the basket, and he looked briefly to her still form, chest rising and falling slowly, satin sheets twisted around her small body. At some point, he was going to have to wake her up, get her food and some water.

He'd wake her up for a dinner, at least, determined to get things done without her distracting him. Levi dealt with groceries (ie. the market and the annoying vendors) without her, taking advantage of the sales wherever he could, managing to snap up a prime cut of beef, taking it and numerous vegetables back with him, quite happy with his haul. He knew she wasn't a fan of legumes, but he was rather good at hiding them, sneaking it into whatever he cooked for her.

As he was cutting an apples into slices, he heard her bedroom door open, Zoe's sleep muddled voice reaching his ears, "Levi?"

"Yea?"

"What're you doing-er, making? It smells good," she mumbled, shuffling towards him, a simple, overlarge undershirt over her small frame, tucked sloppily into blue shorts, hair sticking up all over the place.

"Cooking."

"I can cook," she said, yawning wide, stretching her arms slow above her head.

"Sure."

She held out hand to him, a couple steps away, but he still enabled her laziness, grasping her hand, and pulling her towards him. He accepted a kiss, though she had some serious evening breath, letting her look over the food he'd prepared, glancing to the clock; 6:00pm.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Three days."

"Three what?"

"Days."

"Shit. Shit, then I have stuff to do, Levi, I can't stay and eat."

The noise her stomach made didn't support her claim, and Levi crossed his arms over his chest, saying, "I've taken care of most of your shit, Nile Dok gave you a week off to recuperate."

"You said his name right."

"Just to make a point. And you're sitting, and eating with me, no talking, just eating. Right after you wash."

She sighed, sliding with her slippers towards the bathroom, allowing him the fifteen minutes he needed to finish the food. When she returned, she decided to draw out a chair that she plopped down on, folding her legs up under her. Zoe tugged at her robe, looking under it to her wounds, the same one he'd had Sjeh look at and treat before he let her rest. In general, Zoe seemed surprised at not having to do anything, all of her problems temporarily solved by all that he'd done. Levi set the food down in front of her, bemused when she gave a half-dazed reaction to him, clasping her cup of water to her chest, emptying the pitcher he'd put out in record time. Of course, he'd put water on her bedside table, but still, she had to be thirsty.

"more water?"

"Yes please," she said, speaking with her mouth full.

He passed by her, touching at a speck of food on her cheek, smirk pulling at his lips, "don't talk with your mouth full."

Her nose wrinkled, and she elbowed him as he walked by, her hand running through her hair. When he came back to her, her towel-dried hair was in some state of order, the ends curling up on themselves, brushing her neck again. Levi plucked at a curl, setting the pitcher back down on the table in front of her, breathing soft on her neck, knowing it'd annoy her again, appreciating the attention he got, knew it was a silly desire, but he wanted it nonetheless from one person.

She tipped her head back to look at him, keeping him in the small window of space so she could see him, gave him one of her softest smile. He'd be shitty if he didn't admit it made his heart flutter in his chest, happy something was familiar. Levi went to sit across from her, but she pointed at the seat next to her, her legs crossed in her seat, curling up on herself like she always did at a table. He set his arm around the back of her chair, watching her finish her dinner, sitting back towards him, the sides of their chairs meeting, providing something of a bench.

"Tell me what's going on," she requested, settled on top of one of his legs, just close enough to him otherwise to radiate heat.

"Historia is getting crowned, if you care at all to go see that."

"I have to get back to work soon, so, maybe, I think guarding the ceremony stage might be apart of the work."

"I have to go, no way I can get out of it."

"What do you mean-"

"I mean, the squad gave me something of a sit down; meaning those brats cornered me out at lunch, didn't leave me any option but for a silent nod."

She laughed at him, and he looked away from her, mimicking annoyance. He'd laughed at himself too afterwards, knowing he would've been there, didn't need that camaraderie speech Eren dollled out, as he often did. Zoe laced her hands together in her lap, eyes roving over him, her little puff of exhaustion making him smile. Even though he'd gone the extra mile, she still looked like she needed another day of sleep, maybe outside, and then another week to recuperate.

"I wouldn't mind laying in bed forever, you know?" she mumbled, rubbing at her eyes with the heels of her hands. "With or without you, I'm not too picky."

