đđȘđČđ»đČđ·đ°: Levi Ackerman x Lieutenant!Reader (GN)
đąđŸđ¶đ¶đȘđ»đ: As Captain Levi's trusted Lieutenant, you'd done your best to assist in keeping his new squad's morale up during your stay deep within the forest. Guarding the Beast Titan's user, Zeke Jeager, for a month's time had taken its toll on you allâyou didn't see the attack coming until it was too late. The squad's death, Zeke's escape and recapture, the explosion...everything happened too fast for you to react beyond shielding your beloved Captain. The next thing you knew, you'd taken the blow, leaving Levi to come to your rescue.
đđžđ·đœđźđ·đœ: Themes of grief/loss, descriptions of injury/injury to reader, angst-to-fluff, language
đ/đ: I'm so sorry this request took so long to publish! I was really off my game for most of 2025 lol. But now that I'm in a better headspace (at the moment), I'm wanting to get back to pushing out requests! I'm pretty self-conscious of this one-
Once again, the writing got away from me; enjoy a 2.8k word count :/ Hope it ended up okay for you lovely!
~đŻđœđŸđ đ đđđđđđ~
Just as quickly as it had begun, the chaos came to an end.
Steam from decomposing titans rose up through the trees like tendrils of smoke, enough to nearly obscure your vision entirelyâit dissipated all too soon, leaving you with a grim sight just a pace or two away from where you stood on tired legs.
Hadn't you, just a moment before, cautioned your Captain against this? It seemed your concern had gone unnoted, for there Levi was; kneeling onto the forest floor, inches away from the mangled and crumpling corpse of the Beast Titan, reduced to unconsciousness. In one hand he held aloof a thunder spear, curling with steam and dissipating bloodâthough, the majority of sticky crimson remained, and you had to glance away.
Zeke had fallen captive once more. What remained of him, at least.Â
Levi had wasted no time in dismembering the blondâs legs and tying back his wrists, but a cruel gleam remained in the Captainâs eyesâmalice, rage, bloodlustâŠyou knew he likely wouldn't listen to you now.Â
Not after what Zeke had done.
And in all honesty, you couldn't blame him.
It had been so quiet just this morning, another day of guard duty in the forestâwhere had the time gone? One moment, you'd been laying back in your hammock high above the campsite, on break from your âshiftâ of sorts. Down below you paced your comrades, speaking low or joking quietly. Others read or wrote, some slept or trained.
It had been almost peaceful, if one could call this duty such.Â
Captain Levi and his squad, yourself included, had been assigned to keep watch over the Beast Titanâs user, Zeke, for a month's time: a long, boring month of detaining a grown ass man within the forest far from the walls. While necessary, many complaints had arisen.
Boredom, homesickness, distrustâŠa whole plethora of reasons kept Leviâs new squad on edge.Â
As the Captainâs Lieutenant, you'd done your best to smooth over what you could. If not for them, then perhaps youâd subtract one more stressor from Leviâs long list.Â
So youâd hoped, anyways.Â
Even when your companions, and admittedly yourself, had grown restless after the second week, youâd all held out this long. The end had been near, with hopes to return to the walls. The whole ordeal had been stressful, but worth it in the end to see your squadmates lighten up.
Yet nowâŠnow, they were gone.Â
All of them, not a single soldier had been left alive.
They didn't get the chance to return home. To celebrate, to bond outside of duty.
Another squad, gone. Their bodies mutilated in titan form burned into your mind evermore.Â
All dead.
All but you and your Captain.
So many had been tricked by the enemy with tainted wine and restlessnessâthe thought made you ill.
Youâd been offered a glass, and had declined. Had you acceptedâŠ
Leviâs frustrated grunt brought you back to the present and out of your thoughts. Turning to see what it was he was even doing, you froze.
âCaptain, Iâm serious; this might be too muchâŠâ You murmured, quick steps leading you forward to reach for the spear he aimed down at Zeke. But he was quicker, snatching it away from your outstretched hand. Heâd had the end of the explosive pressed against the shifterâs abdomen, despite your earlier protests.
âItâll keep him deterred from disobeying again, once the fur ball wakes up,â Levi scoffed, leveling you with the glare that hadn't left his face since the moment the battle started. You let your hand fall away from the thunder spear he gripped, and sighed.
This was recklessâŠ
"And if he jolts anyways, pulling the wireâŠ?âÂ
â...He won't make it that far. Iâll be watching for the moment he wakes; he owes me a little chat.â
A sickening wet thud followed the moment he lunged forward, and once again you had to look away.
Tying the wire around Zekeâs neck, Levi continued to speak over his shoulder.
âBet he wasn't counting on both our sobrietyâs, the bastard. IâŠâ
He paused, seeming to mull over his thoughts before continuing again, softer this time.
âIâmâŠglad you didnât drink, brat.â
âSo am IâŠâ you replied meekly, keeping your gaze averted.
âWe shouldn't have allowedââ
âStop that.â Levi cut you off, tying the wire taught before coming to a stand.
âThere was no âweâ, it was me. I gave the okay, I cut them some slackâthis is on me.â
He avoided your gaze as he looked around the disarrayed forest, scoffing under his breath. His expression slowly changed from anger to vulnerability, as if the guilt he felt was physically painful and heavy. You knew it wasâŠ
â...See if the carts are still intact, and if the horses back at camp are still tethered,â Levi continued.
âWe're taking Zeke to the interior.â
Hours passed by with nothing of interest to note as the horse trotted along the old dirt road.
The forest blurred by as you lost yourself to thought again, watching the horizon color vividly with the dipping sun.
Miraculously, youâd managed to locate a cart still intact, and a horse healthy enough to pull the weight. Levi had taken to placing Zeke upon the floor of the craft and carefully arranging his limp body while you kept a lookout, and then off you'd been.Â
Your Captain had been more quiet than usual, his gaze never wavering from the blond man at his feet. You hadn't pushed for conversation while you guided the horseâs direction from the front seat: there was nothing to say that hadn't already been felt.
Even as evening turned to night, and night into morning, the pace at which you traveled never slowed. Despite the rain soaking you to the bone, despite thirst and hunger, you carried on.
Chancing a glance back, you were surprised to catch Leviâs eye; the first heâd taken it off of Zeke in hours. He looked about to say something, but hesitated as a quiet murmur above the crash of rain caught both your attentions, and he held up a hand.
Then, and only then, did Levi signal you to pull the reins.
Slowing the horseâs gait, you swept your gaze to the floor of the cart, and cursed under your breath; heâd woken up.
Already Levi had tortured the man, taking out his frustrations after explaining his situation to himâyou hadn't expected Zeke to gain consciousness so soon after having his regenerating legs so crudely amputated.
This time, Levi seemed more content to listen to Zekeâs inane rambling before physically lashing out. Even still, you chose this moment to quietly remind him of the time before he could.
âWeâre nearly an hour out; itâs best we just keep moving.â
Levi cast you a look over his shoulder, but didn't comment. So, begrudgingly, you turned your attention back ahead and just listened to Zekeâs speech. In the midst of it, you heard Levi scoff.
âLook at that, your legs are growing back alreadyâŠâ
You turned just as heâd unsheathed his blade, but before he could raise it much higher, Zeke began to scream and thrash.
In the moment, you hardly registered what he was saying; because the instant Zeke jerked his head, you were on your feet.
âCap-!â You started to scream, but already it was too late.
One moment, you felt the slick of rain water slowing your steps inside the cart, and the next you felt nothing at all. Nothing but a vague awareness to the sensation of weightlessness.Â
The grey skies overhead vanished from sight, the cool chill brought by the downpour warmed, and screams seem to just fade away in your ears. Even the explosion had seemed silent, despite seeing it happen for yourself.
You never registered hitting the ground, nor the sharp sting of injuryâeverything was blank.
Empty.
QuietâŠthen still.
The moment you regained consciousness, panic overtook your mind.Â
Up above you saw a canopy of leaves, swaying in the breeze and bouncing under pelting rainâwhen had the sky darkened? How long had your eyes been closed?
Where were you? Where was the field, and the burning cart?
LeviâŠ
You hastily swiveled your gaze this way and that, but only saw half of what you expected to; in the way that only one of your eyes seemed to obey your will to open.
A scratchy material itched your face in many places, leaving you feeling a sense of dread.Â
Who had bandaged your face? What was your condition?
Though, when you attempted to raise a hand up to your face to inspect the covering, you found your arm felt heavy like lead.
Everything felt like lead.
Heavy, bruised, achy, sharp and painfulâŠThe explosion, you recalled.
Had you shielded Levi enough?Â
What became of Zeke?
Where had you ended up?
Why was it soâŠcold?
All these silent questions swirling around your head only worsened the ache behind your eyes. This wouldn't doâŠ
Sheer determination helped you sit up, despite your brain screaming at you to stay laid down.Â
The second you did, a firm hand gripped your shoulder, making you gasp.
Levi sat at your side, eyes wide like he hadn't expected you to be awake yet. But upon giving you a once over, he visibly relaxed, though his scowl returned.
â...We never left the forest,â he mumbled, as if heâd heard your silent question. His voice was rough, like he hadn't used it in a while.
Reaching up to adjust the cloak haphazardly thrown over your abdomen, he scoffed.
â...How are you feeling?â
Despite the myriad of thoughts swimming around your head, you finally found your voiceâscratchy, quiet, hoarse. Your words came out in a hazy ramble.
âShitty. Cold, sore, weirdâbut Zeke, he-â
Levi raised a hand, cutting you off.
âGot away. I got distracted, andâŠdammit, you paid the price for that.â
His look concerned you enough to sit up a bit straighter, and immediately he tensed like he might reach out to grip your shoulder again.
âDont,â he warned, short and simple.
With a huff you leaned back a little.
âCaptainâŠwhat exactly happened?â you pressed.
For a moment, you weren't sure heâd respond. But eventually he let out a weary sigh of resignation.
â...Let my anger overrule my judgment. Shouldn't have put us in that kind of situationâput you in that kind of situation. It cost you a damn eye and some fingers. Shit, Y/N, IâThis is my fault.â
Anything you'd wanted to retort back with died on your tongue in an instant as you absorbed his words.
An eye? Some fingers?
You had to look downâwith partial visionâto confirm, but looked away from your wrapped hand only after a brief glance as your stomach dropped.
If you'd had the strength to, you might have vomited. Or cried. Or both.
But you had to stay in control over what little you could.
â...How badâŠ?â You hesitantly asked, shifting on the makeshift cot he had apparently supplied.
You must have been out a long whileâŠ
âAll of itâme.â
âNot great, not the worst,â Levi supplied lamely, his eyes transfixed on your hand before they swiveled up to your faceâwhat of it was visible. A frown tugged at his lips, and his expression softenedâlike guilt, or pity.
You didn't like that look so much. Not aimed down at you.
âCaptainâŠâ you murmured, fixing him with a stern gaze. He met it with one of his own, then scoffed.
âDo I look like a damn field medic? I don't know; but you're alive, and that's what matters. Weâll figure out the rest.â
âWhat is the rest, Captain?â You again pressed, sitting up straighter and moving aside the cape covering half your body despite his glare demanding you didn't.
You ignored it in favor of getting adjusted through the discomfort.
This time, he didn't try to stop you.
â...Concussion, bruising, blinded eye, missing fingers, you feel feverish, bruisingâthatâs all I can determine for now. Youâre lucky camp still had some supplies I was able to scavenge.â
You already regretted moving so soon, but refused to show it as you ground out through grit teeth.
âYou went all the way back there?â
âMade sure your body was covered first.â He reassured, taking his eyes off you briefly to look around the clearing you both inhabited.
âBut yes.â
âCovered? Whatââ
â...We're being hunted, Y/N.â
The statement froze the blood in your veins and made your stomach queasy.Â
Hunted?
Your mind spun with many possibilities before you even asked; by Zeke? By someone else? More Titans? Marlians?
ââJeageristsâ turns out,â he continued, seeing your confusion. Your raised brow made him shake his head, and start to backtrack.
âThat was his plan all along; taint the wine, turn the soldiers, reunite with Eren, escape and rally with Erenâs âfollowersâ. A few showed up with Hange in tow, after the explosion. I'd just gotten to my feet and grabbed you when their guns went off.â
âHange-â you gasped. They weren't anywhere within sight, and naturally you assumed the worst.
 âTheyâre fine. We got you out of sight and picked off the strangler as best we could with limited ammo. Theyâre keeping watch while I watch over youâweâre taking shifts.â
You both fell into silence for a long moment, in which time you took to look around and gather your wits about yourself as relief filled your mind.
They were safeâŠfor now.
Everything still ached, still felt like lead; but you were safe. All three of you.
â...They scolded me, you know. For not thinking to look for your fingers after the explosion while getting shot at. They would have had a field day trying to reattach them to your hand, I imagine.â
His sudden comment made you huff with amusement; leave it to him to comment something so dryly and so unprompted.
âI can imagine,â you mumbled, looking around the clearing as if expecting to suddenly spot the Commander somewhere amidst the underbrush. You didn't, of course, and leaned back a little further. Exhaustion felt like a plagueâŠ
âTired?â Levi murmured, glancing back your way again with a raised brow. When you merely nodded, he sighed and leaned his weight forward, resting his forearms onto his knees.
âRest then, damned stubborn brat. Only thing you're missing right now is watching the shitty grass grow. Weâre gonna need you healed up before winter sets in, you know.â
He paused when you actually attempted to lay back, and immediately shifted to sit on his knees and help lower you down. Much to your muted surprise, he even fixed the way his cape rested over your abdomen and shifted the roll under your head once you were settled.
More silence followed as you attempted to relax, yet never took your half-lidded eye off his.
That damned expression of his was back on his faceâguilt.
â...Iâm sorry,â he whispered, catching you off guard.
âIâd rather it be me than you.â
âI wouldn't, Capânâ came your muffled reply. Damn the thick bandaging covering the majority of your face, and damn the way the sutures pulled at the skin of your cheek and mouth for every word you spoke. He frowned at that, and turned his gaze away.
â...Levi.â
You perked up a little, forcing your heavy eyelid to open and concentrate on his faceâinches from yours.
â...Huh?â
âJust Levi; enough with this âformalityâ bullshit. Haven't we known each other long enough? You're not just a damned Lieutenant.â
His words caught you off guard for the nth time, and if you could muster up a visible smile in the moment you would have. For now, you settled for a quiet grunt and reached for his hand.
Warm, calloused, steady and grounding. He didn't hold on, but didn't pull away either; it was enough for now.Â
"I suppose soâŠLeviâŠâ
Maybe it was the concussion you no doubt suffered from, but you could have sworn you caught the faintest shade of pink spread across his cheeks to his ears the moment you addressed him by name. But the sight vanished just as quickly as it had appeared. He turned his gaze away and sat back onto his heels, leaving you to wonder what you'd really seen.
â...Get some rest; no tossing or turning, youâll just pull sutures. I didn't save you to watch you aggravate the wounds I stitched.â
Even as you let your good eye close and you relaxed your posture, you noted his loyal presence still right at your side.
And maybe, just maybe, you caught the faint sound of his voice as you drifted off into unconsciousness once more: peacefully, this time.
âI'm not going anywhere, so relax. Weâll figure it out in the morning. You're safeâŠIâve got you, Y/N. AlwaysâŠâ
~More Levi Ackerman Content Here~
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ê° summary ê±; throughout your years in blue university, you've never really had anyone peak your interest, nor have you peaked anyone elses. recently, however, you've had a certain mystery man take a liking to you.
ê° content ê±; crack, mystery man texts again (:o)
clue 3; exaamsss âŽïž
with midterms coming up soon, you had no choice other than to coop yourself up in your room studying.
and even when you weren't, the only human interaction you allowed yourself was sitting next to other people in the lecture hall.
