MIDNIGHT SUN
Attack on Titan Fanfiction
Romance, Drama, Mysteries
Levi Ackerman ⨯ OC
Scouting Legion Chronicle
Respect for Headcanon: Yes! As always in my fanfictions, I try to delve into headcanon to develop my own perspective. I take into account what is stated in the original manga as well as in the light novels and build upon it. This fanfiction can be read as a spin-off, provided you're intrigued by my creative choices.
OC: Yes, a few (including one of the main characters). However, most of the characters are from the original manga.
Spoilers: I will make an effort not to spoil the ending of the manga, which hasn't been released in the anime yet. I kindly ask you to do the same in the comments to respect anime-only viewers
Story Length: No idea. Initially, I'm aiming for around fifteen chapters. But I can extend it if I find more to explore about other characters.
Mature Content: Yes! Please note that this fanfiction contains passages that might be unsettling for some readers. I've been informed that certain elements of my story could be disturbing.
Trigger Warning: Detailed medical scenes, sexual scenes (without violence, I clarify!), age-gap relationship.
Beta Reading and Editing: I proofread my text on my own, so you might come across errors. Feel free to point them out in the comments if they bother you. I appreciate corrections.
I invite you to leave comments at the end of each chapter. It helps with visibility and greatly encourages me! Note This text was originally written in French. Feel free to refer to the original version if you are a French speaker.
Chapter 1
The Beauty and the Stone's Salt
To the depths of our eyes to the depths of our hearts
And that justice be on earth.
There are words that make (us) live
And they're innocent words
The word warmth the word confidence
Love justice and the word liberty
The word child and the word kindness
And some names of flowers and some names of fruits
The word courage and the word discover
And the word brother and the word comrade
And some names of countries of cities
And some names of women and friends
Paul Eluard 1945
A small crowd had gathered in a ground-floor storage room, where ancient and utterly unusable equestrian equipment was usually ignored by everyone.
"Is that mold?"
"I would've bet on it! Damn, that's disgusting..."
On this beautiful spring morning, this small storage area had become the center of attention due to the curious discovery made by two soldiers sent there to clean up the pile of old items. A stack of transport crates had been moved, revealing a large whitish stain, powdery and crystalline in appearance, spreading across the entire surface of one of the stone walls.
Summoned immediately to inspect the matter, Hansi was currently examining the wall under the light of an oil lamp. She took a knife from her uniform pocket and used the blade to scrape the rock that seemed to be crystallized.
"Your conclusions?" inquired Levi, crouching beside her.
"It's not organic," she replied. "It's mineral."
"What does that mean?" asked Ness, who had chosen, out of caution, to stay near the room's entrance.
"It means it's saltpeter," Hansi stated.
There was a moment of silence. And even though nobody truly understood what she was referring to, everyone seemed greatly unsettled by her conclusion.
"And that's not a good sign?" Nanaba questioned.
Unlike Ness, she had bravely approached to observe the anomaly.
"Not really," Hansi answered, nervously scratching her head. "The presence of saltpeter indicates that the humidity level inside the walls is too high. And if we don't act quickly, this stain will spread to the ceiling and then reach the rooms upstairs. Moreover, it's likely that other walls are affected as well. Not to mention that the proliferation of such a phenomenon can have harmful effects on our health."
"In other words, the barracks will soon look like a big pile of shit," Levi deduced with a sigh of exasperation.
"More like a heap of toxic salts," Hansi quickly corrected.
Ignoring her remark, he straightened up and immediately headed for the exit, his brows deeply furrowed and his expression clearly annoyed.
Nanaba and Hansi didn't waste time and followed him, and everyone quickly left the area. Afterward, the small group reassembled in front of one of the windows overlooking the fortress's inner courtyard.
"Go immediately and inform Shardiz!" Levi ordered Hansi firmly. "There's no way we're letting this crap spread everywhere!"
"Ideally, we should inspect the entire building. We could start by checking the walls of the damp rooms: communal bathrooms, individual shower rooms, maybe even the dormitories."
"Dormitories?" Nanaba repeated, looking puzzled. "But the new recruits are supposed to arrive in a few hours. We'll never have time to deal with this before they get here."
"We could have the kids take care of it..." Levi suggested.
— Ah, I know what idea you have in mind!" Hansi exclaimed, nervously laughing. "By sending the new recruits to inspect the walls of the toilets on their first day among us, we could give them a little preview of the dream life they'll lead in the Scout Regiment. Very clever of you, Levi! And very generous!"
"What can I say, I've always been very dedicated to making children happy..." he said ironically, glancing disenchantedly out the window.
Outside, the sun was shining intensely, casting its rays onto the uneven pavement of the courtyard... as well as onto Erwin's blonde mane as he made his way towards the main building. He was accompanied by a woman Levi had never seen before.
