Hello! Another friday, another update! Quite a chonky chapter for you guys this time, which I'm raaaather pleased with I have to admit. A heads up, from today till the 28th of Nov I am gonna be on a big holiday, so while I would love to upload each week as expected, I will not guarantee it. HOPEFULLY I will, but if I disappear for a few weeks, that is why. Should be back to normal by December 2nd for uploads. But basically, it MIGHT not be weekly for that wee stretch. Cheers!

LEVI POV

In some ways the place hadn't changed at all, in others it felt entirely foreign. Water sloshed over the bucket as he hauled it onto the well's side, pouring some into the kettle and some into the small bowls left out for the local strays. The area had done well, seemingly still quite peaceful despite him having been gone for so long. Violence was a part of the Underground. It always would be. But he had been determined to carve out at least a small space of relative peace, and it seemed he, Isabel and Farlan had managed that. Maybe the Merchants even continued to know their place, worrying he might eventually come back. Levi snorted, he had been efficient, but not terrifying. Maybe the merchants just finally realised that if they gave a little to the people the people would buy a lot more and steal less. Maybe.

He headed back inside with the kettle, pausing at the bottom of the back door steps. So often he had found Isabel sat there, cradling some unfortunate creature that was ill, or had a broken bone. Often they were beyond help. If that was the case, either he or Farlan would ease the thing out of her shaking hands and take it round the corner to put it out of its misery. If not, they'd help her clean it up and deal with the ongoing worries for the next few days as the thing recovered slowly. Isabel was quick, clever and kind. Farlan was the same, but his kindness was strictly aimed at humans. And beyond that, those he felt were worth bothering with. Levi gripped the rusted handrail tightly. They had been gone for so long now, he struggled to recall their faces clearly. Their voices were reduced to mere echoes of laughter or snorts of derision. But they were still there, living within his memories. It wasn't much, but it was all he could give.

Lost them, didn't ya?

Levi winced. For all his faults, Kenny had always had a gift for hitting the nail on the head. When it came to hurting someone, he knew right where to twist the knife. Levi was fairly sure he hadn't given anything away in the moment, but his heart stuttered with how much he had wanted to ram that knife down Kenny's throat for even thinking he could talk about Isabel or Farlan. He had no right. They were Levi's friends, his family, his past. After being abandoned by Kenny, humanity as a whole could have all simply disappeared and Levi wouldn't have given a damn. But gradually Farlan earned his trust and Levi learned to care again. Isabel had compounded that. She made him want to care. Both of them had brought him back.

His eyes lingered on the back door. And now Robyn had brought him back after losing them. Or rather, finished the job. Hanji and Mike had done a lot as well, in their own way, even Erwin had helped. But Robyn had reached deeper. And it was high time he admitted to that, and stopped running away from what she really meant. It went so far beyond 'fuck buddies', he couldn't even think the title without rolling his eyes. He had been an idiot to accept that in the beginning anyway, but now he had to step forward and quash it. She might not return the sentiment, she might wrinkle her nose and wave the notion away. Too complicated. Too dangerous. Not what she signed up for. But he had enough hope to try.

She might wrinkle her nose for an entirely new reason as well.

His time selling himself on the street had been brief by all accounts, barely a year. It had taught him a lot. About himself. About people. About the world. Sometimes all you had to do was endure a little pain, and reap the benefits. It hadn't been the healthiest of times, but in the end, it was also where he met Farlan. They left the job together. Struck out on their own, forged their own path. Would Robyn judge Levi for that time? Keza had obviously had her share of that life, and while dealing with the elite these days, still counted as a version of it. But was it the same in Robyn's eyes? He doubted she would judge, if he was honest, he was projecting old shadows of shame. Would he see them reflected in her gaze? He hoped not. That would hurt a lot more than Kenny using it like a bargaining chip. Whatever that man had been once, he was no longer any form of family. No. At most he was a bad aftertaste.