(and letting yourself sneak a few texts in to your friends)
you were sat at home, groaning in frustration into your hands, stuck on a page of theory you didn't quite understand.
it wasn't your fault you didn't pay attention to the lecture, his voice was so boring his sentences were practically lullabies!
you watched your phone light up with a notifcation, despite putting it on do not disturb (you'd forgotten to and convinced yourself you had.)
a/n: @latenally gave me this idea from this post, so thank you!!! the title is also inspired by a hashtag in the reblog i saw from @kmbeelllll!!! i love my readers đ€
synopsis: them meeting their celebrity crush (aka you) for the first time!Â
he rehearsed your introduction in his head 11 times before meeting you and still managed to black out the second you smiled at him. it was so bad.Â
he was invited onto a sports variety show because apparently âwatching soccer players suffer through celebrity gamesâ gets high ratings, and you were the guest host. actress, influencer, entrepreneur, everybodyâs internet princess. the kind of celebrity whose instagram comments are just people begging for a chance.Â
and isagi? oh he was DOWN HORRENDOUS.Â
bachira exposed him beforehand, too. absolutely no loyalty. âisagi follows her on every single social media platform, including her instagram spam account,â bachira says into the mic while grinning. âthe one where she posts blurry pancakes with colorful sprinkles and sunset pics? yeah, that one.âÂ
the audience loses it.Â
isagi immediately folds in half like heâs been shot. âWHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT.âÂ
then you walk out.Â
and suddenly this man is standing straighter than a military recruit. nodding too much. laughing too hard. saying âah, yesâ to literally everything you say.Â
you compliment his recent game and he goes: âyou watched thAt?â voice CRACKING. like a middle schooler.Â
and the clip that goes viral is even worse because during the relay game you accidentally grab his hand to pull him forward and he completely forgets the rules of the game. just stops moving. staring at your joined hands like heâs witnessing divine intervention.Â
reo in the background screaming, âISAGI MOVE??? MOVE???"Â
twitter titles it: âblue lock striker discovers woman for the first time.âÂ
his fans think itâs the cutest thing ever because isagi usually comes off composed during interviews, so watching him malfunction over you becomes instant meme material.Â
your fans are split between:
âawww heâs adorable.â
âgirl he is STARING at you like rent is due.â
âthat man wants to wife her immediately.â
âhe looked at her like she invented oxygen wtf.âÂ
there are edits. so many edits.Â
someone puts cigarettes after sex over the hand-holding clip and it gets 12 million views overnight.Â
isagi sees it late at night and almost throws his phone into the ocean.Â
itoshi rin
rin swore he would act normal.Â
he did not act normal.Â
he actually spent the entire week beforehand annoyed at himself because why did he care what some celebrity thought of him? pathetic. embarrassing. disgusting behavior.Â
and yet he still knew your favorite drink order. because he âaccidentallyâ memorized it from interviews. sure.Â
the first meeting happens backstage at an awards ceremony. heâs leaning against the wall looking all cold and untouchable until you walk up smiling and introduce yourself.Â
and this idiot just stares.Â
too long. long enough that you tilt your head a little like âum⊠hello???âÂ
he finally mutters your name under his breath like heâs checking if itâs real.Â
the thing is, rinâs version of being a loser in love is becoming even MORE awkward. more stiff. more intensely aware of every movement he makes.Â
you ask if heâs nervous for the ceremony and he immediately says, âno.âÂ
then walks directly into a table.Â
not even a little bump either. full force. LOUD.Â
the silence afterward is catastrophic.Â
you trying not to laugh makes it worse because now his ears are pink and he knows you noticed.Â
the viral clip though? oh it destroys him.Â
during a red carpet interview, the interviewer asks which celebrity heâd want to collaborate with someday and before rin can dodge the question, his eyes drift toward you across the carpet for literally half a second. HALF A SECOND.Â
internet detectives catch it instantly.Â
then the camera cuts to him realizing the audience noticed and he physically clenches his jaw.Â
people on tik tok and instagram start zooming in with captions like:
âthe way he looked at her omg.â âHEâS TRYING SO HARD TO ACT NONCHALANT LMAO.â ârin itoshi caught lacking bro is NOT tuff.âÂ
his fans are losing their minds because rin almost never reacts emotionally in public.Â
meanwhile your fans are crying laughing because every clip of him near you looks like either a feral cat being shown affection for the first time or someone trying to survive a hostage situation.Â
thereâs also a famous fancam compilation titled: ârin itoshi vs. his own feelings.âÂ
itâs 10 minutes long.Â
itoshi sae
sae is usually smooth. usually.Â
but apparently all his composure evaporates when youâre around because the first thing he says after meeting you is: âyouâre shorter than i expected.âÂ
which sounds rude. horribly rude.Â
except he says it while looking weirdly fascinated, like he genuinely didnât expect you to exist in three dimensions.Â
you burst out laughing though, thank god, and suddenly sae looks slightly less tense.Â
i say slightly because heâs still a loser. just in a different font.Â
the interaction happens during a luxury brand event where youâre both ambassadors. sae had fully planned on keeping things professional and detached.Â
instead: he keeps glancing at you mid-conversation. he forgets to answer questions immediately. he lets you steal his drink without complaining. he actually smiles at one of your jokes and the photographers nearly collapse on site.Â
because sae smiling naturally is apparently a once-in-a-century astronomical event.Â
the clip that detonates online happens when you casually fix his crooked tie during an interview. thatâs it. thatâs all.Â
but sae stills completely. COMPLETELY.Â
he just looks down at you with this unreadable expression while you fix it, and when you finish he quietly says âthanksâ in the softest voice imaginable.Â
internet GONE. absolutely gone.Â
his fans are like:
âHE LOOKS SO GENTLE WITH HER.â âsae letting someone touch him voluntarily?????â âoh he likes her BAD.â âthe eye contact just impregnated me spiritually.â âpause.âÂ
your fans are even worse because they immediately decide the tension is cinematic.Â
people start making fake wedding edits within HOURS.Â
someone tweets: âthey look like divorced royalty reconnecting at a gala.â 50k likes in 5 minutes. insane.Â
nagi seishiro
nagiâs crush on you was already public knowledge to literally everyone except you.Â
reo knew. chris knew. the entire manshine team knew.Â
because nagi had absolutely no shame about watching your livestreams during practice.Â
he once said âwait she uploadedâ in the middle of reviewing match footage.Â
so when he finally meets you at a gaming sponsorship event, everybodyâs waiting for him to embarrass himself.Â
and he DELIVERS.Â
first of all, he accidentally says âhi, i love youâ instead of âhi, i love your work.âÂ
reo is choking in the background.Â
nagi is staring into space processing what he just said.Â
but youâre laughing so hard you nearly fall out of your chair.Â
and instead of recovering, he just sighs and goes â⊠well. too late now.âÂ
HEâS SUCH A LOSER, BUT YOUR LOSER. Â
then he proceeds to follow you around the event like a sleepy cat.Â
sitting beside you. handing you snacks. leaning over your shoulder to look at your game screen. mumbling little comments only for you.Â
the internet clip that explodes is when you excitedly grab his arm after winning a round and he literally rests his forehead on your shoulder for a second because heâs overwhelmed.Â
the camera catches his expression, too. completely soft. completely gone. like heâs melting alive.Â
people start calling him âthe nationâs laziest simp.âÂ
his fans actually adore it though because nagiâs usually lazy and detached about everything, but around you he suddenly seems awake. attentive. clingy.Â
your fans think itâs hilarious because:
âshe adopted a giant housecat.â âheâs attached to her by an invisible string.â âthat man would follow her into traffic.âÂ
the edits become unavoidable.Â
especially the ones where they compare:
nagi with everyone else: đ
nagi with you: âïžđžđâš
and it gets you every time.Â
mikage reo
reo thought he had this completely under control.Â
heâs rich, charming, attractive, socially polished. he talks to celebrities all the time.Â
except YOU specifically apparently turn him into a disaster.Â
he meets you at a fashion week event after-party and genuinely starts tweaking the second you compliment his outfit. because the compliment was detailed.Â
you noticed the watch. the WATCH.Â
now heâs internally spiraling because âshe noticed the watchâ has become the only thought in his head.Â
he starts trying too hard after that. so hard.Â
offering you drinks every 5 seconds. pulling chairs out for you. laughing before you finish jokes. accidentally bragging because he wants to impress you then immediately hating himself for it.Â
the funniest part is that reoâs usually smooth enough to hide his emotions, but around you he gets this ridiculously lovestruck look in his eyes. like full disney prince.Â
and EVERY camera catches it.Â
the viral clip happens when you touch his necklace while asking where itâs from.Â
then he answers way too quietly: â⊠you can keep it if you want.âÂ
THE INTERNET SCREAMS.Â
because why did he say that like a man returning from war.Â
his fans are posting:
âhe folded instantly.â âreo mikage giving away luxury jewelry over hand contact.â âbro saw his future wife.âÂ
your fans think heâs painfully cute because despite being rich and confident, he acts like a teenage boy with his first crush around you.Â
and the shipping becomes violent.Â
there are fan cams. analysis threads. body language experts. people tracking how often he looks at you during interviews.Â
reo absolutely reads all of them, too.Â
then sends the funniest ones to nagi late at night like: âdo you think we looked obviousâŠâÂ
and nagi replies: âu looked one marriage proposal away from fainting. now stop asking.âÂ
bachira meguru
bachira is the worst kind of celebrity-crush-haver because he has absolutely ZERO shame. none.Â
the second he finds out he's meeting you, he's already telling everyone.Â
isagi's tired. rin's annoyed. the staff are regretting inviting him.Â
"i'm gonna make her laugh." "that's nice, bachira." "and then we're gonna be best friends." "..." "and then maybe she'll let me borrow her makeup."Â
the confidence is insane considering he has never spoken to you once.Â
then he actually meets you.Â
and somehow becomes even weirder.Â
because instead of introducing himself normally, he immediately blurts out: "you're real!"Â
which sounds absolutely even more insaneâŠÂ
you laugh though, which bachira treats like winning the lottery.Â
after that, he's attached to your side the entire event. showing you random videos. asking a million questions. telling you stories that start with one topic and somehow end somewhere completely different.Â
the viral clip happens when you laugh so hard at one of his jokes that you accidentally grab his shoulder.Â
bachira immediately throws both hands over his face and starts spinning in a circle. A FULL CIRCLE. like an excited golden retriever.Â
people nearby are crying laughing.Â
twitter titles the clip: "professional athlete experiences positive reinforcement.âÂ
his fans think it's adorable because bachira's always affectionate, but this is different.Â
he's nervous. he's excited. he keeps checking whether you're still listening when he talks.Â
your fans notice immediately.
"HE KEEPS LOOKING TO SEE IF SHE'S HAVING FUN.â "he's literally wagging his tail.â "someone put him on a leash before he follows her home.âÂ
the edits are ridiculous.Â
people start calling you "the monster's favorite person."Â
bachira absolutely saves every single one.Â
shidou ryusei
meeting his celebrity crush is unfortunately a public safety hazard.Â
because shidou does not know how to act normal.Â
you walk into the room. he sees you. and immediately slams both hands onto the table.Â
"OH MY MAMAS."Â
everyone jumps. including you.Â
"YOU'RE EVEN PRETTIER IN PERSON."Â
staff members are already developing migraines.Â
shidou doesn't care. he's grinning so hard his face probably hurts.Â
the entire interaction feels like a live grenade rolling around the room. he keeps complimenting you. keeps making you laugh. keeps getting distracted mid-conversation because he's too busy staring. never leaves your side for a single second.Â
at one point, you ask him a simple question.Â
he doesn't answer. because he forgot the question. because he was looking at you. because he's a loser.Â
the viral clip is catastrophic.Â
during a group photo, you casually link arms with him.Â
shidou reacts like someone injected pure electricity into his bloodstream.Â
he physically JUMPS. then immediately starts yelling.Â
"DO YOU GUYS SEE THIS?"Â
everyone sees it. the cameras see it. the internet sees it.Â
his fans are dying.
"he folded faster than laundry.â "the strongest striker in blue lock defeated by one pretty girl.â "he's giggling bro.âÂ
your fans are mostly entertained because shidou isn't even trying to hide it.Â
he's not subtle. he's not mysterious.Â
he's basically wearing a neon sign that says: I HAVE A CRUSH AND IâM PROUD.Â
karasu tabito
karasu spends years making fun of other people for being down bad. years. then karma arrives. and it arrives in the form of you.Â
he meets you at a sponsored charity event and immediately realizes he's in trouble when he starts fixing his posture.Â
karasu never fixes his posture. ever.Â
suddenly he's checking his hair. adjusting his sleeves. thinking before he speaks. absolutely humiliating.Â
he's still smooth though. or at least⊠he tries to be.Â
the problem is that every time you smile at him, he completely loses his train of thought.Â
you'll ask him something simple. he'll start answering. then halfway through he'll forget where he was going.Â
which is how he ends up saying things like: "yeah, so i started playing soccer because... because..."Â
thereâs long pause. youâre smiling.Â
"... wow." "wow?" "yeah. wow."Â
absolutely finished.Â
the viral clip comes from an interview. you're sitting beside him. the interviewer asks a question. karasu answers. except the entire time he's looking at you instead of the interviewer. the ENTIRE TIME.Â
netizens immediately create side-by-side compilations. the evidence is overwhelming.Â
his fans are screaming because karasu usually notices everything around him. but around you? he notices literally nothing else.Â
your fans think it's hilarious.
"he looks like he's listening to wedding vows." "that man is studying her face like it'll be on the final exam bruh." "awww karasu got hit by a truck called love đ"Â
kaiser michael
kaiser's plan was simple. he would charm you. you would be impressed. everything would go according to schedule.Â
unfortunately for him, you walk in and suddenly he can't remember half his prepared lines.Â
which is terrifying. because kaiser ALWAYS has lines.Â
he introduces himself with his usual confidence. flashes the smile. does the eye contact. everything's perfect.Â
then you compliment his rose tattoo. and this man forgets how conversations work.Â
he literally goes: "... thank you."Â
and then nothing. empty thoughts. the emperor has fallen.Â
kaiser spends the rest of the event trying desperately to regain control.Â
except every time he thinks he's recovered, you say something cute and he's back at square one.Â
the viral clip absolutely ruins him. during a photoshoot, you reach over and brush something off his shoulder. that's it. tiny gesture. totally harmless.Â
except kaiser freezes. and for a split second, just one second, his expression softens. completely. all the arrogance disappears. all the confidence disappears. he just looks⊠hopelessly gone.Â
the camera catches everything.Â
the internetâs reactions?
"WHO IS THAT MAN?â "THAT IS NOT MICHAEL KAISER.â "SOMEBODY CHECK HIS TEMPERATURE.âÂ
his fans lose their minds because kaiser's entire brand is confidence. seeing him vulnerable for even half a second feels like discovering classified government documents.Â
your fans immediately become obsessed.Â
the edits hit 20 million views, itâs crazy.Â
ness alexis
OH NO. NAUR.Â
ness is somehow worse than everyone else. because unlike the others, he genuinely prepared.Â
he researched your interviews. your favorite movies. your hobbies. not in a creepy way. but rather, to make a good impression.Â
the problem is that all preparation disappears the second you actually speak to him.Â
you smile. say hello.Â
and this poor man starts buffering.Â
every sentence comes out awkward. every answer is slightly too enthusiastic. he keeps accidentally agreeing with everything you say.Â
you could say: "i think pigeons are funny."Â
and ness would immediately go: "YES."Â
why? he doesn't know.Â
the clip that goes viral is devastating. you're both participating in a challenge video. at one point, you laugh and lean against his shoulder for balance.Â
ness immediately stops functioning. his face goes bright red. his eyes get wide. he forgets what game you're playing. for nearly 15 seconds.Â
everyone notices. especially kaiser, who is standing in the background looking disgusted.Â
internet captions:
"bro entered cardiac arrest.â "he's fighting for his life.â "someone get him water.â âref wya.âÂ
ness's fans actually find it really sweet because beneath all the chaos, he's genuinely trying his best.Â
he listens carefully when you talk. remembers little details. looks excited whenever you include him in conversations.Â
your fans adore him almost immediately.