He shook his head, hand rubbing through his hair, giving her a wan smile, entirely joking as he said, "You couldn't stand it if I wasn't there with you."

"I can. You're too warm."

"Says the furnace to the campfire."

"Levi, you've started snoring instead of jolting, and waking up every two hours."

"thought you'd like it better," he said, got an elbow for it.

She was silent for a moment, breathing deep before she asked, "how have you been?"

He chuckled into his hand, eyebrow arched to get the response he wanted, "Worried about me?"

"Of course," she said, reaching at touching at his nose, adding a 'boop' sound effect, finger tripping down over his lips, "I want to know how you've been after all that Kenny stuff, I passed out on you, I know, but tell me, still. Please?"

Levi nodded, "I'm fine with it. I'll leave that shit to the flies, it's not something I think I can do anything about, the information might've... what? I can't think of the shitty, word," Levi pressed two fingers to his temple, aggravated that no one had thought to teach him vocabulary.

"Elucidate."

"What?"

"It means clearing things up, Levi."

"That's what I want to say, I suppose," he said, fully appreciating her intelligence, even if it made her overthink a number of things. "But I think that's already happened, Kenny's information cleared up my past in certain ways, didn't make it better, or worse, necessarily, I was more worried about the present. Things have calmed down for now, enough for you and I to take a breather, so let's focus on that."

"Fine. But I haven't had a real breather in a while, so it's weird not having to do something, I feel like I should be forging Nile Dok's signature."

"Write it with a U, and switch Dok to Dick, it's a very accurate statement to put on official papers, seal and all."

"Professionalism is key in my ranks, you know," she said, tipping her head to the side, cheeks dimpling. "Just because you're handsome doesn't mean you can get away with anything."

"So I'm handsome now? I thought I was Captain fun sponge," Levi said, moving out of his seat, taking her dishes to a basin, setting to washing them as he worked the pump.

She gave a little 'huff' of annoyance when he left her vicinity and Levi gave her a cool look over his shoulder, hands already covered in suds, gripping a dish as he guided a cloth over it. Zoe drummed her fingers on the table, finishing off her glass of water, biting into an apple from the center table's bowl. He shook his head, her impatience one of her more interesting traits, if only because she tried to hard to resist whatever nagged her to action. Levi could only assume she wanted to be close to him at the moment, and he wasn't looking to deal with putting aside his OCD to even allow that idea to take it's course.

Zoe stood, shuffled to him, wrapped her arms around him from behind, pulling at the tie of his apron as she did. He rolled his eyes, just as she pulled a rather practiced moved, slipping between his arms, her back now against his chest. She made to act like she was helping him with the dishes, picking up another cloth, drying the plates within the circle of his arms. Abruptly, she shifted, head butting his chin, making him grunt in discomfort as she wriggled around before she sat up on the counter, still being mostly of a hinderance than a help with her unsatisfactory drying.

"I'm sorry, Levi," she said, touching at his chin with her damp hands.

"You're interrupting a ritual, you know?"

"I know, but I want to help."

He breathed deep, letting a quick kiss to his cheek quell his anxiety, the rhythm he always picked up falling away in favor of sporadic handing off, asking her questions about her interactions with Kenny, assuring her he was fine with it. "Doesn't really matter to me, I can't do anything to him, and I don't think it's too bad, right?"

"Yea, um, from what I can remember, he just set himself up as, I guess, my lover. They had most people in roles of importance that I think might've been fake. Nathan and Jay were drugged up too, I think they needed more recruits, but when I...told Kenny about you, and my squad's operations, he focused on you. It wasn't about him getting answers from government and fact checking them with the version he got. I got the feeling Kenny wasn't a big fan of...anyone but Uri; he talked about it sometimes, with me singularly, his arm around my shoulders, almost choking me sometimes. He didn't do anything but cheek kisses, occasionally lips when he grew bolder, or he had emptied a few flasks of some terrible booze; tasted like rat poison."

"It's not that bad," Levi scoffed, waving her complaints away. "After a few times, it's like some cheap ass beer."