Levi climbed the stairs and locked the back door behind himself, finding the kitchen empty. She likely went upstairs to gather herself. After Kenny left she had looked on the verge of falling over. But she had also looked on the verge of strangling the old man when he so callously referred to Levi's past and loss. A smile pulled at Levi's lips. She was so passionate about everything, even the likes of Levi. And part of that was why he had the hope that his true feelings might be returned. The small looks, the lingering touches, the way she didn't shy away from him when he leaned closer and closer – physically and emotionally. That night after training when they shared that shower, clinging to each other in the steam, and his foolish words had fallen out of his mouth. He missed her. They were true. He had missed her, and longed to have her back in his bed, or at least by his side. But he hadn't meant to voice it aloud. But what did she do? She just smiled kindly and returned it, kissed his head and moved on, likely realising his panic from the way he had frozen up. And that was just it, wasn't it? When he froze, she came to thaw him. When she wobbled, he helped her stay strong. They would be fine without each other, of course, they had managed fine and well beforehand. But they weren't content with 'fine' anymore, were they?

Upstairs a floorboard creaked in his bedroom and he set the kettle onto the stove to start heating up. He had to say it. He loved Robyn. If she didn't want that, that was fine. But he had to voice it. Though admittedly he did wish that he had said it the day before, when they were still up-top and not in the wake of Kenny's venomous words. Run from her. Like Levi could ever do that, or would want to. But Levi knew he had to make it clear to Robyn, and her odd way of viewing herself, that his confession of sentiment wasn't based in a reaction to Kenny. Or that Levi was feeling nostalgic about having family. No, he genuinely felt this way, and to say it inside that house felt like a full-circle kind of moment. Isabel and Farlan had helped him feel again, and Robyn had brought him back to life.

He climbed the stairs. Not a creak sounded as his feet automatically found the spots that were silent, years of training coming in handy, with the echoes of Isabel's complaints if he ever was noisy when heading up to bed so late. He smirked. She would appear at her bedroom door, hair mussed by sleep, face affronted at being awoken again. She'd throw a pillow, a broom, once she even tried to throw a mug, but the handle caught on her thumb and it just sort of spun there. He shook his head. She would have adored Robyn, no doubt, they both would have.

A small sigh came from his bedroom. No doubt Robyn's mind was whirring a mile a minute.

He pushed on the door. "I wondered where you'd–"

"Gah!" She spun round, clutching the window sill.

He blinked, looking her over. Why was she so panicked? Unless she really had been thinking a hundred miles away and totally zoned out. It wouldn't be the first time, but it didn't exactly explain the fear that had flashed into her eyes. Then again, the Underground was new to her. Likely unnerving.

She unhooked her fingers from the sill. "Bloody hell, Levi, I didn't hear you on the stairs at all."

"I know how to avoid the creaky bits." He shrugged. "Always annoyed Isabel if I woke her when I headed to bed. Sorry, didn't realise you'd be so… jumpy. Everything all right?"

"Yeah I'm good I just… Well it feels like a wasted trip, but yeah, I'm fine." She pushed her hair back, and there didn't seem to be a shake to her hands at least. Her frame wasn't trembling either. Presumably it was a simple shock, nothing deeper. "Are you all right?"

Typical.

He came in the room and closed the door behind. "Getting there."

"Right." She looked down for a moment, arm hugging herself round the middle, hand clasping the other arm. Like a child. Being on the backfoot didn't suit her. But how could she not be? He had told her their names, mentioned them in passing, but he had never really gone into his past. This world, this shadowed place, to her it was all new. It was strange. Or, perhaps it was oddly familiar. Her past was hardly sunshine and roses, and her own father had been the peak kind of bastard that Kenny was. Perhaps worse. Then again, it wasn't a competition. Either way, she needed Levi to reach out, to help her find how to get around the creaky bits. Or even accept that the creaky bits were okay.

He cleared his throat. "I thought it would be weirder to be back here without them."

She looked up, surprise lighting her features.

He kept going. "But it's not so bad actually. Doesn't feel as haunted as I had expected. Though when it comes to Kenny, that went far better than I dared hope." Mainly because Kenny hadn't killed anyone.

Her brow quirked, but she didn't voice her confusion.

He perched on the bed frame, clasping his hands. "I am sorry for what he said to you though, that can't have been easy to hear."

She leaned back against the wall, eyes down again. "It's fine."