"he's actually so cute.â "look at him trying not to smile.â "he acts like she hung the moon.â "HE'S BLUSHING IN 8K!!âÂ
the funniest part? months later, people are still making compilations titled: "alexis ness surviving interaction with his celebrity crush [name] (impossible challenge).âÂ
and every single time one pops up on his timeline, he closes the app and stares at the ceiling for a good 10 minutes.Â
Imagine: You met Enjin on the day the city once again filled with screams, the cracking of rooftops, and the heavy rumble of trash beasts.
Days like that had happened here before, but it was impossible to get used to them. First, the glass in the shop windows would tremble, then people would rush to shut their shutters, grab their children, and flee the streets that, only minutes ago, had smelled of warm bread, caramelized crust, and morning coffee. Your bakery, too, sank into half-darkness when you forced the bolt across the door and told your younger sister to go upstairs, to your small apartment above the shop.
You remembered how she turned around on the stairs, fear frozen on her face.
âDonât come out,â you told her then. âNo matter what happens.â
And then, of course, something happened.
The impact was so powerful that the house across the street seemed to fold in on itself. Then the beast lunged toward your side of the street, and you did not immediately realize that you were screaming. Not because you were afraid for the shop, but because your sister was upstairs. You would have run after her yourself. That was how it always happened when adrenaline boiled in your blood: foolishly and recklessly, straight beneath falling beams and fragments of debris, if someone had not grabbed you by the shoulder and held you in place. You remembered that Cleanerâs face well, but not what he said. All your attention was fixed on the man with the umbrella, who appeared near the breach with such calm precision that it was as if he had known long in advance exactly where he needed to be.
Enjin.
Back then, you did not know his name yet.
All you saw was the gray umbrella opened amid the dust, his tall silhouette, his tattooed arm as he caught your sister and pulled her out from beneath the crumbling wall literally a moment before part of the ceiling collapsed. She was crying, clinging to his clothes, while he quietly told her something, soothing her almost casually. As if there were no monsters in the world, no wreckage, no heart inside your chest that had nearly torn itself apart.
When it was all over, you could not bring yourself to come closer for a long time. You simply stood in the middle of the street, covered in spilled flour, dust, and tears, while your sister, safe and alive, was already running into your arms.
Then came repairs, cleaning, shattered windows, display cases boarded up with planks. The city slowly and stubbornly returned to life again, like dough that still rises no matter how roughly it has been kneaded.
And when the bakery finally reopened, you and your sister spent almost the entire day at the oven. You baked everything you could: cinnamon buns, honey pastries, berry pies, little cream tartlets, sugar cookies, blueberry croissants. By evening, the tables were weighed down with bags tied with simple ribbons, and to each of them you attached a short note.
âThank you for saving us. Thank you for saving her.â
Standing outside the Cleanersâ headquarters, you certainly felt almost laughably out of place. You held the bags with both hands, while your sister hid behind your shoulder and whispered that maybe it would be better to just leave everything by the door and run away. You had almost agreed when Semiu appeared in front of you.
She looked at you as though, in a couple of seconds, she had managed to understand your entire story.
âIs this for the Cleaners?â she asked.
You nodded.
âWe just⊠wanted to say thank you.â
Semiu accepted the bags, and something soft flickered in her gaze.
âItâs very brave of you to come here in person.â
You smiled awkwardly.
âStupid, probably.â
âNo,â she replied. âNot stupid.â
Of course, you did not see how the bags ended up on the table in the common room. You did not see how the others first exchanged glances, then someone was the first to reach inside, and within a minute the room was filled with noise as though they had discovered not baked goods, but treasure. After all, in the Ground, pastries like that really were worth their weight in gold, and cost quite a lot, while these were free. Rudo and Zanka were already arguing over a cinnamon bun. Riyo shoved two pies into her mouth at once. And Follo was trying to find out whether there were any pastries left.
Enjin was the last to take one of the bags. He pulled out the note, skimmed the lines, and suddenly smiled. As if he had understood who it was from even before he finished reading.
âOh,â Gris, standing beside him, drawled. âLooks like Enjin has himself an admirer.â
âBe jealous quietly,â he answered calmly, tucking the note into his pocket.
From then on, he began dropping by your shop more often. At first, as if by chance. He would pass by after a job, come in for coffee, buy something for the team to have with tea. Later, he stopped trying to pretend he had just happened to be nearby on business. He would simply open the door, and the little bell above it would ring so familiarly that you would start smiling before you even saw his face.
âYou again,â you would say, setting a tray on the counter.
âWhat a warm welcome,â Enjin would reply, folding his umbrella by the entrance. âIâm moved.â
âDonât get used to it. Itâs just todayâs special: a rude greeting at the counter, free of charge.â
âThen Iâll take two.â
You quickly memorized what he liked most, though Enjin could buy different things too, wanting to try everything. He could joke that he trusted your taste, could stand in front of the display case for a long time with the expression of someone making an important strategic decision. But if there were blueberry croissants among the pastries, his gaze always lingered on them a little longer.
And at some point, you started always saving one for him, hiding it under the counter.
Even if the day was busy, even if everything sold out before noon, and even if your sister rolled her eyes and said you were acting suspiciously.
âItâs for a regular customer,â you protested.
âOf course,â she drawled, looking as if she had figured everything out long ago. âFor a very regular customer. With an umbrella and pretty eyes.â
âGo check the dough.â
âSo youâre not arguing about the eyes?â
You threw a towel at her, and she ran away laughing.
Enjin, of course, noticed how carefully you had paid attention to his tastes. He did not show it right away, but one evening, when he came in close to closing and you silently placed a paper bag with that very croissant in front of him, he narrowed his eyes.
âYou knew Iâd come?â
âNo.â
âBut you saved it for me.â
âMaybe it just fell on the floor and I felt sorry to throw it away.â
âIâll eat it even if itâs already hard as stone.â
You turned away toward the shelf so he would not see you smiling.
âJust take it before I change my mind.â
He chuckled quietly and unwrapped the fresh pastry.
Whenever he came by, you talked about a little bit of everything. The weather, supply deliveries for baking, how difficult and expensive it all was, fussy customers, how hard it was to keep sugar glaze from cracking when the air was too humid. You asked about his work carefully, not wanting to pry or seem intrusive.
But Enjin answered. Sometimes briefly, sometimes with a smirk. And sometimes he surprised even himself with how much he wanted to continue.
âArenât you scared to work here?â he asked once, sitting by the window with a cup of coffee. âIn conditions like this. After everything.â
You shrugged, wiping your hands on your apron.
âI am scared. But if I close the shop because of fear, the city will become even darker. People need bread. And something sweet. Especially in our world.â
He looked at you for a long, attentive moment. Without his usual lazy smirk.
âThat almost sounds like heroism.â
You snorted.
âDonât start. I just know how to bake buns.â
âSometimes that matters more than you think.â
For some reason, that made you feel embarrassed and so warm inside that your heart fluttered.
But you remembered one evening especially well, when the shop had already closed and your sister had gone upstairs, taking the leftover cookies with her, while you stepped into the yard behind the bakery, where it smelled of wet stone, a cooling oven, and fresh mint that you secretly grew in an old wooden crate by the wall. Enjin stood nearby, leaning one shoulder against the brickwork. He had a cigarette in one hand.
âArenât you afraid that if you keep eating pastries so often, soon even your own umbrella wonât be able to lift you?â you joked.
âNow thatâs something I could take offense to,â he said.
You laughed.
âSorry. I just think Iâve spoiled you.â
âBut I deserved it, didnât I?â
âI wish I had your confidence.â
He smirked, took a drag, and exhaled the smoke to the side so it would not drift toward you. That small carefulness caught at you more strongly than any beautiful words could have. You talked about trifles. About the old man from the neighboring street who bought the same loaf of bread every day but always pretended to choose. About your sister, who dreamed of learning how to bake buns so good that âthe Cleaners would faint from delight.â About the fact that, in your opinion, Enjin hid his exhaustion behind jokes far too often.
âWhat a dangerous observation,â he said.
âBut itâs true, isnât it?â
âAny more of this, and Iâll start being afraid of your perceptiveness.â
âOh, Iâm terrified.â
He seemed about to answer, but then the first raindrop landed on your nose, and the second followed on your cheek. You lifted your head. The sky above the narrow yard had darkened more than before, and the roofs of the neighboring houses were already rippling under fine rain.
âIâll go get an umbrella.â
You took a step toward the door, but behind you came the familiar rustle of fabric. When you turned around, Enjin had already opened his umbrella, easily shifting it so that both of you were sheltered beneath it. The rain pattered softly and rapidly against the dark surface, as though someone had scattered a handful of tiny beads over it.
Enjin smiled.
âThen what would you need me for?â
You froze for a second, then laughed.
âThat sounded suggestive.â
He chuckled.
âAs planned.â
âIdiot.â
You nudged his shoulder, but he did not even move. He only laughed with you.
The yard gradually darkened. Rain ran down the drainpipes, gathered in puddles, whispered over the bakery roof. Somewhere above, a window slammed shut. From inside the shop, sweet warmth still drifted out, while outside, the air grew cooler, fresher.
Suddenly, you noticed how close he was standing. Close enough that the edge of his sleeve almost brushed your hand. Close enough that the scent of his cologne and cigarettes mingled with the rain and something sweet.
Enjin raised his tattooed hand and touched your cheek with his thumb, wiping away a drop of water. The movement was simple, almost accidental, but you froze as though he had done something far more intimate.
A pleasant shiver ran through your body. And it was certainly not from the cold. He did not take his hand away right away. And you did not want him to. On the contrary, you leaned slightly closer, pressing your cheek into his palm. Enjin looked at you as if, in that second, all the jokes, all the familiar teasing and lazy smiles had suddenly become unnecessary. His gaze softened. Enjin stepped closer. The edge of the umbrella covered you more tightly, cutting you off from the rain, from the street, from the entire city, and he kissed you.
At first, it was almost weightless, as if he were asking for permission only after he had already understood the answer long ago. His lips were warm, tasting of powdered sugar, blueberries, and the faint bitterness of cigarettes. You breathed out against him, your fingers carefully clutching the edge of his clothing, as though afraid he would pull away too soon.
But Enjin did not pull away. He only bent a little lower, holding the umbrella above you, while his other hand gently touched your waist.
The rain drummed against the fabric. Drops shattered into puddles. Somewhere beyond the wall of your bakery, trays were cooling, still carrying the scent of fresh pastries. And in that moment, it seemed to you that the city, no matter how frightening it was, could still be pleasant. At least here, beneath Enjinâs umbrella. In his warm palm. In a kiss that had begun with gratitude, a blueberry croissant, and a single raindrop on your cheek.
Imagine you hadn't replied last night and he found out why,
with Levi Ackerman.
levi x f reader
Genre||Vibe;Â that time of the month, period comfort, sweet, can't move, drained, i'm-worried-but-i'd-be-damned-if-i-admitted-it, "what's wrong?", "are you okay?", tell-me-and-i'll-do-it-for-you, i don't mind, it's what friends (?) are for, i've got you
Summary;Â Being in college was one nightmare, getting your rather rare period along with it was a rude double down. You were drained, you were a mess, your place was a mess, the cramps were bullshitting you, the headache was puling on your sanity, and you could not drag yourself off the minimal comfort your couch provided. All of that meant that you weren't onlineâyou couldn'tâand one person was bothered by that fact...
đĄtags; sfw || sweet || comfort || period comfort || early friendship || CLOSE friends
đĄword count; 1.2k
đĄa/n; phew, as someone who's irregular, everything seriously feels like it's 10 times worse. i could only imagine having a Levi in my life so i could bleed and deflate peacefully. and as promised, this will be tailed by another fic so watch out for that too! i hope you enjoy them both <3
âYou havenât been responding.â Leviâs foot blocked the door that you were just about to shut on him.
It was one of those few dreadful times of the year. You barely get your period given the erratic and unbalanced nature of your hormones, so unlike others, you only get to have it for about three times annually, or less. It wasnât that you hated not having it as often as other girls do, but in your case, the problem was that when you did have itâeverythingâs pretty much ten times worse than if you were regularly menstruating.Â
To put it simply, being on your period meant that you felt like you were standing on the second to the highest podium of the worst things you get to biologically experience (first being childbirth)âwith symptoms that were hitting twice harder.
And, well, Levi didnât know that.
Heâs your friend in college, and it's only been one semester of it. You considered him as one despite his very hard to read expressions and terribly dry sense of humor because under all that, he was a nice guyâŠsort of. At least to you he wasâand the short list of his other friends.
You werenât chat buddies or anything. Though you two frequently exchanged messages for a few things about uni or, in Leviâs case, to complain about something his friend, Hange, was doing orâwas bothering him with. And you always responded minutes or an hour after.Â
Just not last night.
He stared at you through the gap from where he stood, his foot comfortably wedged between the door and its frame, â you look like shit.â he noted, glancing past you, into what he could see of your place, then back.
He arrived at your apartment without announcement just a minute ago. Knocked once, you hadnât called out. Knocked for the second time, you hadn't answered again. Knocked for the third time and called your name, you didnât answer, again. If he hadnât threatened to break your door down the second later, you wouldn't have gotten up from the couch and answered it even if heâd knocked for the fourth time.Â
â...thanks.â You mumbled, clearly not in the mood for anythingâeven for him. You always were, to his inconvenience. Heâd just gotten desensitized enough of your company to not be annoyed. Now he doesnât admit to the fact that he looks for it everyday.
Levi raised a brow, the palm he had on his side of the door pushed to keep the gap existing, âAre you sick?â He asked, voice low since he didnât quite know what to say. Partly because he didnât understand why heâd gotten up so early, opened your dms first thing in the morning, seen that you still hadnât replied yet, and chose to drive to your place twenty minutes out so he could check on you.Â
He wasnât insecure of not getting a reply from someone or anything, but shit, that seems to not be the case with you.
âIâm not.â You answered.
âYour place is a mess.â
âI havenât even let you in yet.â
âI can see it from here.â
You sighed loudly then pointedly looked at him, âDid you just come here to insult me because I didnât reply?âÂ
âMaybe I did,â Leviâs hand retracted from the door, now shoved into one of his pockets, âmaybe I thought something happened.â
Youâd rolled your eyes then spoke, every syllable pronounced like you were talking to a toddler, âItâs just as simple as me missing the notificationââ
âYou donât have notifications on.âÂ
âHow do you even know thaââÂ
âAre you okay?â He cut off, expression shifting just slightly, âI didnât say you look like shit to insult youâI couldâve done a hell of a better job if I really wanted to. I said it because you donât look okay.â
You shut your mouth, chewing on your cheeks as you looked away, âIâm fine.â you mumbled.
Levi watched you avoid looking back up at him for a good thirty seconds, then he pulled his foot out of the gap, giving you the chance to finally shut the door in his face.Â
âŠbut you didnât. Instead, you stepped aside and he walked in.Â
You welcomed him with saying that you were on your period and that yes, you feel shitty, yes, you were in pain, yes, you hadnât slept last night, and yes, your place was a trash pile because you could not be bothered to get up either the bed or the couch to clean up.
He didnât say anything at first, only nodded you to the couch and suddenly started cleaning around you like it was his responsibility. You could only raise your brows and reluctantly become a witness to the statement that Levi was a man who was more cleaning than words.Â
Every time you tried to tell him off, he kept saying stuff likeââNo.âââItâs fine.âââStay on the damn couch.âââIâm throwing this away whether you want me to or not.â
One thing you did notice was that he hadnât once said anything that made you feel like youâre a raccoonâs second cousin.Â
âNeed anything?â Heâd asked, wiping his hands dry with a paper towel as he approached you, still on the couch, pretty much a melted cocoon on it. You were hugging your knees to your face, laying on your side, half embarrassed, but currently being gnawed at from the inside.Â
You shook your head, biting your lip as another wave of cramps took over.Â
A blanket flew over your figure, hovering over you until it covered your body, the material soft, âhow bad?â his voice came quiet, crouching in front of you as heâd said it. Gentle, too gentle. You donât recall any other time heâd spoken to you like this.Â
When you only managed another shake to your head, Levi stood up and walked somewhere in your place.Â
He came back crouched in front of you ten minutes later with a warm compress you didnât fucking know you still had.