"Who's that?" he muttered as Nanaba and Hansi debated how to inform their commander about the nature of their problem.
"No idea," Hansi replied, peering out the window herself.
"I believe that woman is the new doctor Erwin brought from Karanes," Nanaba revealed.
"Erwin brought her here?" Ness asked, surprised.
"Yes," Nanaba replied. "She worked in the east as a physician during the operation to reclaim Wall Maria. This woman showed great dedication throughout the operation, saving dozens of lives despite the limited resources at her disposal."
"I see," Hansi murmured contritely. "So, Erwin's already starting to recruit staff."
Behind the window, they silently watched the lieutenant in uniform chatting merrily with the woman with very light blonde hair, wearing a small capeline with a black trim. Tall, with a slender figure, she wore a long gray coat over an outfit with somewhat military accents, undoubtedly not chosen by chance.
"A sort of bourgeois coquetry," Levi thought after conducting a detailed examination of her attire.
Moreover, Ness couldn't help but express his enthusiasm aloud at the sight of the attractive lady:
"Well, well, the new doctor is quite a beauty!"
"Yeah, not bad..." Levi agreed soberly.
Lost in her thoughts, Hansi (who never missed a chance to mock Levi whenever he deviated from his perpetually jaded demeanor) didn't even notice her companion's surprising approval. Though she stood physically beside her three comrades, observing the scene unfolding below with them, her mind was resolutely elsewhere.
More than two months had passed since the end of the operation to reclaim Wall Maria, and the expeditions beyond the walls remained indefinitely suspended. Due to a lack of funds and also due to a lack of political will, the Scout Regiment was firmly confined within the heart of the Trost District.
Time was starting to drag within the walls of the headquarters. Especially since the memory of that vile undertaking still haunted the minds of those who had escorted those poor souls to their demise. Blood, screams, filth, mountains of mutilated, dismembered bodies piled into mass graves; towering pyres of human flesh emitting a nauseating smoke; the omnipresent, lingering stench of death that took weeks to fade... that's what the dreadful winter that had just ended could be summed up as.
Today, the minds of these valiant soldiers, seared by those experiences, yearned for only one thing: to breach the gates of Wall Rose and gallop through the lost territories, as if to exorcise the inevitable defeat.
Lying face down, Hansi's lips pressed against the pillow as her weary, entirely naked body sank deeply into the straw mattress, while the flickering candlelight dimly illuminated the room, casting the shadow of her disheveled hair onto the walls; her hair was tied in a haphazard sort of bun at the back of her head.
With a vacant gaze and an empty mind, she peered through her glasses' lenses at the corner of the room, when suddenly, she saw them: the two unsightly stones covered in grayish crystals, right under her nose.
"Good heavens," she muttered, raising her head.
"What?" the man asked, taking off his boots at the other end of the room.
"Niter, on the wall! Here!" she immediately explained, pointing to the two spoiled stones.
The man remained silent and merely glanced at the spot she indicated. A few minutes passed in complete calm, then he finally approached. Folding his long legs, he sat on the edge of the bed.
"We need to quickly find a solution to this problem," Hansi said, resting her head on the pillow. "Starting with identifying the cause of the moisture seepage."
"Where do you think it might come from?" the man asked, now unbuttoning his shirt.
"Hard to say. Presence of water in the basement, poor ventilation, damaged gutter—causes could be multiple."
He removed his shirt and turned towards her, placing his large hand flat in the middle of her back. As he caressed the bare skin, he declared, "You'll handle this with Erwin. I won't have time to deal with it."
"I know," she nodded, closing her eyes as she felt the hand slide down to the small of her back. "I have a feeling Levi won't let me off the hook with this. That maniac was on the verge of a nervous breakdown this morning when we discovered the stain in the storage room. Oh, and speaking of Erwin, we saw him with the newcomer..."
"You might as well give up the idea of giving me a report on each of my men," he suggested, leaning in to place a kiss on the top of her head.
His gentle reprimand amused her, so she smiled. But the laughter she would typically share with him remained lodged in her throat. Tonight, the desire simply wasn't there.
His tall body pressed against hers, and with all his weight, he pushed her deeper into the mattress. He planted another kiss on her neck, just at the edge of her hairline. Then, with the utmost delicacy, he removed one hairpin after another that held her hair in place. It was a sort of ritual; love was only to be made with her hair down. For what reasons? Hansi was unsure.
Afterward, he took off her glasses and carefully placed them on the nightstand, finally surrendering to the joy of kissing her cheek.
Still lying face down, Hansi turned her head to relieve her sore neck.
"Show me your face," he gently commanded.
"But I can't turn my head any further!" she objected, with a feigned pout. "I'm going to end up twisting my neck!"