"No, it really isn't. And of course I'm ignoring him entirely about Sanshi's being doomed to ruin things or whatever else he was shitting out of his mouth."

A tension entered the room, much like he had expected. Her eyes were glued to the floor. It was like he could see the words lining her pursed lips – a want to laugh it off, to wave a hand and agree everything had been bullshit, but she couldn't quite bring herself to do it. She frowned. She closed her eyes. Levi knew well enough by now that she felt cursed, and the loss of another team won't have helped her with those demons. Death surrounded them all. It was just picking on her a bit for some reason.

"Robyn?"

She licked her lips, and they trembled before her teeth flashed into view for a moment. Trying to get the mask in place. Trying to be strong.

Levi sighed and went over to her, gently running a finger along her chin, encouraging her to look up. She did. Those beautiful hazel eyes found his for a moment, but she didn't hold the contact for long. Unsure. Unsteady. Recovery would take time, and be slower in some areas over others. He leaned in close, forehead pressed to hers, noses brushing.

"Don't let him get into your head."

She bit her lip and whispered. "But what if he isn't wrong?"

"I already know that he is." He leaned back slightly and couldn't help but smirk at her confusion. "You helped me. You didn't ruin me."

"I still might."

"And I might get eaten by a Titan tomorrow."

She winced.

He cupped her face. "Fuck the 'might' option. You wouldn't knowingly ruin anything, you're too damn good for that, regardless of you knowing it or not."

"How… How do you see all that?" She asked, looking far too desperate to understand.

"Because I'm looking at you." He wanted to kiss her then and there, to seal the moment and rush onto confessing, to move forward, to press onwards and stop looking back over his shoulder. But the past had been dragged up. And he didn't want her to feel like it was forbidden. They could talk about it. She could know it all, if she wanted to. "About the uh… The other details he revealed. I dunno if you feel I should have told you about it but I–"

"I'm sorry he used it like that." She pressed a finger to his lips. "Reliving it even in snippets can be fucking difficult. I didn't know about your mother's passing in that kind of detail, but no, you didn't owe me the information. Why would you? Confide in me when you want to, Levi. I'm not demanding a thing."

He smiled softly and kissed her finger. "And the other part? You don't exactly seem disgusted, but it doesn't hurt to check."

She frowned. "Other… Oh. His pathetic little dig about street corners?"

Levi nodded, a small flicker of fear in the back of his mind despite all evidence to the contrary.

She lowered her finger and met his gaze head-on, no room for hesitation, no room for falsehood. Just her and him. Honesty. "You survived. If it's something you ever want to discuss in more detail, to maybe get it out of your system, then fine. But otherwise? Again, I'm not owed information. It's not a profession I want for myself, but it isn't something I condemn either. It's work like anything else. I just can't be that vulnerable with strangers… It's why Keza went that way and I couldn't. As for you, Levi… You're a beautiful man, it makes sense that you used that to your advantage at one point."

Beautiful. She called him beautiful.

He laughed breathlessly. "You're astonishing."

"Mm, you keep saying that."

And he kissed her gently.

Fingers threaded into his hair and she sought him out, deepening the kiss, sighing when he pressed his body to hers. The chill of the conversation dulled. He wrapped one arm around her middle, holding tight, not leaving any room for hesitation. Surely he could still say it, even with that murky conversation with Kenny, even with their newfound uncertainties and worries. The walls could crumble at any second, Titans might be inside Wall Rose somehow, the Colossal and the Armoured had been identified – but right now they couldn't do anything but be tiny little humans. Together.

Those three little words that would obliterate any pretence of 'fuck buddy', that would make it a decision of sticking together or not. He wouldn't force her, of course. If she wanted to keep it casual, he could at least try. Or accept that it had to end. The last thing she needed was to be trapped. But he had to be honest. Every time she pulled him close, every time he got to hold her, caress her, feel her, every time that tongue danced with his own, every time he found himself wrapped up in those silken thighs, he knew it was more than fucking. Because it was also in the quiet moments. The smaller touches. The looks and the smiles. A want to share tea with her, talk about his day with her, to know how hers had gone and how she was doing. He cared. And for a long time he had been terrified to care about anything beyond making it worthwhile he had lived, while his family died.