âSit up,â he said, now taking the space beside you on the couch, âuse this.âÂ
It wasnât like he knew what he was doing. Like shit does he know specifics about menstruation, let alone the difference between regular ones and irregular onesâor if it was normal that it was painful enough that it shut you up. Or if a warm compress would actually help for even at least a little.Â
But what he did know was that you needed someone right nowâŠand that much he was willing to provide.Â
âDidnât think sweet could be part of your characterâs vocabulary.â You chuckled, most of the pain had subsided, the weight and temperature of the warm compress easing it.
Levi glared at you from where he sat opposite of you on the couch.
âSeriously though, thank you,â you muttered a beat after, âyou didnât have to.â
His gaze softened a fraction and he looked away, âThank me by replying to my text.â He said quietly, like he purposefully didnât want you to hear it, but you still did.Â
You laughed and swore you would check it out later. Something lighter built in his chest when he heard you laugh despite the lady predicament you were in.
He was happy he was the reason you had.
'til next time. cheers, my love
p.s; im worried i wrote this bad and i do hope it didn't seem so
The silence in the Captainâs office was more suffocating than the smoke on the battlefield had been.
You stood by the window, your arm wrapped in heavy bandages and your side throbbing with every breath.
You had survived the mission, but only by a hairâs breadth.
The door slammed shut with a violence that made the frames rattle.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Leviâs voice wasn't its usual calm, cold rasp.
It was a roar.
You flinched, turning to see him standing by his desk, his hair disheveled and his cravat torn.
He looked unraveled. "Levi, the flank was collapsing. If I hadn't moved-â
"If you hadn't moved, you wouldn't have been crushed!" he screamed, stepping into your space.
He slammed his hand against the wall beside your head. "You threw yourself into the mouth of a 15-meter class! You ignored the signal! You acted like a suicidal brat!"
"I was doing my job!" you yelled back, the adrenaline finally snapping into anger. "I saved three scouts! Would you rather I let them die?"
"I'd rather have a soldier who follows orders than a corpse I have to bury!" his eyes were wide, frantic. "You were under the debris for ten minutes. I couldn't see you. I couldn't find you. Do you have any idea what that does to a person?"
The heat of the argument pushed you over the edge.
The pain in your side flared, and the exhaustion of nearly dying turned into a cold, hard wall.
"Then maybe you shouldn't have put me on your squad," you said, your voice suddenly quiet and trembling.
"If I'm such a burden, if my life is just another 'order' to you, then let me go. Stop looking for me."
You turned away from him, pulling your shoulders in, physically closing yourself off.
You felt hollow.
You stared out at the dark courtyard, refusing to look at the man who was currently looking at you like you were the moon and the sun combined.
"Get out, Levi," you whispered. "Go find a soldier whoâs easier to manage."
The room went deathly silent.
You expected another shout, or the sound of the door slamming as he left. Instead, you heard a sharp, jagged intake of breath.
A pair of arms wrapped around your waist from behind, pulling you back against a chest that was shaking.
Levi buried his face in the crook of your neck, his forehead pressing against your skin.
Then, you felt it. The dampness of hot tears soaking into your uniform.
"Don't," he choked out. The sound was broken, a noise Levi Ackerman wasn't supposed to be capable of making. "Don't tell me to stop looking for you. Don't you dare."
He turned you around in his arms, his grip desperate, almost painful.
He didn't look like the Humanity's Strongest; he looked like a man who had finally lost the only thing he had left to lose.
He slumped against you, his head dropping to your shoulder as he sobbed quietly, his fingers clutching the back of your jacket.
"I can't lose you," he whispered into your collar, his voice thick. "I've lost everyone. I can't... I can't wake up and have you be a name on a stone. Please. Don't do that to me again."
Your anger evaporated, replaced by a crushing ache in your chest.
You slowly raised your uninjured arm, wrapping it around his head, pulling him closer as he shook in your arms.
"I'm here, Levi," you breathed, closing your eyes as you felt his tears on your skin.
"I'm still here."
The sun had barely begun to bleed over the horizon, casting long, pale shadows across the stone floors of the headquarters.
You stirred in the small cot Levi had forced you into the night before, right in the corner of his office but as soon as you moved, a hand clamped firmly, yet gently, over yours.
"Stay down," Leviâs voice came from the darkness.
He hadn't slept.
He was sitting in his desk chair, which he had pulled up right next to your bed.
His cravat was still gone, his shirt unbuttoned at the collar, and his eyes were rimmed with red. In his hand was a damp cloth, which he used to methodically wipe a smudge of dried blood from your knuckles.
"Levi, I'm fine," you murmured, your voice thick with sleep. "I need to go to the morning briefing. Smith will be expecting-"
"Erwin knows youâre occupied," Levi interrupted, his tone leaving no room for argument. "And you aren't 'fine.' You have three cracked ribs and a concussion.
You aren't leaving this room unless Iâm carrying you."
Throughout the morning, he was a silent, hovering presence.
When you tried to sit up to reach for a glass of water, he was there before your fingers could even graze the cup.
When you tried to swing your legs over the side of the bed to use the washroom, he stood up immediately, offering his shoulder for support without a word.
It wasn't just physical care; it was a territorial obsession.
Around noon, there was a knock at the door. It was Hanji, their voice uncharacteristically soft. "Levi? I have the medical report for-"
"Leave it at the door," Levi snapped, not even turning his head.
"But I need to check the bandages-"
"I did them myself," he growled. "Go away, Hange."
You watched him as he returned to his desk, but he didn't actually do any work. He just kept shifting his chair so he could maintain a direct line of sight to you.
Every time you winced or shifted your weight, his entire body tensed, his hand twitching toward his blades as if he could fight off the very concept of pain.
Finding a Middle Ground
"You're suffocating me a little," you said softly, breaking the heavy silence.
Levi paused, a stack of papers in his hand. He looked at you, and for a second, that raw, vulnerable flicker from the night before returned to his eyes.
He set the papers down and walked over, sitting on the edge of the cot.
"I know," he rasped, his voice dropping.
He reached out, his thumb tracing the line of your jaw with a tenderness that felt almost holy.
"But every time I close my eyes, I see that titan's hand closing around you. I hear the sound of the building collapsing."
He leaned forward, resting his forehead against yours.
His breath was warm, smelling of the bitter tea heâd been drinking to stay awake.
"I'll stop hovering when I'm sure you aren't going to vanish the moment I look away," he whispered.
part 2 of Mom & Dad â a/n: this is a little ooc, i apologize
The shiny object hit the table with a tiny metallic clink. You froze. Enjin pretended to freeze.
That bastard was playing you! His large hand slapped over it, trapping it against the worn wood.
âWas that a ring?â your eyes narrowed suspiciously at the supposed humble cleaner.
âNo.â
âIt was literally a ring.â
âIt was a circular object.â
âYou dropped a ring, Enjin.â
âIt couldâve been anything,â he shot back smoothly. âA piece of blinking trash. A very shiny nut.â
âIt sparkled.â
âA lot of things sparkle. Fireworks. Semiuâs lipgloss. My personality.â
You stared. He stared back. Neither of you blinked, a silent war of narrowed eyes and amused ones erupted across the messy table.
Then - and you couldnât believe your damn eyes - he slid it off the table and pocketed it.
You nearly launched yourself across the table, your chair scraping harshly against the floor. âEnjin.â
âNope.â
âEnjin. Show me.â
âNope.â
The grin spreading across his face shouldâve been illegal. That damn crooked grin that usually meant he had either just set a dumpster on fire or planned something concerning.
âYou absolute menace,â you hissed.
âLove you too, wife.â
You barely registered the nickname, because your heart was in your throat. Fuck, it hammered so violently.
A ring. Why did he have a ring? And why wasnât he saying anything?
The privacy Enjin and you had lasted for a whole minute before chaos ensued. Riyo practically materialized beside the table, her eyes wide and gleaming with the feral energy of a predator scenting blood.
âWas that a ring?â she demanded, leaning in so close her nose almost touched Enjinâs shoulder.
âNo.â
âIt was.â
âIt wasnât.â
âIt was.â
Corvus, who was a little noisy now too, quietly looked between the two of you. Follo gasped dramatically, clutching his chest as if heâd been shot, while Bro looked ready to explode from sheer sensory overload.
âYou have a ring?!â Follo asked.
âI donât.â
âYou just dropped it!â
âI dropped a circular object.â
Rudo stepped into the room, crossing his arms and looking genuinely offended by the sheer audacity of the lie. âThatâs the dumbest thing youâve ever said.â
Enjin didnât even flinch. âThanks, kid.â
Everyone started shouting at once. Questions, accusations, wild threats, and bizarre predictions filled the air like a hurricane. Semiu started taking bets on a scrap of paper. You never found out how sheâd organized the odds so quickly, but the entire headquarters was losing its mind.
Meanwhile Enjin sat there looking infuriatingly pleased with himself, basking in the havoc heâd created.
Without a word of warning he stood up suddenly. His hand shot out to grasp your wrist as he started walking.
You stumbled after him, nearly tripping over your own feet. âWaitââ
âNope.â
âWhere are we going?â
âOut.â
âThatâs not an answer!â
âItâs enough of one.â
âEnjin!â
He laughed loudly, the sound echoed through the hallway while the muffled yells of the team followed you down the corridor.
âIf they come back engaged, Iâm winning ten thousand!â Semiuâs voice faded as the heavy metal door slammed shut behind you.
And then it was just the two of you.
The city stretched around you beneath the cooling evening sky. Neon lights flickered along the streets. The air still carried the leftover warmth of the day, smelling faintly of grime, rain and dust.
And Enjin still held your hand. His fingers laced with yours. His thumb brushed lightly against your knuckles and a soft shiver ran down your spine.
You wanted to tell him how you much you liked holding his hand. He wanted to tell that he never wanted to let go again.
But it wouldâve broken the spell and so you stayed silent.
Eventually he turned down a narrow, shadowed side street. You frowned, pulling back slightly against his grip. âWhat are we doing here?â
âPatience.â
âI hate patience.â
âLiar.â
You did hate it, especially when he was involved, because an unpredictable Enjin was a dangerous thing for your sanity. And your heart.
The alley opened into a small, abandoned courtyard tucked away between towering, buildings. The space was covered in years of old graffiti. Color exploded across every wall. Names, abstract drawings and layers of fading paint stacked atop one another like history.
But right in the center was something else. A bright red heart filled the center of the wall. It was huge! You stared at it and then⊠the wind whooshed from your lungs with a sharp gasp.
Written inside the heart in thick, crude black paint were two names â yours and Enjinâs.
You looked at him so quickly your neck nearly snapped. âWhat?â
He rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes drifting on the ground. For the first time since youâd known him this menace of a man looked nervous. The confident, untouchable Enjin was fidgeting. You werenât sure the universe was prepared for such a thing.
âI mightâve painted it,â he muttered. âThe names, I mean.â
âYou what?â
âA while ago.â
âA while ago?!â
âMaybe.â
âEnjin!â
His laugh came out strained this time, almost embarrassed as he kicked a stray pebble. âI wasnât planning on showing you.â
âThen why show me now?â
The question hung heavy between you. Enjin looked at the heart, then at you, then back at the heart. His jaw tightened. And for the first time since youâd met him he seemed uncertain. Scared even.
Then he reached into that pocket. Your pulse skyrocketed. Oh fuck.
When his hand came back out the ring was there. Silver. Simple. Beautiful.
Before your brain could even begin to process the sight Enjin dropped to one knee.
Everything stopped.
The city, the wind, every noise, your heart, your breath. Man, for sure everyone at the cleaner headquarters for sure held their breath too.
This canât be, right?
Enjin watched you closely. Those normally always bright and teasing golden eyes of his were so serious.
âYâknow,â he whispered. âThis wasnât how I imagined doing this.â
You made a strange, choking sound in the back of your throat. He smiled, looking so damn vulnerable it almost hurt.
âI know weâre not together,â he continued shakily. âI know weâve never gone on a real date. I know Iâve never kissed you. And I know this is probably insane.â
âIt is,â you whispered, tears blurring your vision.
âYeah.â
A tiny, breathless laugh escaped both of you.âDoesnât change anything. I love you. I think Iâve loved you for a long time.â
His smile trembled as he tilted the ring toward you, the silver catching the light.
âAnd if everyone already thinks weâre married anyway⊠will you marry me?â
You didnât think. You didnât hesitate. âYes.â
The answer exploded out of you instantly. âYes, you idiot.â
Oh, he was relieved. He was so fucking relieved that his tense shoulders slumped. He jumped to his feet and his fingers were trembling as he put the ring on your finger.
âOh fuck!â you crashed into him.
His arms wrapped around you tightly as he lifted you off the ground. He twirled you around while you laughed and cried into his neck.
âYouâre insane.â
âI know.â
âWeâre not even dating.â
âI know.â
âThis is ridiculous.â
âI know.â
âYou proposed before kissing me.â
Enjin paused mid-spin. You were both staring at each other and man, it was so fitting.
Kiss. Right. Kissing. The thing you both never had done, even when Enjin sometimes had stared at your lips like they owed him money.
Longing filled Enjinâs eyes and you were sure you looked the same at him. Resting your forehead against his you smiled as his hand came up to cup your face.
Then he whispered your name and it was your undoing.
You closed the distance first.
Nothing about the kiss was gentle. Months and maybe years of unspoken want and need didnât leave space for anything soft. He still held you up. This time by the ass while your fingers tangled in his hair.
Your lips moved against each other frantically. His tongue licked into your mouth, teeth clinging together. But who cared.
You thought happiness defined you surviving this world and having an incredible team that loved and cherished you. You were wrong.
Happiness was Enjin and the ring on your finger.
You sobbed into his mouth and he slowed down the kiss. His tongue gently swiped along your lips, tasting the tears and you.
The kiss slowly broke.
âShh,â he put his forehead against yours.
You laughed quietly through the tears as he put you down on your feet. His hand engulfing yours again as he stared at the ring, then back at your face. That crooked smile slowly made a comeback.
âWife.â
You burst out laughing, shoving his shoulder. âShut up.â
By the time Enjin and you returned to the headquarters it was dark outside.
You shouldâve known something was wrong, because it was suspiciously quiet. Except for some traitorous footsteps running toward the common room.
Enjin narrowed his eyes, his hand flattening against the door. âThatâs concerning.â
âVery.â
The moment you stepped through the doors every survival instinct you possessed screamed trap. You barely made it a step into the room before it got loud.
âTheyâre back!â
The scream shook the foundations of the building.
Enjin groaned, âOh no,â and thenâ
Pop.
Confetti exploded into the air. You shrieked, jumping backward, while Enjin got hit directly in the face with a stream of metallic pink glitter. Everyone cheered.
You stood there completely stunned. Somehow they managed to turn the common room into an actual engagement party. Even when you were convinced they had planned it since the whole mom and dad thing started.
Now everything looked nicely with balloons and banners⊠banners!
âcongratulations mom & dad!â
Riyo appeared first, practically launching herself through the air to grab your left hand. She saw the silver band and let out an excited scream. This was cute.
Meanwhile Gris looked emotional. âThey did it. They actually did it.â
âIs that a tear?â you asked bewildered.
âTheyâve grown up so fast,â Follo nodded.
âWeâre older than you.â
âI know.â
Bro shook the head relieved. âSo weâre finally done pretending theyâre not in love?â
âWe were pretending?â Semiu asked, counting a stack of bills.
âGood point.â
To be fair you should get some of the money.
Rudo pushed through the crowd, his arms folded. He didnât show much emotions like always, but he showed a tiny smile. âTook you long enough.â
You gasped, pointing a finger at him. âYou too?â
âMom.â
âNo.â
âDad,â Rudo said, turning his head toward Enjin.
âNo!â you protested.
âMom.â
âStop.â
âDad.â
âRudo!â
Enjin was laughing so hard he was doubled over, resting his hands on his knees. You considered ending his life right then and there. Affectionately. With a pillow.