"Still, they just took away my substance, my past memories, and any development outside of military. They gave me a rickety, shitty back story, leaning my character on the stilts of a partner in my life, and a belief in military dogma," Zoe said with a shrug, placing the last plate in the cupboard behind her, keeping her back to him as she continued, "after I'd told them a lot about you, Levi, enough information for them to stop hurting me, with some of the techniques I'd mastered; I've been able to lead fucking seminars about water cures. But I only told them about you, made it seem like I could only focus on you, so I didn't have to tell them about your squad or any other inner workings of the Scout Regiment. At least I did that."

With a bit of hesitation, he set his hand to her hair, smoothing it in what he hoped was a comforting manner, before he turned her face back to his. "It didn't hurt me. They couldn't hurt me. Kenny was more sympathetic than he let on, and I got you back within a week, didn't I?"

She nodded, let him squeeze her limp hand for a moment, but it was enough to know he wasn't working on her. "I still told them. And everything they did still hurts. I thought they'd kill me, not hurt me like that. I didn't know Kenny...anyone could do that to multiple people."

"Anything is better than dying."

She shook her head rapidly. "Unless you had managed to save me, I would've been lost. Mentally, 'I' was gone. What did they name her? Emma? She had full control; that's what 'I' was, in the end, nothing, or Emma."

He'd dealt with Emma, who'd seemed a bit like a harsher, unstable version of Zoe, as if Zoe could get anymore unstable. But he supposed they'd deal with post traumatic stress disorders at some point.

"That has to mean you had some panic attacks, right?"

"How did you guess that?"

"I've known you for years, Zoe."

She broke eye contact, nodding before she spoke, "Yes, I did. Too much pressure from Kenny, and no sympathy. Add in that you came to my mind all the time, with fleeting images I didn't understand, and it's a recipe for disaster."

His finger slipped under her chin, tipping it up again as he initiated a soft kiss, her lips tasting a bit like apple. When he pulled back, she followed, looping her arms around the back of his neck,made him hum in amusement when her lips missed their target, kissing only the corner of his lips, set in a slight frown.

"You're fine now, huh?"

"Sure," she lied, closing her eyes to his, forehead resting briefly on his shoulder. "So, you drank some of Kenny's arsenic?"

He shook his head, rolling his eyes. "It's not arsenic, we'd both be dead if it was."

"I know that, but...he seemed superhuman, just like you do."

Her eyes rested on his, until Levi shrugged, dismissing the statement as best he could. "If I get mortally wounded out there, I'm gonna die, same as everyone. A name or title doesn't make you, you know that Zoe."

"I know," she said, slipping off the counter to land on her feet, ducking under Levi's arm again. "I'd like to go talk to my nephew; it's not too late, is it?"

"No, we could still go."

She walked towards her bedroom, returning quickly enough, his button down still on her, black pants tight on her legs. Zoe gathered up her small satchel, waiting for him to draw level with her position at the stairwell, before she continued down the stairs. Levi locked the door behind them, strolling quietly alongside her, eyeing her wavering steps, seemingly unable to walk a straight line. And as the other examples of real couples passed by, he felt somewhat pressured to follow their actions, in putting an arm around her, someway, some how.

"Oh, I hate couples, Levi," she sighed, looking up at him, "They all lean on each other too much, and the constant PDA kills me." She guided a stray piece of hair over her ear, pinning it neatly away from her face. "Promise me you'll never hold me like that in public."

He looked at her, lantern light illuminating the delicate planes of her face. For a moment, he slung his arm over her shoulders, listening to her sharp noise of protest, pulling her closer to him, her head on his chest. Levi set his chin on the top of her head, mimicking a couple that'd just passed them. Through all of it, he couldn't resist annoying her.

"Like this?" he asked, voice soft with amusement.

"Yes," was the muffled response, "now let me go."

He let her go, watching her roll her eyes, Zoe pulling her Military Police jacket a bit tighter around her, his button down shirt thin against the late evening chill. She wasn't cold for long, as they were only five minutes from the Apothecary's shop, the lights still on inside of the quaint little establishment. Zoe tried the knob, frowning when she found that it was locked, knocking on the door instead. Presently, a shape appeared in the stairwell, and Levi watched the old man shuffle, too slow, towards the door, opening it with a smile.