Her hand slipped down his front, delicate but strong fingers slipping past his belt. It wouldn't take much more for them to be tumbling towards the bed, lost in a sea of gasping breaths and deepening touches. It wasn't clear when he would stop craving her closeness, but it didn't seem like it would be anytime soon.

But he didn't want those three little words choked between moans.

No.

He broke the kiss and held her at arms length by her shoulders. "Robyn."

"Uh… Yes?" She blinked. "Is something wrong?"

In her face he saw worry, confusion, and perhaps even a little guilt. How was she so unsure after all this time? A small smile prickled at the edges of his lips and he shook his head. "No, nothing at all. I just… I wanted to talk to you about something, and frankly it's already been muddied enough by Kenny's appearance. I don't want it made even murkier by us being half-undressed, or fully horizontal."

She closed her mouth. "Mm?"

He released her shoulders and took one of her hands. "C'mon, the kettle will be heated up by now, it'll squeal any second."

"Okay…" She squeezed his hand. "You are planning on explaining though, right?"

"Of course." He squeezed back and led her back down to the kitchen, chuckling quietly to himself as his steps remained silent and her own announced every single one of her movements. He pulled out a chair and got the tea sorted.

With her sitting there, a strangely nostalgic feeling swamped him. She had never been there before, and yet fit so perfectly into that moment. A domestic moment. So simple and yet utterly surreal. Humanity's Strongest, whatever that really counted for, making tea for the woman he loved. The hot water sloshed into the pot, the leaves colour swirling like ink as he put the lid on and collected a couple of chipped cups. His eyes stayed low, not meeting hers as he worked. He wanted this to be done right. And even though he wasn't sure if this counted as 'right', it felt better than confessing it when laying between her legs. Though that could gladly come later if this went the way he hoped it might. He sat in his own chair, across the small table from her, and he studied the tabletop for a few moments. Was he blushing?

He ran a finger round the rim of his cup. "First, I wanted to make a few things clear, if that's okay?"

"Of course."

"So listen, okay? Don't go filling in blanks in that head of yours, just… Let me speak." He knew he sounded a little odd, but he knew how much of a pro she was at jumping to the wrong conclusions.

She pretended to tie a knot at each corner of her lips.

He smirked. "Perfect. Thank you. I–All right, well you know I'm shit at this emotional stuff, but I'll give it my best shot."

She sat straighter.

"First of all, I should have spoken to you about this before. Probably when we were still up-top, when we were waiting for all that damn questioning to come to an end after Stohess. But I hesitated and now… Well don't go thinking I'm only saying any of this because of Kenny, all right? I'm not. I'm not trying to overcompensate for that shithead's words, by saying any of this. Do you… Do you trust that?"

She nodded.

He poured the tea and sipped his. "Thank you. All right then I… Well I… Basically I'm a moron."

She blinked.

He continued. "When we started this 'intimacy', I was a coward. I knew it then, like I know it now, but…" He wrinkled his nose. "Fuck buddies isn't what I want us to be."

Again she blinked, and he wasn't sure if he was imagining a slight shine having appeared in her eyes.

He swallowed hard. "Sure it worked for my initial idiocy of assuming my feelings towards you were only physical. That maybe I'd work through it and everything would be fine. But… No, I was wrong. Hence the moron title. So for starters, I don't want us to just be fuck buddies, is uh… Is that clear? You don't need to agree or not yet, but uhm, am I making any sense?"

She just nodded and stayed quiet. Was that a good sign or not? Was she wondering how to escape the building quickest?

He swallowed hard. "All right, good. Beyond that… I think I… Well what I mean is… Shit why am I finding this so damn hard to say?"

"Because you're awkward as hell when it comes to emotional things?" She offered kindly, tilting her head. The proverbial nail had been hit on the head. But at least she clearly knew him. He closed his mouth and looked to the side, certain he was blushing by that point. She clasped her tea. "Take a deep breath and say whatever you wanna say. I'll listen."

Whatever you want to say. Had she really not got a single clue on what he might want to talk about after all this time? Perhaps he had read it all wrong. The lingering touches, the looks when she didn't think he'd been looking. Maybe it had been all in his head. Or even maybe Petra had misread things entirely. His heart was in his mouth, but he knew he had to keep going.