"Let me look at you…"
Moved by the plaintive tones of his voice, Hansi eventually gave in. She pretended to look at him over her shoulder, her face in profile, partially buried in the pillow. In the dim light and without her glasses, she could barely make out the contours of his head. Thus, she had to exert her imagination to mentally picture the brown hair, amber eyes, lines around his eyes, and the intensity of his gaze, even veiled by desire.
With infinite tenderness, he enveloped her in his arms and held her close. More kisses followed, on her neck, her shoulder. The bristle of his beard irritated her burning skin.
Gradually, she melted into his warmth. She did her best to etch this providential moment into her memory before her mind drifted away for good. She needed to preserve this memory for the trials ahead and turn these suspended minutes into a healing balm for the blows of fate. But soon, for some curious reason, the two large hands that were caressing her so tenderly ceased their movement. Then, they completely withdrew from her. In an instant, the mattress inflated as the man leaned against it to sit up. His movement was so swift, so sudden, that it stirred the air around them vigorously, causing the candle flame to waver, threatening to extinguish. Abruptly deprived of the warmth of his body, Hansi shivered. She immediately understood that something was amiss. What was happening? Why had he recoiled like that? Yet she could still feel that he was there, close by, watching her. Her back, her lower back, her buttocks, her entire body stretched out on the white sheets. Offered up to his gaze. His eyes had taken the place of his hands. And without a word, motionless, she allowed herself to be watched.
Then, a sigh was heard. One of those ruthless sighs that bode ill. Ruthless, like the body that resisted desire, suspended above hers. Petrified. What had halted his momentum like this?
Summoning her courage, Hansi resolved to turn her head to steal a glimpse over her shoulder and confront the nebulous vision of the one who was denying her. And she saw him: the tall, motionless body, planted like a stake in the white sheets.
"Come," she told him.
She then reached her hand toward the man who remained silent, who was wallowing in a fierce silence, to draw him close.
"Keith..." she murmured, her voice pleading. "Come here, come."
Her hand gripped his arm, inviting him to lie down on the sheets beside her. He complied quietly, obediently, without saying a word.
With closed eyes, Hansi kissed her commander's forehead, then his mouth. His warm lips still carried a trace of the wine they had shared a few hours earlier.
She brushed her fingers against his honey-toned skin, caressed his robust body. She lightly traced the countless scars with her fingertips, the marks of several decades of expeditions beyond the walls. Yet, she strongly sensed that he was holding back. But what was he holding back exactly? She had no idea.
He—the two-meter colossus, the force of nature, who had survived countless expeditions and had often defied death—was now just a shadow of himself.
And in this confusion, they made love.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, the commander poured himself a glass of water. Now it was his back turned to her. The room was plunged into a darkness only slightly softened by the nearly extinguished candle, and in the half-light, Hansi could only make out the outlines of his tall silhouette with broad shoulders and powerful arms.
"In five days, I'm leaving for Stohess to submit my resignation to Zackley," he declared solemnly, his head buried in his hunched back. "Come what may. Do you want to come with me?"
Exhausted and overwhelmed with sleepiness, she retorted with a yawn:
"I have to deal with this saltpeter issue..."
Hansi had deftly slipped under the covers and was already on the brink of falling into a deep slumber.
"Yes, you're right," he said in a subdued voice before blowing out the flame of the small candle to extinguish it. "You have better things to do here."
He placed his empty glass on the bedside table, right next to the glasses. After that, he stretched out fully on the bed. And in the darkness of the room, their two bodies nestled against each other finally found rest.
However, Hansi struggled mightily to fall asleep. Her own voice still echoed in her ears as she heard herself answering her commander's question with a detachment bordering on stupidity. Ultimately, had she understood the meaning of his question? The warm breath of the man falling asleep next to her only exacerbated her inner turmoil and heightened her remorse for having answered so quickly and imprudently.
A multitude of questions soon jostled in her mind. What did he mean by that? Accompany him where? For what purpose? And then, exactly why leave? Why now?
Doubt gradually turned into bitterness. How could a veteran like him transition into an instructor? None of it made any sense. She no longer understood anything. Why this sudden, abrupt departure?
Bitterness would soon give way to anger. Why must he desert his battalion like this, leaving his loyal soldiers in the lurch? He, the embodiment of courage, who had never faltered before men or monsters. He, her hero, her prime example of selflessness, her primary source of inspiration. Was the weight of all those lives lost under his command too heavy to bear? Or was there a more trivial reason driving him to flee?
As the only answer to all her questions, she would receive this cruelly relentless silence. And this silence would give birth to a silent, enduring hatred that would remain ingrained in her very core for the rest of her days.
Neither time nor the answers that would eventually be provided years later, in another place, in another "world," would soothe the pain of this abandonment.
Hansi loved a man who would soon abandon her. A man who was soon to leave her. Five days. That would be the duration of her terrible agony. Her soul bitten to the blood, thrown to the pigs. The prospect of being trampled by a horde of titans would have seemed less grim and devilishly less painful.
To be continued...