What followed was kind of a feverdream. Because there was a cake. Nice. It had two stick figures - one with wild orange hair and the other with a representation of your jinki?
What got you blinking were the words written on it.
MR & MRS Enjin.
âWhat does that even mean? Thatâs not how names work,â you mentioned.
âToo late,â Follo shrugged.
Enjin hummed in approval. He loved every second of the chaos and even more so he loved the ring sitting on your finger. His hand found yours and his thumb brushed against the metal.
Oh you liked that a lot. It grounded you.
Looking around Riyo was discussing dresses with Semiu and Zanka. Rudo eyed the cake without blinking. Gris and Follo raised some cups to celebrate you.
Nothing really had and would change. It was familiar chaos. The team was still insane. Enjin was still a menace and the headquarters a circus.
But every time Enjinâs eyes caught yours the look he gave you was entirely, beautifully yours.
The party finally died sometime around three in the morning. The common room looked like a war zone from the domestic celebration that had somewhat escalated in between.
The kids laid all smushed together on the big couch which was cute. They had tried their hardest to stay awake and celebrate, but it was no use.
Gris had fallen asleep sitting upright in the chair. Follo laid under the table right next to him, wrapped in a stray banner while Semiu sat in the corner looking wide awake. Nobody trusted that woman enough to actually approach and verify if her eyes were merely open by reflex.
Enjin and you are still awake. You had been passed around, answering questions since when you were in love. If you were secretly dating beforehand, and no one really wanted to believe you were just friends all this time.
And of course all the wedding talk. It was no question that August would design your dress and Enjinâs suit. Once he had heard about the wedding he already disappeared and you trusted him fully to do you justice.
However, now your cheeks were hurting from smiling so much. The party was over and youâd think about wedding plans tomorrow. Or after you got some sleep.
The hallways were quiet as you walked slowly beside Enjin. Your shoulders brushed and you took stolen little glances at the ring on your hand.
Engaged.
Your stomach fluttered and heat rises in your cheeks. You still couldnât believe it. It wasnât unusual to get married in the pit, but this was Enjin and you.
Before you could think further his hand found yours. His long, calloused fingers slid between yours and he squeezed so ever gentle.
Months of stolen glances, tension and âwhat ifsâ really led to this, huh?
You reached his door before you fully realized where heâd been leading you.
Your heart immediately began behaving very badly, thumping a frantic, irregular rhythm against your ribs. Because, well⊠you werenât blind. You were engaged now. The boundaries had shifted. You had kissed in that courtyard and then during the party. And maybe you had sneaked out in between for a hot makeout session that had left your knees weak and him excusing himself for the restroom.
Soooo. This was the next logical step, huh?
Enjin pushed the door to his room open and led you inside. The fingers, on the hand that wasnât holding yours, popped against each other. One of the few signs that he was nervous. Again.
You stepped inside and the room was well lived in. The umbreaker rested on the top of a drawer, his coat laid over the couch and he had three radios for some reason. But what caught your attention was the intense scent of him - dark chocolate, smoke with a hint of Bourbon.
And yes, you absolutely avoided to look at his bed.
Instead you looked up at him. He looked down at you. Your pulse immediately doubled its speed, because there he was. The man youâd loved for longer than youâd ever admit out loud. He stood there and looked at you like nothing and no one else mattered. Just you you you.
His heavy gaze dropped briefly to your lips. Then it traveled back up to your eyes, a small, incredibly fond smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.
Fuck. You were doomed. Completely, utterly doomed.
Youy eyes fluttered shut as Enjin reached up to cup your face softly. He was so good to you already and yeah, maybe it was the bare minimum. But you knew your Enjin.
His expression softened immediately, his features relaxing as if that tiny movement of compliance on your part meant absolutely everything to him. He leaned down, his forehead touching yours.
He was warm. Comforting. He felt like home.
You thought about the bed being a few feet away. That the final wall would fall between you and while you were nervous you were also excited.
But then Enjin laughed softly, quivering around the edges.
âI canât,â he whispered.
You blinked, pulling back to see his eyes. âWhat?â
He smiled. âI want to. Trust me, I want to.â
Your face immediately became warm. âEnjinâŠâ
âIâm serious,â he murmured, his thumb moving to brush across your cheekbone, tracing the line of your skin carefully. âIâve wanted to for years.â
Years. Your heart nearly stopped at the casual admission.
The wonderful idiot had loved you for years, suffering through the same silent torment, the same terrifying boundaries of friendship that you had. The realization still felt entirely Unreal, like a dream you hadn't quite woken up from.
âButâŠâ he exhaled as his eyes searched yours. âI waited this long. I donât want our first night together to happen just because weâre emotional and exhausted and running on three hours of sleep.â
A breathless laugh escaped you, because when he put it that way⊠fair. Very fair. âWe are definitely running on three hours of sleep.â
âExactly.â he grinned, that little spark of mischief returning to his eyes before his expression melted into something deeper. âI want to take you on a date first.â
You stared at him. âA date?â
âYeah.â
âAfter proposing to me?â
âAfter proposing to you.â
You giggled softly, the tension drained from you completely. âYâre so ridiculous.â
âMm, I know.â
âYou did everything backwards.â
âI know.â his grin widened, full of that stubborn pride you adored. âI regret nothing.â
He opened his arms and you melted into the arms youâd grow old with. What a beautiful feeling this was.
His arms wrapped around you, locking securely behind your back. He was strong, protective and he didnât hold back suddenly. He squeezed you tightly, pushed the air out of your lungs and pressed a loud smooch on top of your head.
God forbid that man would suddenly treat you all tender. Nope. Bear hug it was, always and forever.
âCanât breathe,â you complained.
âThatâs okay.â
Okay.
For a long time neither of you spoke. You simply stood there in the quiet room, holding each other, letting the reality of the situation sink into your hearts and souls.
âCome.â
The bed that had you nervous earlier now made you feel all fuzzy. Enjin also did his part as you both took off your boots and pants. He pulled the blanket over you both like a little cave and he was just everywhere.
Cuddling he kissed your forehead, then both of your cheeks. A light giggle escaped you as he kissed the tip of your nose, and then pressed his lips to yours.
He treasured you. You couldnât call it otherwise as he kissed you so sweetly - a promise for the future awaiting you rather than a plea for the present.
When he pulled back his eyes immediately dropped to the hand resting on his chest. His eyes fixed on the silver ring and the sheer happiness in his face nearly destroyed you.
Then he looked downright stunned like every few hours the realization settled in that you were here and actually said yes.
His large palms engulfed your hand as he took it. Thumb brushing over the surface of the metal. You watched as his throat bobbed as his emotions ran higher and higher.
Without a word he brought your hand up to his lips and kissed the ring. His eyes are squeezed shut and you were sure they were wet with emotions. The most precious gift he ever received was you being here with him, marrying him soon.
Your eyes immediately filled with hot tears too. âEnjinâŠâ
He didn't pull away. Instead he rested his forehead right against your knuckles, his shoulders shaking slightly as a breathless, emotional laugh escaped him.
âYou have no idea,â he whispered against your skin, âHow happy I am.â
That did it completely. The last of your emotional defenses crumbled and you wrapped your arms tightly around his neck, pulling him as close as physically possible. He held you right back, his grip tightening until there was no space left between you.
The room grew quiet then and sometimes you peeked through your lashes you found him staring at your finger. He looked like the happiest man ever and it hurt in the good way looking at him. You promised yourself to be good for him. For now. Forever.
⊠and you needed to thank Riyo and the kids for pushing you into the right direction unknowingly.
SUMMARY â he believes you don't matter to him. just one more annoying fangirl. showing up to his races, being obnoxiously chatty and your flirtingâgod, does it end? sukuna dreads you. however, he starts reciprocating, as a joke, of course! until it doesn't feel like a joke anymore and he wants nothing but you on his side.
PAIRING â streetracer!sukuna x fem!reader
CONTENT WARNINGS / GENRES / TAGS â smau w/ written chapters, smut, angst, sukuna is a lot older than reader, older brother to choso and yuji, he was in jail for getting caught racing LOL, nsfw/vulgar jokes like allll the time, inumaki talks (UNFORTUNATELY), sukuna playing w her feelings, he is toxic!
NOTE â i don't know too much about street racing, so if i make mistakes pls lmk!!
PROFILES:
YOU THE BIRTHDAY CAKE | FUTURE COUGARS & MILFS
01: WHAT SHALL I RENDER?
02: LET'S ALL MOAN
03: 15 UNFORTUNATE SIGNS YOUR HUSBAND DOESN'T LOVE YOU ANYMORE
đđ·đłđČđ· â the most pathetic yearner
enjin trying to flirt with you by jumping over the edge of the couch⊠except he misjudges everything and eats the floor. he recovers instantly though. points at the floor and goes, âyeah. tested gravity. still works.â
he tells everyone youâre just a friend while actively memorizing your favorite drink, favorite snack, favorite scent, favorite songs, the way your footsteps sound, and the exact expression you make before you laugh.
he gets jealous in the most humiliating ways. another guy makes you laugh and suddenly enjin is carrying three times his normal workload. ripping apart trash beasts like they personally insulted his bloodline.
you ask him to hold your bag for just a sec and he walks around with it for six hours being fancy.
this man absolutely practices conversations with you in his head beforehand. then you actually show up and he blurts out:
âyou smell nice.â
âthanks?â
âlike candle wax and minâUAHmince.â
he once tried to impress you by doing something dangerous and cool. ended up needing stitches.
enjin sees you wearing his coat once and genuinely stops functioning for a minute. just stares. blinking slowly. somebody unplugged him.
he tries to play it cool when you patch up his injuries but his ears are literally burning red the entire time.
if you fall asleep on him? over. done. he is sitting there in complete silence like a man chosen by god. doesnât move for HOURS because âwhat if you wake up???â
he gets caught staring at you constantly. itâs that pathetic not blinking, mouth open stare. âwow. there she is. wowowowow.â
somebody asks him what his type is and he accidentally describes you down to the smallest detail before realizing halfway through.
he absolutely says your name under his breath when heâs alone sometimes. just testing how it sounds attached to him.
when you compliment him he carries it for MONTHS.
âyou said i looked nice that one day.â
âenjin that was last year.â
he acts tougher around everyone else but the second you praise him he turns into a stray dog hearing good boy for the first time.
he once got into an argument because someone implied you werenât pretty. nearly started a war over it actually.
if you touch his arm casually during a conversation he thinks about it all day. all night too.
he definitely has moments where heâs lying awake at night replaying tiny interactions with you. âshe handed me something and our fingers touched. WOAH.â
he tries to make you laugh specifically. doesnât care if nobody else reacts. if you giggle once heâs suddenly performing a whole stand-up routine.
he gets weirdly protective over things you give him. a cheap little trinket from you? suddenly his most prized possession (might becomes his jinki at some point).
enjin would absolutely deny being in love while looking like THIS: exhausted eyes, yearning sighs, standing outside your door at 2am because i was just passing by.
if someone flirts with you in front of him his smile gets terrifyingly polite.
he cannot handle you being sweet to him when heâs injured or sick. one forehead touch and heâs staring at the ceiling reconsidering his entire existence.
he tries so hard to be smooth when heâs jealous.
âyou seem close with him.â
âthatâs my cousin.â
âoh.â
âwhy are you sweating?â
he once walked into a pole because you smiled at him unexpectedly.
the team notices before you do. theyâre watching him stare at you like a victorian man dying of tuberculosis.
enjin pretending not to care if youâre around another guy but immediately appearing behind you two. âhey. what are we talking about?â nobody invited him.
heâd rather DIE than admit he missed you.
if you praise another man in front of him he suddenly becomes the most competitive person alive. âoh he can cook?â next thing you know enjinâs burning an entire kitchen down trying to make soup.
he definitely got caught smiling to himself when he hears you on the choker and denied it with his whole chest.
âiâm not smiling.â
âenjin youâre literally kicking your feet.â
he acts like physical affection doesnât affect him meanwhile one hug from you has him staring into space afterward like he survived a near death experience.
he once fixed his hair before seeing you and then acted annoyed when you noticed. âdid you do something different to your hair? đâ â âno. đâ spent sixty minutes on it.
enjin hearing you call him pretty exactly once and replaying it in surround sound for the next five business days.
he wants your attention so bad it becomes embarrassing. if you ignore him for too long he starts doing progressively dumber things around you.
he absolutely has that pathetic wet cat energy after arguments. lurking nearby. sighing dramatically. hoping youâll talk to him first.
when youâre cold he gives you his coat instantly but pretends heâs not affected by freezing temperatures while visibly shivering.
he once almost confessed accidentally and had to fake cough halfway through. âthereâs something i need to tell youââ violent coughing fit. miraculous recovery ten seconds later.
if you ever kissed his cheek unexpectedly this man would ascend spiritually and physically. probably walks into another pole afterward.
you're crying after a guy bothers you... and your boyfriend isn't about to let it slide.
bleehhh can't sleep and i made up this scenario w fratkuna sooooooooocontains college au frat!ryomen sukuna x midsize!fem!reader; themes of harrassment (the culprit is naoya bc i saw his ass in the mangađ), ryo is like ur knight but not in the toxic alpha male way ew & he punches a guy, & i'm using the hcs that toji, choso, & geto are all in a frat with him + the gojo twins are present (honorable mentions for twins satoshi "fratjo" gojo and satoru nerdjođ«¶) and everyone goes to 'tokyo college of jujutsu tech', and dw it turns into fluff n comfortâbtw this is noooottt proofread
"girl, you're really cute."
another nervous giggle, playing with a lock of your hair. jesus christ, you just wanted to get out of that fucking western poetry class.
you'd only taken the class because you needed a humanities elective, and it had looked interesting! unfortunately for you, though, every guy who thought they were a major philosopher and the next unbiological love child of nietzsche had also taken the class! and sadly, you had caught the attention of one of those guysânaoya zenin, one of the dean's relatives.
he was toji's cousin, you knew, and toji was your boyfriend's frat brother... so maybe you were fine? you tried to convince yourself you were as you sped walked out the door, naoya hot on your trail with a sleazy grin and a mouth full of harrassment.
"where ya goin'? class just ended, sweetie."
"i can't stay," you said quickly, heeled boots clicking rapidly against the floor. you'd dress so cute thatâpolka-dot glasses, a pink off-the-shoulder sweater, black skirt, and knee-high boots that really captured the prime look of a college girl! and it was being wasted because this motherfucker was ogling you. "i have to go back to my dorm."
"why? need an escort?"
"no, i know the way."
"well, someone might hassle you."
"somebody already is hassling me."
"huh?" that made naoya pauseâbut only momentarily. once he realized what you meant, he fell back into step behind you, seeming even more determined than before. "got some bite on you. i like that. lot of women don't know when they should play it easy or hard to getâyou do."
you hated when guys couldn't just take no for an answer the first time. because that meant you had to use the next excuse up your sleeveâ
"my boyfriend wouldn't like that you're following me. i really can't stay and talk, and i'd like it if you would kindly leave me alone."
you said it as curtly and politely as you could, then, before the surprised naoya could reboot and say anything else, you bolted through the doors of the humanities hall and out into the spring day.
campus was lively in the afternoon. there was ultimate frisbee and football being played, groups of friends on picnic blankets talking and tanning, girls swirling their boba and iced coffee as they commuted from classes and dormsâand there was ryomen's and a handful of his frat sitting on benches in the quad, lounging after smoking.
well, choso and geto were still slightly buzzed. toji hadn't taken a pass, and it took more than a few puffs to get to ryomen.
"oh my god, i can't feel my tongue," choso muttered, rubbing his eyes. his black mullet was shaggy, messed up, and he smelled like he'd been waterboarded in geto's cologne to cover up the post-smell of weed.
geto, sitting wide and strumming his guitar absently, grinned lazily. "you're too easy, man. second-hand molly in the wind would get you fucked."
"nuh-uh."
"uh-huh."
"shut the fuck up," toji muttered, waving his hand dismissively as he rubbed his face with the other. "i still have a goddamn headache."