"We certainly haven't seen you in awhile, Miss. Roth," he said, allowing them into the shop, sliding the deadbolt shut with a snap. "You're welcome to go up and wake him."

Zoe gave the old man a bright smile, catching Levi by his wrist, dragging him up the stairs, walking down the short hallway, stopping at a door covered with sketched dragons and fairies. And badly drawn stick people that Levi vaguely recognized as Zoe, because her name was, maybe, scribbled underneath the drawing. That was the only indicator; maybe the curly hair that was drawn around her head, but still. VEry abstract.

"Is that you?" Levi asked, pointing at the figure, deciding to just ask her.

Zoe nodded, resisting a smile as she spoke, voice even, "I think so; he has chicken scratch handwriting, I'm telling you, I had to hire another tutor just to help him with his writing. I can't help but hope it doesn't change, I want people to struggle when they have to read his writing."

Levi shook his head, and she leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. "What?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen you in three days."

"You limped to the bathroom yesterday."

"I did?"

Levi breathed deep, rolling his eyes. "Yes, yes, you did. I even said your name, and I swear you responded."

"I must be getting old," she said, and stared at the floor for a moment before shrugging, hand going to the doorknob.

She opened the door slowly, the hinges barely squeaking. A blur came at her from the center of the room, and Levi reacted in a split second, shoving her back from the door, catching up the blur in the next moment, registering that it was Jaz, dark blue pajamas blending in seamlessly with the lightless hallway. Immediately, he slacked his grip, made her Nephew's sudden ascent in the air seem fun, heartbeat still thrumming a bit harder in his chest. Zoe took her Nephew from him as soon as she could, holding the young boy at her hip, trotting down the stairs, looking once over her shoulder at him, eyebrows creased with concern.

Levi looked at his hands, breathing a bit harder than necessary, wondering when he'd acted so fast with intent to kill like that. Kenny would've knifed the kid, of course, and then, maybe Zoe. But he wasn't Kenny, so why…? Maybe his effort to be a better person had died along with Kenny, but then, the man hadn't ever tried that, had never gotten too attached to anyone, had never used the love word except to extort the women he was currently sleeping with to achieve a place to stay. Something of a sociopath. And Levi was related to the man.

He walked carefully down the stairs, evening out his breathing with every step, coming out into the foyer that was also the shop. Zoe sat at a small table with her Nephew, currently wrapped up in his Aunt's arms, laughing as Zoe tickled him, the sound familiar to even LEvi. He'd been around to hear her brother laugh, and the deja vu hit him harder than necessary, wondering how she never brought him up, when the reminder of her brother's absence was right in front of her.

But then, he remembered that day when she'd been standing quiet next to her nephew, hardly a word traded between them, ushering him towards an orphanage, telling him it'd only be a couple days till she got him in with Jay's family. When the boy had cried to her, protesting this placement, Zoe hadn't flinched, eyes sunk into their sockets, hardly days after the 250,000 humans had walked to their deaths. And Levi hadn't be able able to do anything, passing by them on the way out of Wall Sina, the Scout Regiment accompanying a large crew of Garrison troops, all tasked with the effort to settle the displaced humans left.

So this - her smiling at the young boy, looking him in his eyes, animated again, even if she was thinner than usual - was perfect. She was, sometimes, perfect. Most of the time, even, he'd make that allowance. She looked up as Levi drew nearer, giving him a quick smile, reaching for him in tandem with her nephew. He accepted her touch only, not trusting himself to interact with someone as fragile as her Nephew, seeing as he'd almost body slammed the kid.

She reached, swept some of his hair over her ear, and Levi sighed, hiding how much the little touch quelled his stress, "Really?"

"She does that to me!" her nephew exclaimed, eagerness to be friends with him almost palpable. "And you're a Captain in the Scout Regiment, so it can't be that bad. Also, also, um, Mr. Levi," her Nephew took a moment to breathe, "can you tell me about the Scout Regiment?"

"Why?" Levi asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You get to go outside, don't you? I mean, you saw things beyond the walls, right? And you came back, so…"

"Most of what I've seen looks like the terrain within the walls. I'll tell you something, of course, a boy in my squad talks about things that we've never seen. Like giant lakes of water, salt water, and that the world is mostly made up of that saltwater. Some shit like that-"

Zoe's eyebrows almost disappeared in her hairline, and Levi knew he was in trouble before she snapped at him, "Levi; that's what we call a no-no word."