He raised a brow. "You really don't know?"

She shrugged. "I have an idea. Or maybe a hope would be a better way to put it."

Oh. She was just letting him say it. She had guessed, or even been on the same page? His heart calmed, and he got up from his seat to go to her, searching her gaze. He cupped her face. In those warm tones he found amusement, a little apprehension and perhaps some impatience. At least, he hoped that was what he saw.

Eventually he just huffed a laugh. "You're impossible."

"Likewise."

"All right." He drew a deep breath. "Robyn?"

"Levi."

"I love you."

She grinned, eyes shining. "All right." She then drew an overly dramatic breath. "Levi?"

He snorted. "Robyn."

"I love you."

For a moment afterwards they were just silent, staring and presumably both reeling. His hands shook a little, and even though at the back of his mind he had feared it, the world did not implode. This was allowed. Happiness. He could have his own slice of it, even if only brief, even if only when alone. But he could grasp it tight and admit it aloud.

A tear rolled down her cheek. "Guess this means we're both fucked then, eh?"

He ran his thumb under her eye to catch the tear. "Absolutely."

Then he kissed her like he couldn't breathe without her lips on his. There was no need to hold anything back anymore, no need to shy away from the fact enough was never enough, to hide from the fact he wanted her there at all times. He had said it. She returned it. No more fear, no more wondering, no more questioning. She stood and wrapped her arms around his neck, his arms winding round her middle, lifting her from the floor slightly. Such a connection would have terrified him before, but now it just made him want to fight even harder. Because now he had so much more to lose in this world. But also so much more to enjoy.

He set her down and put his forehead to her, both panting hard.

He smiled. "You said it back."

"Of course I said it back, you idiot." She laughed in that open way, the small and unsure child gone for the time being. She shook her head. "So was it Hanji that got to you? Mike was pretty damn insistent I confess to you sooner rather than later. I wonder how much they had on their bet this time."

He traced along her cheekbone, a touch of sadness in his voice. "It was Petra actually."

Robyn went still, eyes wide. Her friend; for so many years they had trained together, lived together, learned together. How long had Petra known? Levi guessed she had known about both of them, rolling her eyes behind their backs, impatient with their dawdling.

Levi smirked. "She told me to stop wasting time and say it. I got a proper scolding over it."

Tears welled again and he wiped them away as they spilled. After everything that had happened he had been so afraid that passion might have dimmed in Robyn, that her heart wouldn't be able to let itself feel so freely anymore. But that wasn't the case. No. She was too strong for that.

He kissed her again, but chastely. "This would have made them happy, you know? Petra and the others, they would be glad."

Robyn sniffed and laughed. "Y-Yeah. They probably had a bet going as well."

"No doubt." He then kissed her head. "You know I'm not saying it because of Kenny, right?"

"Yes. Just like I'm not saying it out of obligation. If you hadn't said it, I would have."

It hadn't occurred to him that he needed to hear that, but apparently he did. Relief washed over him, pushing a breathless laugh from his lungs. From the very start he had never wanted her to feel obligated. Be it because he was her Captain, a fellow scout, or simply someone she was taking pity on, he never wanted her to feel like she had to meet his intimacy half way. He only ever wanted her to if it was what she wanted. But clearly she did. Robyn loved him.

She tugged on his collar, bringing him into another kiss; slow, deep, lingering. Every push and pull had their breaths shortened and their hands wandering. Slowly she led the way towards the stairs. He grinned against her lips and hitched her onto his hips immediately, holding her close, her legs tightening around his middle. So warm. So soft. His hands gripped the underside of her thighs, her being perched against him perfectly.

Her lips travelled along his throat. "I know you said you didn't want to say it horizontally, but now that it's been said…"

"Horizontal it is." He growled, pausing outside the bedroom door to push her against the wall and grind. A groan escaped him, the pressure of her against him intoxicating, before he remembered he had something else to say. "Though I gotta say one more thing before I am entirely mindless."

"Mm?" She started undoing his shirt buttons, so fiddly.

"Thank you."