"not our fault you hit your head on a fucking table last night," ryomen laughed.
toji groaned, turning his head to look off into the distance. the activity on campus only worsened his pulsing skull. "swear to god, 'm concussed or something. shouldn't have on that chair when i was drunk."
"you should've came." choso tapped ryomen's knee. "where were you?"
"with his giiiirrrllll," geto teased.
"yeah, yeah." ryomen didn't care if everyone in all of fucking tokyo knew he was whippedâhe was whipped for you, his sweet little girlfriend. "not my fault i wanna spend one night of the weekend watchin' pretty woman again instead of watching toji crack his head open."
like he was summoned by his name, toji started shaking ryomen's shoulder. "dude."
"one secâ" ryomen was about to say something else to choso, but toji wrenched his arm to the side. "what the fuck! what?"
"look where i'm fuckin' looking." toji pointed across the quad. "isn't thatâ"
"holy shit," geto said when he saw you briskly walking and crying, like you were trying to escape someoneâyou had been.
choso frowned when he followed everyone's line of sight. "is that your girlfriend? why is she crying?"
"i... gotta go." ryomen got up from the bench without another word and started across the quad. when he realized how fast you were walking, he thanked god that he was an athlete and started running after you. "hey!"
when you hear a male voice, you automatically moved quicker, expecting it to be naoya againâbut then it repeated, and you recognized ryomen.
"baby? hey, slow the hell down!"
fuck. you didn't want him to see you crying. think, think, thinkâ
but it was too late. ryomen had reached you, grabbed you by the shoulder, and turned you around in an instant. "shit, thought i was going to lose you. what'sâ"
you couldn't held but sob even harder when he began to ask you what was wrong, and ryomen gaped at your puffy, round face, smudged mascara, and the salty streams of tears down your cheeks.
"oh god, angel. what's wrong? c'mere, can i hold you?"
as expected, since he had the biggest soft spot and change of attitude when he was with you, ryomen engulfed you in the comforting embrace of his arms and let you bury your face and ruined makeup against his racing jacket.
"ok, ok," he whispered softly against your hair as he stroked it. "deep breaths. in and out, yeah? gotta calm down and take proper breaths. can i see your purse, please, hon? don'tcha keep tissues in there?"
"iâ" you wheezed slightly, trying not to choke on tears or words. "i was gonna wait inside until i looked for 'em..."
"all right, well, i'm here now. let me see."
carefully, he slipped your purse off your shoulder, located the pack of tissues inside, then extracted one so that he could dab your face gently. "there we go. better, hm? keep breathing f'me, just like that, pretty girl."
when you had calmed down enough to not explosively weep again, ryomen caressed the side of your face and asked, "tell me what happened."
you crossed your arms, lips pursed in a pout. "no."
you knew what he would do if you told him that naoya zenin bothered you...
"what? fuck you meanâ" he inhaled slowly, then tried again, softer. "angel, how can i help if i don't know what's wrong? orâhow are you gonna feel better if you don't talk about what made you cry like that? i mean, you were going pretty fast in those heels, i imagine something happened."
after a pause, he hardened. "did someone fucking do something to you?"
"ryoâ"
"nah, don't give me that soft stuff. tell me who and what."
"it wasn't anything serious!" you insisted, holding him tightly. "seriously."
"tell. me."
"promise me you won't be mad!"
"no."
"ryo!"
"was it a guy?" he brushed a few hairs out of your face, grimacing. "i'll beat the shit out of him if it was."
"it was a small incident. small, that's it."
"or was it a girl? 'cuz satoshi's brother satoru knows a girl named shoko in pre-med, she'll fight anyoneâunless you don't care if i do it, because i'll hit anyone you ask, babeâ"
"stop!" you shook him slightly. "a guy kept following me around and bothering me, i just wanted him to go awayâand he did! he just... overwhelmed me. i was scared."
ryomen stared at you when you finished speaking. he blinked a few times and nodded slowly, tongue against the inside of his cheek. "ok. yeah, ok."
you frowned, watching as his face contorted. "what?"
"this happened just now?"
"um... like ten minutes ago."
"where?"
you picked at your nails, growing nervous. "...the humanities building."
he'd turned on his heel without a second thought, and you hurried after him, having known he probably would've gone off the moment you gave him all the details, like a bloodhound with a scent for prey.
"waitâryo! it's not that big of a deal!"
"not that big of a deal my ass." he was practically snarling.
who you didn't expect to see soon after ryomen was on his war path was the culprit himself. naoya was crossing the pavement, staring at his phoneâbut when he saw the tattooed, six-foot-four jock headed his general direction, he couldn't help but freeze. you also stopping, surprised and wary, was a dead giveaway on who the guy ryomen was looking for was.
ryomen glanced between naoya and you, then pointed. "him?"
you slowly let go of his arm, knowing there was little you could do to help the situation or stop your boyfriend. "yeah..."
calmlyâtoo fucking calmlyâhe continued down the sidewalk until he was a few yards from naoya, then he nodded once and said, "hey, man."
naoya, contemplating fight or flight, tried to remain casual and nodded back. "hey..."
"wanna ask youâyou bother that girl over there earlier?" he jutted a thumb over his shoulder, at your nervous figure in the distance.
"i didn't bother her. i was just talking to her."
"in what way."
"huh?"
"In what wayâbecause you sound like a really shitty guy to talk to if she walked away crying."
"not my fault she didn'tâ"
before naoya could finish casting off whatever blame onto you, ryomen winded back a tight fist and clocked him in the nose.
naoya yowled in pain the moment the fist connected with his face, and he recoiled, hands snapping up to cover his soon-to-bleed nose. "what the fuck is wrong with you?!"
"ryomen!" you cried from behind him.
across the quad, it seemed that the others ryomen were with before had witnessed everything.
"ry!" toji waved a relaxed arm, like he knew ryomen had everything handled but still wanted to be nice and extend an offer. "good?"
ryomen cracked his knuckles, then wrung out his pulsing hand. "yeah, he shouted back. "good."
"is she ok?" choso called over, pointing at you.
"i'll take care of her."
"'kay, i guess." geto watched the entire thing with a skeptical look. "see you later."
without exchanging any words, ryomen returned to you and carted you up to his dorm. he was glad that you didn't protest or refuse to go with himâhe surely thought you were mad at him, until you whispered the soft "thank you" to him at his door. he simply kissed your head and pushed the door open.
in his dorm, he insisted you clean while he ordered food. lounging in his bed, shirtless now and just in a pair of sweatpants, he scrolled on his phone while resting a hand on you. you'd positioned yourself beside him after cleaning off your tear-streaked makeup and changing into one of his hoodies.
"sushi and boba, or thai?" ryomen asked, rubbing slow circles on your thighs. he loved to grip the plush there, to kiss up from your calf to the softness of your bellyâhe would later, but right then, he was focused on getting you fed and rested, the two things he thought key in recovering from bad days. "wait. chinese?"
you ran a hand through his hair and leaned over to peck his cheek. "anything."
"you always say that, baby."
"i know."
"ok. sushi and boba."
you smiled. "i trained you right."
taking a moment, ryomen dropped his phone and grabbed your jaw to bring you in for a full, proper kiss that lasted until you were both breathless. and when you pulled away only slightly, hovering closely above him, lips still brushing, he licked his lips and smiled. "you're ok, right? not mad?"
"no," you said, tilting your head slightly. "not mad. maybe a little annoyed that you always jump to violence, but... i really appreciate you wanting to protect me. i know you just want me to be all right in the end."
"damn right i do. i love you, gorgeous."
smiling, you kissed him once more. "i love you too, ryo. now order the food before the place closes."
send me asks <3
buy me a kofi
divider creds to @anitalenia check them out their work is so gorg!!!!
ÊËÌŁÌŁÌŁÍÉ featuring: jason todd x reader!!
ÊËÌŁÌŁÌŁÍÉ cw: nsfw 18+, MDNI, fluffy, slice of life, crack, mentions of oral, established relationship
ÊËÌŁÌŁÌŁÍÉ a/n: FINALLY finished this one
thank you for the request <33 much love đœ
I LOVE ME SOME JAY
also HAPPY INDIGENOUS & PRIDE MONTH
the rare moments when sukuna is actually clingy and acts like he's yours>>
you hadn't even made it out of bed before sukuna's arms were wrapping around you, pulling you back down against your shared bed. his movements were sluggish, still tired from sleep, but awake enough to realize you were trying to leave.
he pulls you back against him, all four arms wrapped around you tight, holding your body flush against his. two of his hands gripped your waist, the others splaying out against your front, keeping you close against his chest.
"what are you doing..?"
he mutters lowly, his voice rough and gravely from just waking up. you feel your stomach flutter, even after hearing his voice every morning for years, you still werenât used to it.
you bring your hands up, grabbing onto his forearms and turning your head to look back at him, which only made the fluttering in your stomach worsen tenfold.
his eyes were half-lidded, narrowed in on you; if you didn't know him any better, you would think he was glaring at you. his pink hair was ruffled, short spikes going in every direction. his lips were downturned in a small frown; clearly, he hadn't been happy at the thought of you leaving.
"getting up?"
you reply, an amused smile finding your face as you turn in his grasp. he didn't stop you, letting you turn until you were chest to chest with him.
sukuna grumbles at your words, frowning further, his arms tightening around you instinctively, as if preparing for you to try and get up out of his arms again.
"no."
is all he says, pulling you even closer. the second your cheek hit his collarbone, you wanted to melt against him. he was so warm and soft. the skin of his chest wasn't like his hands, having built up years of calluses; instead, it was smooth, almost like a baby's.
you almost wanted to give in, to just go back to sleep in sukuna's arms; his warmth was inviting and practically calling your name. before you could even make a complaint sukuna's voice continues.
"you don't need to 'get up'."
he murmurs, his fingers starting to trace little patterns on your back, effectively destroying any possible retort you had. at your silence, sukuna starts to relax again, slowly letting himself fall back asleep, but you weren't gonna give in that easily.
you slide your hand up his side, gripping his side and trying to push back, pulling your head up away from sukunas. sukuna only grumbles, arms tightening further around you, wrapped around you like a vice.
after a challenging battle of pushing away from sukunaâs grasp, you somehow manage to loosen his grip, arms still locked around you, but now in a loose hold.
slowly you start sliding down, shuffling out of his grasp, carefully throwing your legs over the edge of the mattress before standing.
you made sure every movement was silent. nothing got past sukuna so you had to put up your best shot.
after making sure the coast was clear and you got off scott free, you turn, ready to start the day, even if sukuna didnât want to.
âwhere are you goingâŠ?â
a hand reaches forwardâthen another, both of his right hands lock around your arm, tugging you back against him, into your rightful spot next to him.
this time you sigh, reaching up to pat his back, trying to get him to do something.
âryoâŠâ
he only exhales through his nose, eyes closed, purposefully avoiding looking at you.
âryo.. the sun is starting to rise. itâs time to-â
before you could finish your sentence, sukuna rolls, taking you with him, laying fully on top of you, almost crushing you with his sheer weight.
your face was smushed against his neck, body completely shadowed by sukunaâs. sukuna presses his face into your hair, clearly telling you he wasnât letting you win this.
after a few moments of silence and contemplation, you huff, begrudgingly wrapping your arms around his waist, accepting your fate as sukunaâs favorite pillow.
sukuna shifts, bringing his top set of arms to slip under your head, his lower set of arm staying wrapped tight around you. he finally relaxes, seemingly pleased with your submission.
if this was what it took to stay by his side, you didnât mind, youâd probably do anything for that stubborn pink haired man.
besides he was really warm, and he did smell goodâŠ
a/n:Â my coworker gagged me when i couldnât reach something so he did it for me and when i said thank you he said âyou just had to stretch a little moreâ mind you i couldn't reach it at all. hoe.