Her nephew, on the other hand, looked overjoyed, mouth wide as he looked between the two of them; two adults, technically. "If he can say it-"

"Don't even start with that, Jaz," Zoe said, waving away the boy's words, rising to her feet, standing ramrod straight. "And we have to go."

"But, Aunt Zoe-"

"We're keeping you up, anyways; you need sleep."

Jaz sucked his teeth, kicking out with his foot, but he still stood up, face in a solid pout as Zoe led him to the bottom of the stairwell. The pout was wiped away soon enough as Zoe kissed her nephew's forehead, dipping to hug him too tight, the boy squeaking. Levi knew he personally was going to be in trouble, and it wasn't going to be solved with a hug, but still, he waved back at Jaz, amused with how this small move made the boy brighten up.

Zoe pushed Jaz up the first step, watching him disappear in the dim light. As his bedroom door audibly closed, the old Apothecary stepped out of the basement, carrying a candle, casting light onto his wrinkles, the shadows cast inviting 10 more years onto the old man's face. The apothecary gave them both a quick smile as they left, closing the door behind them, locking it, the lights vanishing in the next moment. Despite the current lack of light, he could tell Zoe was glaring at him, and the small woman marched past him; so he wondered if she knew that he appreciated her ass in a very deep, and poetic manner.

When she worked herself up over something somewhat silly, Levi loved watching her stomp around, muttering to herself. It was just as fun to watch her do this out in the open, arriving to her townhouse faster than he did, leaving the door wide open for him. He rolled his eyes, wishing she'd taken precautions, though it was hardly her he had to worry about if there was ever an intruder. Levi closed the door behind him with a slight click, bolting it shut.

"I'm sorry," he called up the stairs, saw her stop at the first landing, and he took that pause to catch up to her. "It was a shitty mistake; you know the kid already knows the word, Zoe. Come here. yea?"

He reached for her hand, but she moved it slightly out of range. So Levi stepped in close, and she stepped back, hitting the wall behind her. In order to trap her, he decided upon setting his forearm horizontal above her head.

Zoe rolled her eyes, sighing quick, "I get that he might know the word, but still."

"I won't do it again, I promise," he said.

He reached, hand caressing her hair for an instant, hand dropping away from her hair, instead raising her chin with the same hand, kissing her deep. His hand soon fell from her chin, going to her waist, holding her tighter against him. Her arms looped around the back of his neck, a hand sliding languidly into his hair, encouraging him closer, tongue meshing with his. Abruptly, she pulled away, giving him a quick nudge back, frown back on her kiss reddened lips.

"Not a good enough apology."

Levi threw up his hands, feigning surrender as he walked up the stairs, to her living room, sitting on a couch, keeping his eyes on the door, planning to catch her if and when she walked past him. And his plan succeeded, Zoe yelping as he pulled her down to his level, straddling him in an effort to keep herself from falling over the couch. She tried to keep that frown on her face, but the expression never suited her, unlike it did him. Zoe let the frown go as soon as he kissed her, relaxed with his second kiss; but she still glared at him, even as she settled her legs to either side of him, leaning away to better observe him.

"What are you going to do to me?" he asked, keeping her eyes on him to the best of his ability, even as she tried to avoid his.

"Nothing until you fucking apologize to me, Levi," she sniped, turning her head away from his. "A cute one, with flowers."

"After you just used a no-no word like that, Zoe? What can I do about that?" Levi wrapped his arm around her waist, even though she wasn't squirming away from him, slipped fingers to her pant line, keeping his voice low, holding eye contact as he spoke, "Want me to eat you out, or something, making you fucking cum against my mouth, and then I'll apologize, but sometimes you don't hear me, especially when you're screaming, so when you're done with that...I'll fuck you into, I don't know," he wasn't a fan of this couch, and his eyes rolled to conveniently to her bedroom, "the mattress, and you cum around my dick how ever many times you usually do, should I tell you sorry again then?"