She paused. Her eyes met his in the gloom of the hallway, her hands resting on his chest, likely able to feel how hard his heart was hammering. She frowned and he couldn't help but chuckle. Always so suspicious. He kissed her cheek, then the other, then her forehead, and finally the tip of her nose.

"You brought me back to life."

"L-Levi, I–"

"No, please. I was just doing my duty, trying to justify having lived while they died. There was no way for me to know how much this would mean, between us but… Fuck it means so much, way more than it was meant to."

She bit her lip. "You make it sound like I should be apologising."

"For what?" He laughed, kissing under her jaw, grinding his hips again. "For being utterly irresistible to me to begin with? Such a bad brat you are. Or is it for being so damn charming and making me completely powerless when it came to trying to stay away? Just terrible of you, really."

She giggled as he nibbled on her ear lobe. "All right, enough silver-tongued praise."

"Mm, for now perhaps." He gave one last long grind and then moved through the doorway.

He kicked it closed behind him, laid her down on the de-dust-sheeted bed and braced himself either side of her head. Red hair splayed against the sheets, her eyes bright and warm, cheeks flushed and smile gleaming in the dim light from the window. Beautiful. Astonishing. His. Just like he was hers. For a moment he just stared. Luck had never felt like it stood on his side much, but at long last he felt like it had smiled on his life. Then he lowered himself to settle between her thighs, her legs automatically wrapping around him despite how much clothing we were still wearing. And as always, it was far too much clothing.

"Hey, Levi?"

He tilted his head. "Yes?"

"Thank you, too."

He rolled his eyes. "C'mon don't pull that–"

"You never tried to fix me." She bit her lip when it wobbled, and reached to trace his lips. "I can just be me with you."

"Just like I can be me with you. And I'll say it as many times as I need to." He kissed her gently. "You never needed fixed."

She hid in the crook of his neck. It would probably take a very long time for her to fully accept that idea. No doubt the world had always taught her she was faulty, broken, in need of repair. But it wasn't what he saw. Never.

He breathed her in. "I'll help you however I can, whenever you want it, but the thing is Robyn… I love you. And that's not despite anything, it's not me ignoring any part of you. I get it, and I want it."

"You're a fucking maniac." She laughed loudly.

"Indeed, but I'm your maniac."

"Mm, likewise."

And then no more words were needed. In a frenzy of clasping hands and kissed skin the layers fell away, puddling against the floorboards until finally they were bare between the sheets. He kissed her slow. His touch curled into her. She keened. Her body, usually so powerful and unmoveable, melted under his touches. Her voice, usually so sharp and unyielding, sighed his name and hitched into soft moans. Only he got to see her like that. Open. Unguarded. It was an honour. Every lick of her tongue made him shudder, every caress of her practised fingers had him needing more. More. Always more. But this time he wanted it to be slow, careful, loving. Fuck buddies no longer.

"Robyn." He kissed her as he sunk into her.

"Y-Yes, Levi?"

"Look at me." His hands braced either side of her head, her thighs trembling against his hips as she arched off the sheets. But she kept eye-contact, the gold of her eyes all that was still visible beyond how far her pupils had blown. They rolled back a little as he reached the hilt and for a moment they were still, both relishing in that connection, but then she blinked and met his eye again, a grin splitting along her red lips. He moved. Her lips wrapped round an O and her hands clasped his wrists, her hips meeting his half way as they moved together.

"So good…" She gasped. "Fuck, so good."

"Yes you are." He panted, lying chest to chest, pulsating in and out, gripping her thigh against his hip.

She ran a hand along his cheek, moaning his name, kissing him longingly. He had never dreamed of feeling for someone so wholly. Never considered it a possibility in his life of danger, uncertainty and struggle. But there she was. Warm. Real. Loving. And she wanted him. Every touch, gasp, bite and kiss told him that tenfold. Though it didn't mean he wanted to stop having it underlined.

He put his head against her shoulder, snapping his hips harder against her, though staying close all the same. She whimpered and threaded her fingers into his hair, grazing his undercut, kissing his temple. He rolled his hips slower then. Deeper, more purposeful, driving into her as hard but steady as he could. She shuddered. Her body arched again and her nails scraped against his wrist. She was losing the ability to speak in full sentences, reduced to a panting, whimpering, moaning puddle beneath him.