synopsis: the kind of pictures theyâd post of you on their instagram story that would make everyone feel single.Â
blurry candid of you laughing because he said something stupid.Â
i mean genuinely blurry. your face is half-moving. the table is crooked. the photo quality looks like it was taken during an earthquake.Â
caption: "proof she finds me funny."Â
song: love on the brain â rihanna.Â
the funniest part is that isagi posts this with his whole chest. no irony. no embarrassment. no self-awareness.Â
because in his mind? making you laugh is one of his greatest accomplishments.Â
he stares at this picture more than some of his match highlights.Â
fans immediately lose their minds once they zoom in and realize you're looking directly at him while laughing. not at the camera. not at somebody else. him.Â
and isagi is scrolling through the comments smiling like an idiot because nobody understands.Â
he remembers exactly what he said. it wasn't even funny. somehow you laughed for 5 straight minutes.Â
that's his favorite part.Â
itoshi rin
random photo he took of you looking out the bullet train window.Â
the lighting isn't special. you're not posing. your hair isn't even done. you're literally just existing.Â
caption: none.Â
song: nothing's gonna hurt you baby â cigarettes after sex.Â
by the time the post hits 3 minutes old, there are already edits.Â
by the time it hits 30 minutes old, there are essays.Â
because WHY DOES HE HAVE THIS PHOTO.Â
why was he looking at you? why did he save it? why did he post it? why does it feel so intimate?Â
everyone realizes you clearly didn't know he took the picture.Â
which means rin saw you sitting there and thought: yeah. i need to keep this forever.Â
the screenshot count becomes absurd. people start calling it "the train photo." entire fan accounts are dedicated to analyzing it.Â
rin does not acknowledge any of this. but when someone asks him why he posted it, he just shrugs.Â
"liked the picture." that's it.Â
little does everyone know that his camera roll contains approximately 800 more photos exactly like it. completely unposed. completely unnoticed.Â
his favorite version of you is the one that isn't trying.Â
itoshi sae
photo of you wearing his sunglasses while crossing a street somewhere in madrid. both hands wrapped around his bicep.Â
you're talking about something. he doesn't remember what. he just remembers looking down and thinking you looked cute. so he snapped a quick one.Â
caption: "thief."Â
song: telepatĂa â kali uchis.Â
the internet explodes immediately. because sae doesn't post. sae barely acknowledges humanity. sae posting a picture of somebody is already a historical event. sae posting a picture where you're clearly attached to him like a koala? global emergency.Â
comments become:
"HEâS SMILING." "SAE ITOSHI SMILING IN THE BIG 2026???" "somebody check on rin."Â
the funniest part? everybody is right. he is absolutely smiling.Â
he spent 10 minutes choosing between 3 nearly identical photos. 10 whole minutes. that's basically a marriage proposal by sae standards.Â
later, someone asks where the sunglasses came from.Â
he responds: "theyâre mine."Â
then logs off. he wanted everyone to know exactly whose sunglasses they were. and exactly who stole them.Â
nagi seishiro
photo of you asleep.Â
that's it. absolutely diabolical behavior.Â
caption: "she's charging."Â
song: single â the neighbourhood.Â
people think it's a joke. it is. but it's also not.Â
nagi genuinely sees you as some kind of adorable electronic device.Â
you take naps. you need snacks. sometimes you stop functioning. therefore: charging. simple.Â
the photo itself is ridiculously cute. your cheek is squished against a pillow. you're holding onto his hoodie sleeve. one sock is missing. nobody knows where it went. not even nagi.Â
comments become:
"FREE HER." "bro posted her unconscious." "is she a girlfriend or a tamagotchi?âÂ
nagi is confused by the backlash. "what? she looked cute."Â
that's literally his entire defense.Â
the worst part is that every few months he does it again. sleeping in the car. sleeping on the couch. sleeping on his shoulder. sleeping during movies.Â
fans have accidentally been given a complete sleep study over the course of your relationship.Â
nagi thinks this is perfectly normal.Â
mikage reo
photo of you standing in the middle of some luxury shopping district in tokyo. probably harajuku. maybe ginza. doesn't matter. somehow you look expensive just standing there.Â
you're not even doing anything. you're checking your phone. that's it.Â
caption: "that's MY muse."Â
song: fashion killa â a$ap rocky.Â
this post creates approximately 17,000 edits within the hour.Â
reo accidentally posted what looks like a luxury campaign advertisement.Â
people are convinced a magazine took the photo. but nope. just reo. who has approximately 6,000 photos of you in his favorites folder.Â
and yes. the folder is actually named "museum." because he thinks you're art.Â
fans discover this fact later and collectively evaporate. comments become:
"reo mikage i know that's you liking every edit." "he's refreshing the tag." "he wants that cookie so bad."Â
and they're right. reo posts the story. watches the views climb. searches your name. likes edits. saves edits. sends edits to you. comments "so true" under edits of his own girlfriend.Â
then acts completely normal when confronted.Â
the man is your biggest fan. everybody knows it. especially him.Â
bachira meguru
the photo is you running ahead of him through a festival at night. lights everywhere. lanterns overhead. people passing by.Â
the picture is slightly blurry because he was literally running after you when he took it.Â
caption: "wait for meeee!"Â
song: can i call you tonight? â dayglow.Â
the photo feels like a memory before it even becomes one. that's what destroys everybody.Â
it doesn't look posed. it doesn't look curated. it looks like one of those moments you don't realize is important until years later. like itâs nostalgic.Â
your hair is bouncing behind you. you're halfway turned around because he's yelling your name.Â
and somehow the picture captures exactly how happy he is just following you around.Â
comments immediately become:
"this looks like the ending scene of an indie romance movie." "why am i crying đâ "he's literally following her like a golden retriever."Â
correct. bachira sees absolutely nothing wrong with this. he likes following you around.Â
you're interesting. sometimes you randomly stop to look at things. sometimes you drag him somewhere. sometimes you get distracted. it's fun.Â
later, he reveals there are approximately 47 photos from this exact night.Â
35 of them are just you smiling at him while standing exactly 3 feet away. because apparently that's his favorite view.Â
shidou ryusei
photo of you flipping off the camera after he spent the last 20 minutes being the most annoying man alive. your expression is murderous.Â
his laugh can practically be heard through the screen.Â
caption: "she wants me."Â
song: true â spandau ballet.Â
the internet collectively develops high blood pressure.Â
comments instantly become:
"that's literally not what that means." "she looks one inconvenience away from homicide." "ryusei i am begging you to read body language."Â
shidou is liking every single comment because he thinks they're hilarious.Â
what makes it worse is that you posted your own story immediately afterward. same photo. caption: "i don't."Â
somehow this only makes people more convinced you're soulmates.Â
the thing is shidou genuinely believes annoying you is a love language.Â
unfortunately though? every time you threaten him, he gets happier. nobody knows why. not even him.Â
karasu tabito
photo of you walking ahead of him at night. holding his hand. just the back of you. nothing fancy. no dramatic lighting. no expensive scenery. no special occasion.Â
caption: "favorite person to waste time with."Â
song: sure thing â miguel.Â
THAT'S THE ONE.Â
the post goes viral because it feels so unfairly intimate.Â
everyone expected something flashier. something more obvious. instead, he drops the most devastatingly romantic thing imaginable and leaves.Â
it makes sense. karasu's affection has always been sneaky. he's not the type to make speeches. but he is the type to remember your coffee order even after 3 years. the type to call when he knows you're bored. the type to stay on the phone with you while doing absolutely nothing.Â
and this picture? it feels exactly like that.Â
comments become:
"waste time?????" "that's somehow more romantic than an engagement." âthis just raised my standards, thank you.â "he talks about her like she's his favorite hobby."Â
you are. and he'd never admit that out loud.Â
kaiser michael
mirror picture. you're wearing a dark blue dress thatâs long, elegant, fitted in some places and loose in others. somehow both sophisticated and effortless. the kind of outfit that makes people stop scrolling.Â
caption: "art appreciation post."Â
song: art deco â lana del rey.Â
the internet loses its collective damn mind.Â
because everybody knows this isn't actually about fashion. this is kaiser publicly staring at his girlfriend. that's what this is.Â
comments immediately become:
"bro thinks he's at the louvre." "HE'S LOOKING AT HER LIKE A RENAISSANCE PAINTING." "somebody get this man a museum membership."Â
the answer is yes. absolutely yes.Â
kaiser genuinely believes beauty should be acknowledged. loudly. dramatically. repeatedly. and beauty is you.Â
he spends 15 minutes deciding which picture shows the dress best. then another 5 staring at it after posting.Â
if somebody asks why he uploaded it? he'll shrug.Â
"people should be allowed to admire art."Â
meanwhile ness is somewhere off-screen resisting the urge to throw his phone into traffic.Â
ness alexis
photo of you holding a huge bouquet. flowers in all your favorite colors. you're wearing pajamas. completely bare faced. hair still messy from sleep. clearly woke up less than an hour ago.Â
caption: "picked the right ones :)"Â
song: baby i'm yours â arctic monkeys.Â
the smiley face is important. extremely important. life-changingly important. because ness typed it. deleted it. typed it again. deleted it. stared at it. walked around his apartment. came back. stared at it some more. then finally posted it.Â
the photo itself absolutely destroys people. you're not dressed up thatâs why. you're not posing.Â
it's painfully domestic. painfully real.Â
comments become:
"he bought her flowers before she even brushed her hair iâm crine.â "the smiley face is making me emotional." "this is the most boyfriend picture i've ever seen."Â
the thing is, ness doesn't even realize why everyone loves it. to him, the flowers are the focus. he spent forever picking them. he remembers every color you like. he wanted you to smile when you woke up.Â
and everyone else is staring at the picture thinking: oh. this man is absolutely gone.Â
completely. irreversibly. catastrophically in love.Â
chigiri hyoma
photo of you waiting for him on the other side of a crosswalk. huge grin. waving both arms at him like he disappeared for 10 years instead of 30 seconds. cars passing. city lights reflecting off the windows nearby.Â
caption: "and i'm supposed to be the faster one."Â
song: you are in love â taylor swift.Â
the internet immediately starts screaming. chigiri never really posts things unless they matter. and this? this matters. a lot.Â
the thing people notice is your expression. that's not a polite smile. that's a there you are smile. the kind you save for one specific person.Â
comments instantly become:
"LIKE OKAYYYYYY WE GET IT BRO YOU LOVE HER." "WE UNDERSTAND. MESSAGE RECEIVED." "HE POSTED A TAYLOR SWIFT SONG. SEDATE ME."Â
chigiri ignores all of them. he's too busy staring at the picture himself.Â
he remembers exactly what happened afterward. the second the light changed, you practically skipped over to him.Â
and honestly? no goal celebration has ever made him smile as much as that did.Â
yukimiya kenyu
photo of you adjusting his collar before some formal event. maybe a gala. maybe an award ceremony. doesn't matter. you're focused entirely on fixing his outfit. completely unaware he's staring at you.Â
caption: "found my favorite color."Â
song: sunflower â michelle leigh.Â
chaos erupts immediately. because he's wearing an orange tie. and you're standing right there.Â
comments become a battlefield. half the internet say: "he means the tie." the other half: "BE SERIOUS."Â
the answer is painfully obvious. the photo is literally centered on you.Â
yukimiya himself refuses to clarify. he finds the debate funny.Â
meanwhile every single one of his teammates knows exactly what he meant. this man has looked at you like you're the eighth wonder of the world since day one.Â
somebody eventually asks him directly. âwhen you said âmy favorite color,â did you mean the orange tie or your girlfriend?âÂ
his response? "you tell me." which somehow confirms it more.Â
hiori yo
photo taken from his gaming setup. you're sitting beside him. half in frame. completely focused on your own thing. maybe you're reading. maybe you're drawing. maybe you're scrolling through your phone. nobody knows. hiori didn't bother explaining either.Â
caption: "co-op."Â
song: lovefool â the cardigans.Â
the comments are so confused. you're not interacting. you're not even looking at each other.Â
one comment with 50,000 likes says: "am i missing something."Â
but hiori understands perfectly. because in his brain? spending time together doesn't require constant attention. it's just existing in the same space. comfortably. peacefully. with no pressure and no expectations. just knowing the other person is there.Â
comments become:
"bro that's not co-op." "she isn't even playing." "hiori that's literally single-player."Â
and hiori reads them and goes: "um, nah."Â
because you sat there for 3 hours. and that's worth more to him than any multiplayer lobby.Â
barou shoei
.5 selfie. the most criminal and cutest camera angle known to mankind.Â
you're sitting on the kitchen counter, grinning directly into the camera. barou is cooking in the background. completely focused. serious expression. apron on. looking like he's preparing a five-star meal for a king and his queen.Â
caption: "the chef and his pretty taste-tester (written by [name] btw)."Â
song: fallingforyou â the 1975.Â
the second people see the caption? they start crying. everybody knows barou didn't write that. absolutely nobody believes it.Â
comments become:
"HE MADE SURE WE KNEW IT WASN'T HIM." "HE'S EMBARRASSED." "BAROU LIKE THIS COMMENT IF SHE STOLE YOUR PHONE."Â
the funniest part? he actually did make you add the disclaimer. he refused to post it otherwise.Â
but he still posted it. that's the important part.Â
despite all his complaining⊠despite pretending he doesn't care⊠the photo remains on his account. forever.Â
and every time somebody mentions it, he threatens them. which only confirms that he secretly loves it.Â
kunigami rensuke (post-WC)
mirror photo at a private gym. both of you are sweaty. exhausted. yet smiling. happy.Â
caption: "the only person i'd allow to be my spotter is you @yourusername.âÂ
song: cupid's chokehold / breakfast in america â gym class heroes.Â
the internet genuinely doesn't know how to process this.Â
this is supposed to be the intimidating one. the serious one. the emotionally constipated one.Â
and yet here he is. smiling. voluntarily. publicly.Â
comments become:
"HE TAGGED HER." "HE TAGGED HER YâALL."Â
"EVERYONE STAY CALM."Â
but the real killer? the wording.Â
anyone can be a workout partner. anyone can train with him. but being the only person? that's different. especially coming from kunigami.Â
especially since after everything he's been through, trust isn't something he gives easily anymore.Â
so fans end up realizing the caption isn't really about the gym. it's about you.Â
and suddenly everybody is emotional.Â
kunigami is just sitting there wondering why people are acting like he proposed.Â
he only stared at the post for 20 minutes before uploading it. that's normal, right?Â
iglesias bunny
photo of you sitting at a restaurant. sunglasses on. outfit immaculate. posture immaculate. somehow making a menu look expensive. the kind of picture that makes people sit up straighter when they see it.Â
caption: "everyone clap."Â
song: 360 â charli xcx.Â
the funniest thing about bunny is that this is somehow both a joke and completely serious.Â
yes, he's being dramatic. but also? he genuinely believes applause is warranted.Â
comments instantly become:
"đđđđđ"
"THANK YOU BUNNY FOR BRINGING HER TO OUR ATTENTION." "he posted her like she just won an oscar AS HE SHOULDDD."Â
and bunny is sitting there liking every single comment. because exactly. finally. people understand.Â
somebody comments: "what are we clapping for?"Â
bunny replies: "look at her."Â
that's it. no further explanation. in his mind, none is needed.Â
he took approximately 100 pictures that night. this wasn't even the most glamorous one. it was just his favorite. especially because you were laughing at something right before he snapped the photo.Â
and even behind the sunglasses? he could tell. which somehow makes the entire thing 10 times worse.Â
the internet spends the next week making edits. bunny saves all of them.Â
hugo vivian
photo of you standing on a balcony at night. city lights glowing behind you. skyline stretching into the distance. the wind moving your hair slightly.Â
you don't know he took the picture. you don't even know he's looking at you.Â
caption: "badump, badump."Â
song: my destiny â delinquent.Â
that's it. no elaboration. no explanation. no context. only: badump, badump.Â
and somehow that makes it INFINITELY worse.Â
everybody immediately understands what he means with his little cyborg sound effects he does.Â
comments become:
"OH THAT'S TOO CUTE." "HEARTBEAT CAPTION. HEARTBEAT CAPTION." "HE LOOKED AT HER AND FORGOT WORDS."Â
which is basically what happened.Â
hugo had every opportunity to write something normal. something cool. or something clever.Â
instead, his brain saw you standing there and reduced itself to cartoon sound effects. like an actual malfunctioning robot. zoom. beep beep. badump, badump. finished. post uploaded.Â
the photo itself is gorgeous. but the caption is what kills everyone. it's so simple. so stupid. so painfully sincere. it feels less like an instagram story and more like somebody accidentally reading his thoughts.Â
and hugo never corrects anyone. he knows they're right. that really was the only thing going through his head when he looked at you. badump, badump.Â
Levi's road to confessing was arduous (to him) and full of longing
contains: angsty fluff. canon universe, reader joined the survey corps a little before Levi became Captain. mentions of canon typical events and minor character death. mostly focused on Levi's view of things. Miche and Erwin are rooting for the two of you, and they gossip about your relationship in their minuscule free time. slow burn ish. no smut.
wc: 6.2k
To Levi, meeting you felt like further proof that the world wanted to consistently push him to the edge of insanity, even if at a smaller scale than every unfortunate event of his past. It was the first time he felt completely weakened by something so harmless, idiotic infatuation.Â
He realized very early on, during your first week as a new member of the Corps, that he had an unparalleled interest in you. It appalled him.
For the first couple of months he refused to admit to himself that what he felt when you were around meant anything beyond idle curiosity.
He chalked up his harsh treatment of you during training to simply proving you were a good soldier; instead of what it actually was, a weak attempt to make you give up, because he felt someone like you shouldnât have to deal with the horrors of the world.
He convinced himself the headaches he would get when you were called on for patrols or expeditions were just a result of his lack of sleep. And that the constant thoughts of you swirling in his mind every damn night would dissipate the longer you were around. He was very wrong about that.
He made it a point to not interact with you outside of training, missions, or briefings. Nonetheless, that didnât mean he didnât feed into his curiosity. As subtly as he could.Â
He watched you a lot. Enough to know that you were always late for breakfast, trained yourself to the bones even on your off days, volunteered to help around with anything you could, and were particularly good at mending clothes. He knew you liked eating with Hange almost every night, and it was the part of your day he enjoyed the most. On each of those nights he followed the two of you into the mess hall, sitting far enough that Hange wouldnât get the idea of asking him to join, but still giving himself the appropriate distance to observe you. To commit to memory every little detail he could, how you ate, how you sat, what you talked about, if your nose also scrunched up at the disgusting taste of the tea everyone but him was subjected to; any information he could gather before the sound of your laugh warmed his chest enough to make him leave.
Truthfully, he could have kept that stalker-ish routine going for ages, and he fully intended to; being able to keep his distance while still getting the smallest doses of you seemed like an ideal arrangement in his mind.
It wasnât until one damning night that he decided this restrictive mindset had to change. He saw you walking with another recruit, late, and alone. He couldnât properly hear whatever wildly amusing conversation you were having from where he stood; regardless of that, he could still clearly make out the faint sound of your laugh accompanying it.Â
The small scene was enough to break him from his ridiculous self-imposed prison. Levi didnât want to allow himself to indulge in his desires for you. He didnât feel he deserved to be with you in any capacity further than working alongside each other. Despite that, the idea that someone else could come in and take from him the possibility of a chance with you was much more mortifying than his own insecurities and concerns.
From that alone, he made the decision to allow himself a sliver of your time. And so, the very next day you were graced with your first private conversation with the captain, if you could even call it that.
He approached you after you were done with training, standing against a wooden beam trying to steady your breathing, hair messy, and sweat coating your forehead.Â
âYour stance was horrible today.â The abruptness of his presence and his comment caught you off guard.
âWhat?â You looked at him with a puzzled look, processing whether he was actually addressing you or not.
âDuring training. You were terrible.â He explained, his tone maintaining its harshness despite your confusion.
âOh. Yeah, I guess so, Iâm out of my element today.â You explained plainly, a half-smile tugging on your lips both at the bluntness, and the fact this was probably the first time he came up to you alone.
âAnd yesterday as well.âÂ
âRight.â
âYouâre not sleeping well.â More of a statement than a question, the dark circles you've been sporting this week probably gave it away.