Zoe's breathing got pitchy as she listened to him, and he fucking loved listening to that change, appreciated her little smirk as she got accustomed to that power he gave her. He needed Zoe, in this, really, couldn't get what she gave him from anyone else. She worked her hands slow under his shirt, grinding forward, hips going now, moving in his hands. Levi got his third kiss, as his hands crawled beneath her pant line, slipping under her panties.

She laughed when he was obstructed by her zipper, and he kissed her quick to get rid of it, wanting her to take him very seriously, because he needed this, her, right now. "you're the funniest when you're struggling getting in my pants."

"Because they're usually so easy to get into," he snapped, almost standing in his effort.

"is that an insult? You're digging yourself further into your hole."

"And, and... they look so fucking good on you, like they'd be easy to pull off, but shit, Zoe," he sighed her name, setting his lips to her neck, nipping there before he worked his mouth against her skin. He hadn't left a mark on her in so long, had desperately appreciated her being questioned on it's existence in training.

He eventually did get off her pants, of course, he wasn't a small child, leaving a pretty red mark in his wake, placing her under him, her kisses as soft as usual until he escalated them. Most of her clothes were on the floor, only his shirt joining the pile, her lips soon on his neck, moving south. Levi pushed away with a shiver, but she kept him close, body melding with his; and his previous plans seemed so unimportant as her hands panned over his chest before her breasts were against him, hand deferring to his back, and he kissed her deep.

Levi moved away from her, hovering over her instead, head tipped down to take in her body, slim, a knee crooked, to the side of his hips. The marks Kenny had made on her were hardly faded, and he felt another helping of guilt, her name slipping from his lips again. She shivered, tried pulling his body back to his, but he resisted, peppering open mouthed kisses over her collarbone, descending over her sternum, hand slipping up her side to cup her breast.

His hand slipped away soon enough, mouth past her bellybutton, sliding back on the couch, yanking her after him, the effort also allowing him to settle her knees over his shoulders. She watched him as his lips kissed her inner thigh, moaning wholeheartedly as his fingers tripped over her clit, making sure to tease her, holding himself back. Holding himself back was a feat within itself, seeing how he hadn't fucked her in a couple weeks, coupled with the fact she was vulnerable under him, one of her own hands touching her body, no doubt aiming to provoke him into serious action.

It worked. He was intensely weak to her charms, he supposed, two fingers slipping quickly into her.

"You really know how to get me, Zoe," he breathed, crooking his fingers up, soft warmth of her around his digits making his dick throb in his pants. "don't you?"

She nodded, biting her lip, thighs shaking to either side of his head. Zoe never asked him to be gentle; maybe time for rest, yes, but he hardly heeded that command either. His focus was on her, finally, finally, watching her spread before him. He was messy when he was eager, arm over her stomach, smoothing over her skin, softer than anything he knew, so his tongue was never still, flat and teasing over her clit.

"What if I shut you down right now?" she asked, voice floating to his ears, and Levi eased back.

"What do you mean?" his voice was raspy for a second, setting his cheek to her inner thigh. "You don't want me to make you cum with my fingers and my mouth, as if you need anything else?"

She shook her head, "What if I wasn't in the mood to deal with you?"

"You've never had one."

She laughed at that, "liar."

"Never."

"You think you're so cute with your sarcastic quips," she murmured, and he couldn't help but rise back up to kiss her again, .

he pulled away to whisper, "you can taste yourself, right? because you could've just asked me," Levi set kisses to her jaw, even as he slid his fingers out of her, setting them to her mouth instead, "clean them."

She traced her tongue over his slim digits, following his simple order. When he pushed his fingers deeper, she opened for him, tongue rasping between his fingers. Even if it was a rather pointless endeavor, he enjoyed it, removing his fingers to bring his mouth low again. He'd eat her out if he died trying; Levi wasn't looking for a sudden change in the tides of their dynamic. Levi had only just gotten her back, had missed this desperately, alternating his licking and sucking, her moans guiding his own actions.

He got his terribly quick orgasm, everything muffled for a moment as her thighs locked around his head, her cries still not lost to him. Levi pulled back quick, hands dropping to the button of his pants, only to find her sitting up, hands already there. A small smirk touched his lips, and he distracted her with kisses just to get coos of frustration, till he felt her manage the zipper and the button. His pants couldn't come off fast enough, back against the couch as she shifted to straddle him, over eager as always.