"Levi…" She groaned, turning her head and biting at his arm out of sheer need to do something with that mouth as he stayed just out of reach. To see her so desperate for him was a thrill. Robyn didn't let her guard down to anyone else; no one else knew what she needed, wanted or craved. But Levi did. And in that moment he felt it to his bones, that it was him. She wrapped her legs tightly around him and pulled him deep, holding him there and making him growl against the column of her throat.

"What is it, Robyn? Too much for you?" He panted, licking along her skin as she gave a sound far too much like a purr to not make him give a small moan of his own. "Fuck."

And then she flipped them, rolling him onto his back, impaling him so much deeper inside of herself. They both cried out. Her walls fluttered, pulsing around him as she rolled her hips softly, biting her lips against louder noises. He wanted those noises though. Her nails scraped along his chest and he tried to thrust upwards, to move, to seek that delicious friction. But she was having none of it. She practically growled, pinning him down by the chest, staring at him intently. He didn't bother moving again.

She smiled. So open and honest as she scooped her hair to one side, it cascading down her front trailing along her chest, failing to hide much. Not that any of it needed to be hidden at all. He reached, and palmed her, glad to feel her lean into it and tilt her head at the same time. He kneaded. She keened into soft moans that made his mouth water. She pulled his other hand from her hip, encouraging his touch towards that knot of nerves. So greedy. Beautiful. Perfect. He grinned and pressed against the nerves, making her convulse into a fresh shudder and a gleeful laugh.

Her movements became stronger, more purposeful. Chasing her end, dragging him towards his. He laid his head back and moaned, not able to take his eyes off her for one second. She braced against him, snapping her hips up and down, tightening around him, panting his name. He pulled her into a deep kiss and caressed her nerves. She sped up. Her nails dug into his flesh. His thumb pressed against her harder.

"Fuck… Levi…" She whimpered, trembling.

He kissed her again. "Can I flip us?"

"Please." She laughed.

And he did so. He worried his grip would be too tight, but she just laughed or moaned, eyes fluttering closed as she melted. More. She just wanted more. Like him. They were both being so greedy. But no one could stop them, not now. His hips quickened. Her cries got louder.

"Levi." She chanted, holding onto him so tight, her body trembling beneath him. "I'm–"

"Me too." He groaned, biting her shoulder, chasing their ends as his skin tingled under her touch. Perfect. It was perfect.

"Fuck!" They cried together, falling into that blissful abyss.

He slowed. She gasped, hands trailing over any part of his skin she could reach, eyes glazed drunkenly, hips still slowly undulating with his own. Wonderful. Beautiful. Astonishing.

He laid back, catching his breath as he stared at the ceiling. The same ceiling he had stared at for so many years, dreaming about what it would be like to live under the stars instead of the cavern. So much had changed. So many people had entered his life, as well as left. It was hard to tell when they would be important or not, but every time he found himself caught off guard. When he first saw Robyn she had dazzled him, yes, but he hadn't known if she would even make it back from her first time beyond the gates. But she had. From strength to strength she had soared, and always exceeded his expectations. And now? There she lay with her head against his chest, a soft smile of her lips, having done the thing he had assumed was impossible. Not only had she found his heart, she had claimed it for his own. But of course, he had hers, which in all honesty seemed like quite the trade up.

A smile pulled on his lips as he let himself drift. Tomorrow would bring more challenges, just like every day after that, but with her by his side it didn't feel so daunting. In fact, it was exhilarating. Which in itself felt ridiculous considering there was potentially another breach of the walls, that their lives might go from difficult to almost impossible. But right now, in that small home he had built with Isabel and Farlan, he simply allowed himself to enjoy the happiness. It was real. It was tangible. And it was astonishing.

Dun dun duuuuun. The big ol' confession! And now... What could go wrong?! Muhahahaha! Cya next week MAYBE! But as I said in the first note, if I can't upload while on holiday (or don't want to, because fuuuuck it I'm on holiday, right?), then uploads will resume as normal from Dec 2nd! Cheerio!