Levi's kisses were desperate, messy as he let her sink down on him, hands clutching at her hips before he encircled her waist in his arms, smattering kisses over her collarbone as she shook against him. He shifted her back a little, nudging up against something different deep inside her. Zoe gasped her appreciation, moaning as he rocked there, pressing his hips up only slightly to press even deeper. Levi knew she liked that, had her clutching onto him, circling her own hips, not needing any encouragement as she sought to take him.

He could feel how wet she was, hand traveling up from her hip to her breast, moving with her. She was so lovely, moans building to a crescendo, always quick to cum like this, even though she was loathe to admit it. He'd ignored the bedroom just for her. Levi knew this would get her to the peak quick, was happy to give it to her harder, had her shouting in no time, holding his pace even as sweat beaded his forehead. Zoe pressed herself closer, shuddering on top of him, tightening up like hell, made him gasp, though he kept going.

"You cumming for me?" he asked, voice rough and urgent, eyes on where they connected. She nodded frantically, hands flexing at his shoulders, he grasped her ass, adjusting her only slightly, hoping to nudge against just the right spot. "Come on and cum for me, Zoe."

Levi hit something nice, felt her fucking gush with her orgasm, moaning frantically. He slowed down, head tipping back as she rode out her orgasm, holding back himself, just to skip recovery time. It was easy to let her still on top of him, allowing himself to be pulled into a lazy kiss. Her tongue meshed soft with his, circling her hips, and he responded to that test of his stamina by nipping her bottom lip. She hummed, pulling away to contemplate her

" I haven't cum in so long," she whispered, "thank you."

He chuckled at her thanks, giving her a look. "You're welcome. And I know," he said. "Last time we were like this, it was at that house."

She smiled, winding her fingers through his hair. "You promised me the world."

His brow darkened, abruptly plagued by his mistakes, chiefly the one where he'd let her run off, and get taken from him. "Then I almost lost you. Let's not talk about it."

"Oh, stay in the moment, it wasn't your fault," she cooed. "How about we move it to the bed?"

"I like that idea." About staying in the moment.

It was easy to do that with her. He eased her off him, allowing himself to be yanked along after her, something that was rather amusing. Levi stopped her a step away from the bed, got a whine of annoyance, but he wanted a kiss. Zoe wrapped a teasing hand around his dick, had him groaning into her mouth, grasping her hips, coaxing her up, off the ground. Her legs went around his waist before he stepped forward, setting them both down on the bed with a soft thump, rolling onto his side to better kiss her.

A rush of adrenaline sent him closer to her, collecting her in his arms to roll on top of her, encouraging her legs to either side of him, allowing her several incessant kisses. He supported himself on one hand over her, watched himself slide in and out of her languidly, her pretty sighs encouraging his free hand over her body, golden brown skin as soft as it was inviting. Zoe arched slow with his movements, nails dragging down his biceps, encouraging him. His hand left her body for her hair, tangling his hand in the roots as he leaned into for a kiss, enjoying the sharp series of gasps that hit his lips, nails on his sides then.

He had her pressed tight to him, her nails traded for soft fingers, traveling over his back. And fuck he was still kissing her, taking in breaths through his nose as best he could now,

"Deeper," she sighed, and he obliged, even though her nails might've drawn blood, listening to her curses as if they were personal blessings. "Fuck, Levi, yes." Her mouth attempted to curl into a smile as she hissed out that yes, being just a bit dramatic for the sake of his smile, and he hid the reaction as best he could, pressing open mouthed kisses over her neck, rocking only slightly once to see her neck flex with a gasp, and he couldn't help but add another mark below the one he'd tried for earlier.

She tossed her head back with a whimper, and he picked up his fast pace again, hooking one of her knees over his shoulder, watched how she responded to his movements, wanting to get the best out of her. Zoe was letting go, and he couldn't help but push her to the edge, head bent close to hers, though her eyes were shut. Moving quick, he set lips to her neck, had her clutching at him again, nails scrabbling at his skin, breathing harder, arching under him, attempting to meet his thrusts, even if it wasn't the easiest thing to do. He loved it when she worked her body like that, anyways, broke away to watch her move, so obviously close it was mesmerizing.

Zoe came around him in short time, clench of her preceding a rush of wet heat, and he went harder to find his own release, broke soon after she did. He collapsed to the side of her, rolled out of bed soon enough. She reached for him as he did, grasping his hand with a soft, questioning hum. Levi tugged her after him, but she wouldn't budge, raised half way up from the bed, shifting onto her stomach.

"Where are you going?"

"Bath."

"Want me to join?"

"Why do you think I pulled you?"

"Because you're demanding, and I'm exhausted."

"Exactly. Now come with me. It's been more than a month since we were together like this."

She got out of bed after that, though he saw her legs tremble, made him hesitate, wondered if he really should give her a break. He'd forgotten the bone deep weariness that had characterized her for a week. Didn't mean he didn't want her with him, but he'd let her be.

"Stop looking at me like I'd shatter if I took the wrong step, Levi."

"You don't have to come, if you're too tired."

"Now you've got me interested in the proposition, you can't take it away."

"Come here then," he coaxed, drew her into the bathroom, had her laughing as he tugged her into his arms again, with a quick, hasty move that only highlighted how much he wanted her here. "Here." He smoothed his hand up her arm, felt the goose bumps. " are you cold or is it just me?"

"It's definitely the cold, Levi, thank you very much," she murmured, even though she brought him in for a kiss soon enough, gentle fingers tapping light on his cheek.

And as he looked at her, he greeted the idea that he'd like to exist in this moment forever. With another person. His future was one he'd imagined long ago, when Farlan and Isabel were still in his life; he'd consigned himself to his loneliness. He closed his eyes to imagine a new one, with her fingers on his cheek, radiating heat. Levi grasped her wrist before she pulled her hand away, kissing her palm lightly.

"Come here."

She laughed, hands slipping over his shoulders, "I'm right here."

"Good."

Zoe stuck with him as he heated the water, leaning over one of his shoulders to watch him work. She was usually so impatient, wanting results instantly, but she gave him her concentration the entire time he explained to her the process, mostly droning on about it to pass the time. Her bath was such an odd luxury, and the fact that it fit two people was even better. Levi pointed this out to her later, head on hers, smell of her wet hair wafting sweet to his nose with the oils she'd applied at the start. The bath was lukewarm now, her back to his chest, radiating enough heat to make staying in worth it. Just a few more minutes.

"I guess I am lucky," she laughed, splashing the water absentmindedly. "I'm not here much. I usually sleep at HQ, on the officer's floor. This is where I spend my holidays. And even during the holidays, if I get any, I'm usually somehow busy, so I never get much time for a bath."

"I'm surprised I'm enjoying something before you. Or more than you, maybe."

"You've also got me in here, I make everything better," she said, sarcasm evident, but he agreed with the statement too much to dispute it.

"Well we are getting out soon."

"It is getting kinda cold."

He blew light on her neck, got a legitimate shiver out of her, saw goosebumps appear. "Colder now?"

"Stop," she whined, sliding further under the water. "Can you go get towels? And not terrorize me?"

"I don't terrorize you," he scoffed with a smile, stepping out of the bath, walking to the bathroom counter to the towels he'd brought in earlier. He stepped up to the side of the bath, holding out her towel, other around his waist. "See? I do nice things."

She grinned, standing and allowing herself to be wrapped in the towel as she got out of the bath. Zoe made for her drawers to find a hand towel, drying her hair after she brushed it through, curls making their comeback. He liked that, liked her hair longer, too. Levi exited the bathroom to dry off, opening the window in her bedroom to air out the steam.

He flopped into bed once he'd found underwear, soon followed by an equally dry Zoe. Levi sighed his exhaustion, hugging his pillow to his head, cracking an eye open as he felt head rest on his back. Her hair was so soft that he didn't mind, breathing the cool night air deeply, as she did. She moved her head presently, once she'd also decided to dedicate herself to sleep.

Her thigh slid soft against his. He cracked an eye open to look at her, with her curls spread pretty on the pillow. And it was her even breaths that guided him to sleep.

Tonight, we're the sea and the rhythm there
The waves and the wind and night is black
Tonight we're the scent of your long black hair
Spread out like your breath across my back

AN: oops, i might be back.