âI've been having a hard time with it, yes.â
He gave you a firm nod, pursing his lips together in thought.Â
âIâll come find you tonight, I have a tea for that.â He turned around the moment he finished without a second look, not giving you an actual chance to accept or refuse.
Since then, the two of you started a small routine. Heâd look for you after dinner and guide you on a brief walk to the top floor of the main building. A teapot and two cups already placed on the window ledge in the back of the room, with a singular candle lit close by; he hoped that the minimal amount of light would make his intense gaze less noticeable.Â
It was supposed to last only for however long you were struggling to sleep but continued far past those days. Most times he wouldnât talk, only listened; heâd let you rattle on about the day if you pleased, indulging you by participating in idle gossip.
âI can reprimand them for that. I trust youâre aware.â Heâd slip in when you shared a little too much about the escapades of some recruits, forgetting for a moment he had recently become your superior.Â
âWell, this is all alleged. Maybe I didnât hear it right. This tea is great by the way; is it a different kind?" A blush creeping up your cheeks while you attempted to change the subject, looking at him with a sheepish smile that begged him to forget your prior information.
It took a few weeks, but he started contributing with topics of his own little by little. An opinion, a small anecdote, a complaint. Slowly chipping away at the facade of mystery and harshness that used to be all you got from him before. A part of Levi worried that the more you learnt about him, the less interested youâll be, but the enjoyment he got from your small interactions vastly outweighed that concern.
A year into meeting you, Levi had grown accustomed to having you near him, even if for brief moments. He enjoyed your company and physically couldn't continue hiding it from you. He still kept enough distance to make his ever-growing feelings unknown to everyone else, and didnât properly confess anything to you, but his advances grew slightly bolder.Â
Your nightly routine changed a lot from how it originally started. Moving from ten minutes of sipping tea in a semipublic space to secluded meetings in the dead of night. Going as far as sneaking you in his private quarters when he came back from travels you were not part of.Â
Being away from you became the key that pushed your connection forward. Every time he came back, he wanted to have you around for the night, and he needed the certainty that you wouldnât be interrupted; the reassurance of it enabled him to make these encounters last for hours.
He sat in a wooden chair next to his desk, beckoning you closer with a simple command. âShow me what happened.â
âYou canât see the bruise with my uniform on.â You argued with a stifled laugh; you had complained to him about a minor injury you sustained recently, something insignificant that happened while he was gone.
âThen change.â
You stared at him bewildered.
âDo I have to do it for you?â His stern tone didnât falter; it wouldâve seemed like an order more than playful teasing, if it wasnât for how relaxed he looked.
âYou returned as tactful as ever, I see.â You laughed, amused at his actions. You made your way to the bedroom, missing the smirk on his face.
You returned to the room in a thin nightgown that made Levi tense at the sight, hands tucking into fists on his lap before relaxing again. His hand sprawled on the back of your right thigh without question once you stood in front of him, pulling it closer to properly view the wide bruise on the outer side of it; purplish hues going from your mid-thigh to the bottom of your glute.Â
âThis is nothing to you?â It came out softer than he intended. Thinking of you being hurt when he wasnât around, no matter how little, lowered his guard.Â
âIt looks worse than it is.â
His hand carefully grazed the bruise, hiking up the edge of your gown in the process. You shivered at the touch. Goosebumps covered your skin, and it did not go unnoticed by him. âDoes it hurt?â
âNo. I think this helps.â You humored, not bothering to hide your enjoyment of his treatment.Â
âIâm sure it does, brat.â He smiled, small, but enough for you to notice. His hand still caressing your leg despite his response.
It took Levi five years to make his feelings for you properly known. But itâs not like you, or others, hadnât suspected them before that. Despite keeping the matter private, much like most things about him, sometimes he struggled to adequately hide that he had a soft spot for you.
He never outright said he cared about you, never properly held you, but all the things he did do, they proved to be more intimate and sweeter than any regular courting could ever be.
For your first birthday after joining the Corps he went out of his way to gift you a treat from a bakery in your home district. It became a tradition that he fulfilled every year since; heâd go as far as getting it for you in advance if an expedition took place around the date, just in case one of you didn't make it back after.
In your second year, after an expedition where two members of your graduating class were tragically lost, he sneaked you into his quarters every night for a weekâBoth Erwin and Hange knew but they didnât say word of itâheâd lay you down next to him, let you cry out your grieve for as long as you needed to, and patiently waited until you grew tired enough to sleep to get some shut-eye of his own.
âIâll never get used to it, will I?â Your voice was barely above a whisper.Â
âNo.â While your eyes were glued to the ceiling, Leviâs gaze was fixed on you. His expression was unreadable as usual, but he was completely tormented, wishing he could take this hurt away from you.
âAm I being weak?â
âYouâre being human.â
âThatâs a yes.â You smiled, attempting to joke, yet the humor in your voice didnât reach your eyes. Tears fell down in a stream, and Levi had to try his hardest not to reach out and wipe them off your cheeks. âI justââ Your voice broke. To him, the sound evoked a feeling adjacent to being stabbed. âI feel I should be stronger than this. I shouldnât be surprised over what I signed up for.â
âYouâre not surprised; youâre hurt.â Levi chastised, shifting his position to look at you properly. âYou did your job, you donât have to be strong now. Now stop this nonsense of acting like it's shameful to grieve. At least don't do it with me.âÂ
You didnât say anythingâinstead looking back at the ceiling while your hand found his arm, curling up to his side when the tears started burning your eyes once again.
He didnât try to hold you, but he didnât pull away. Even after you fell asleep.Â
In your third year, when Erwin told him heâd be pulling you out of his team to make you a squad leader, he became sick almost immediately. The notion that you would no longer be under his supervision, that even if you went on the same expeditions as he did, heâd have to wait until the very end before he could know if you were still alive. It circled his head all morning and gave him a headache so outstanding he had to dismiss himself from training that afternoon.Â
âWhat do you think?â Erwin ended the silence that persisted since he broke the news.Â
Levi stared absentmindedly. âI think sheâll be a fantastic leader.â
âIs that it?â
âAre you asking for my permission?â
âNo, I simply respect you enough to ask for your opinion.âÂ
âUnless youâre willing to put my preferences above whatâs best for humanity, don't ask for my opinion on what you should do with her.â
âBecause your preference would be to retire her immediately?â Erwin prodded, with no real expectation for Levi to speak up. It wasnât the first time he brought you up, and it wouldnât be the last if Levi kept refusing to trust him with this information. âYou donât have to answer that. I understand you want to avoid telling me what I already know.â
Following your change in rank, the order of retreating met Levi with a wave of asphyxiating dread rather than relief, one that didnât dissipate until he was able to spot you on your horse, still breathing and in one piece. These concerns were never brought up to you or anyone else for that matterâdespite Erwin being aware and willing to speak with him about it if he could just be honestâeven if his fear of losing you and not being able to do anything about it grew stronger with every expedition, he kept his worries regarding your well-being private. You always returned; he had no reason to discuss anything he felt. If you were alive and well, heâd be able to mask his love for you for a while longer.
It wasnât until your fifth year as a member of the Survey Corps when his âwhile longerâ ended. When he had to come to terms with his fears, and his feelings.
He kept his composure as best as he could while going through the list of those dead and missing with Erwin, watching other scouts load bodies into carriages, though heâs sure it did not go unnoticed how tightly he was gripping his gear while he waited for every name to be read. Even then, after all bodies were loaded, the trek to the walls started, and confirmation that you were not one of those lost received; his heartbeat did not return to a healthy rhythm. He needed to see you.
This was the most stressed he ever felt trying to find you after an expedition. Deep down, he could feel something about today was different, as if you not being okay was something he could physically feel. And it didnât help the fact that it took him so long to spot you; carriages and horses already on the move to safety without him being able to catch a single glimpse of you.Â
Every second that passed he could feel his body tense further, cold sweat reaching his palms, a knot tight in his throat that only got tighter the moment he saw you. That sickening feeling of dread he thought he had grown used to crashed down on him and threatened to finish him right then and there. He spotted you being carried by Miche when he made it past the wall. Your body limp in his hold, your inability to even keep your head up made Levi assume the worst and had him rush in your direction before he even realized it.
He got off the horse calm and collected, as if his heart wasnât threatening to rip itself out of his chest. His relief upon seeing you were still breathing was immediate, yet short-lived as he paid more attention to your injuries. Your left thigh and arm were bandaged. There was blood all over you, dripping from your nose, your mouth, and the seams of the binds on your wounded limbs; you mustâve been hurt close before the order to retreat was given.
It made him sick and brought a vile sting to his eyes, a sensation he had long forgotten.
âSheâs okay.â Miche assured him, smiling lightly at how Levi was frowning at you as though telepathically reprimanding you for getting to this state. âNothingâs broken, but sheâs weak. She couldnât keep riding.â
Levi nodded firmly, not trusting himself to speak right away. He reached under your body, taking you in his arms with little protest from the other man. âIâll take her. I donât want her in a carriage.â
âSheâd be laying down.â Miche pointed out yet still took a step back once Levi had a solid hold on you, not really wanting to interfere.Â
âSheâd be alone.âÂ
Miche nodded, holding back his reaction at what the captain was displaying, and promptly retreating to his horse; more than ready to get back and tell Erwin about this little interaction.Â
You were conscious enough to hear the conversation, although far too drained to register the worry behind Leviâs tone let alone comment on it. You had half a mind to realize he carried you back to his horse, helping you on it before getting behind you. He took a hold of the handle and took off in a slow ride, while his left arm went around your waist, keeping you tucked back against him.
One of your hands went to his forearm, giving it a small squeeze to show your acknowledgement before relaxing again.
âAre you okay?â He questioned quietly. Not that anyone would be able to hear him past the sound of hooves against the ground and the many murmurs of civilians watching them pass by.Â
You turned your head enough to look at him out of the corner of your eye. The concern written all over his face almost made you forget the waves of pain crashing through you. You nodded, small, before letting the back of your head rest on his shoulder; the tiny action having wasted the remainder of your energy.
âLiar.â He murmured against your hair, the touch of his lips against your scalp so fleeting you could only assume you imagined it.Â
That night Levi had been more consumed in his own thoughts than he would have appreciated. You were out most of the ride back to the base; the only thing keeping you upright was his firm hold on you that didnât falter once. He spent that time wondering what happened, how did you injure yourself, did somebody help you, did you have to drag yourself all the way to your horse and pretend you didnât feel so bad until it was inevitable?
He imagined every single heartbreaking scenario his brain could come up with, images of you crying out while you bled in the woods flashed through his mind, torturing himself with the idea that maybe you had been near him, maybe you even called out for him and he didnât hear it, trying to find ways to blame himself for your poor state.
He woke you gently once you made it to the base, helping you off the horse and onto your feet, guiding you to wrap an arm over his shoulder to steady yourself when you were unable to suppress your limping. Everything was a blur for you, every step you took forgotten when the next one happened.
You could remember briefly smiling at Hange when she approached the two of you, catching some of their conversation, and Levi whisking you away before you could manage a goodbye.
âYou really busted yourself out there.â You chuckled at her comment and winced immediately after, a stabbing pain reaching your ribs, the mixed noise making her laugh. âYouâre okay?â
You nodded, not getting the time to answer before Levi interjected. âShe is.â He stated, adjusting his grasp on your hip when you clutched your side.
âRight⊠Iâll get one of the scouts to take her to the infirmary. Erwin wants to talk to us.âÂ
âNo.â Levi spoke up before Hange could even attempt turning on her heel. âI will take care of it, and Iâll go to his office after. Tell him Iâll only be a moment.â He kept walking without another word, not giving her any time to make a comment on his behavior.
He took you to his quarters, helping you out of your stained cloak and muddied boots before starting to undo the soaked bandages on your limbs. He seemed unaffected by the sight he was met with, the gashes and lacerations covered in dried blood were nothing he hadnât seen before; but the fact that they were on your body, it brought a shake to his hands he was completely unfamiliar with and he thanked the heavens you were too busy scrunching your eyes together at the stinging feel of him cleaning the open wounds to notice it.
You donât know if you talked, if he asked you anything, you donât think so. The only thing you committed to memory was the feel of hardened hands touching you in the softest ways imaginable, guiding you to his bed when he was done and easing you into laying down. He caressed your face before he moved away; the way he looked at you a mixture of longing and thinly veiled restraint.
He left almost as soon as he laid you down, knowing that if you said anything, if you made even the slightest sound, heâd discard his meeting altogether to lay next to you.Â
Levi came back less than an hour after with a thick bag under his arm, having raided your room before coming to gather anything you might need. He was being exceedingly obvious today; he knew more than well his friends no longer needed a heartfelt confession to know exactly why he had been so special to you in the past five years with how he's behaved, but for once he couldnât care less about that matter.Â
He found you just as he had left you, now asleep with your mouth slightly agape. Your messy hair tussled all around was the only indication that you moved while he was gone. He pulled a chair next to the bed, not wanting to risk waking you up; ready to patiently wait until he could get you out of your filthy, blood-stained uniform. Your change of clothes and a clean set of sheets awaiting next to him already.
He doesnât know how long you were asleep for, but it continued through enough hours for him to follow suit at some point.
He vaulted out of the chair when you woke up with a loud cry; the sound was completely gut-wrenching.Â
âWhat happened? Whatâs wrong?!â He grabbed you by the shoulders with a desperate pull, his eyes searching for yours. The sting of tears threatening to break free he felt earlier returned with a vengeance when you coughed up blood, tears streaming down your face.Â
âTalk to me, angel. Please.â He begged, hands reaching for your face, wiping your tears. You didnât speak, didnât explain what was ailing you, instead your cries became louder, deafening.Â
Levi could feel his heartbeat hammering in his chest, and before he could do anything, more blood came out of your mouth, then your nose, then from your wounds, white bandages drowned in the crimson red liquid. He couldnât find the words; he didnât even know what to do. He frantically moved around the room, searching for anything to wipe the blood with, to apply pressure and stop this someway.
Before he knew it, his own eyes were welled up with tears as he desperately tried to stop you from bleeding out, the sound of your crying overwhelming him completely.Â
âYouâre going to be okay. Youâre okay.â He repeated like a mantra, the room spinning around him when he looked at the pool of blood under you. He wiped his tears with his forearm. His heartbeat grew louder, and the sound of it seemed to echo through the room.
You wouldnât stop crying, and God, you wouldnât stop bleeding, it was futile to try. Your hands went to his shoulders, bringing him closer to you while you sobbed hysterically.Â
âIâm sorry. I donât know what to do.â He wrapped his arms around you tightly, crying onto your hair, hopelessly clinging to you. âI canât do anything. Please forgive me, angel. Please.â He wept, his grip tightening the quieter your cries became; your energy depleted the longer you kept bleeding.Â
âDonât leave me.â It became uncontrollable; he felt completely out of himself, the sound of his thunderous heartbeat, the feel of your blood on his hands, the pain in his chest crushing him further and further. âPlease donât leave me.â
âLevi?... Levi.â He woke up with a jolt to see you standing above him, mind completely fogged by the images his brain came up with. His eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness of the room, looking around the now empty bed then back to your fragile frame.Â
The glow of the moon coming from the window was the only source of light, but it was enough to see you properly; not in tears, and not bleeding out. Instead, you were looking at him with a puzzled expression, an arm cradling your midsection as you tried your best to stand upright.
âAre you okay? Iâm sorry, I didnât mean to startle you.â
âIâmââ He closed his mouth before continuing, rubbing his eyes before he looked at you again, a slight wet feeling coating his fingertipsâwas he crying?âit was just a dream. âDonât worry. Is something wrong?âÂ
âI wanted to get out of all this blood. But I could barely make it a few steps past the bed.â
He hummed, burying his face in his hands for a moment, trying to regain his composure. âIâll help you.â His eyes found you again, narrowed. Going over every inch of your body to make sure nothing was out of the ordinary, to prove to himself that you wouldnât randomly start bleeding out in front of him. He debated telling you about his dream, telling you about how worried he was earlier and how the stress of his concerns was swallowing him whole right now, but that would mean delving into a conversation heâs unsure heâd be good at. Maybe heâll need to practice it.
He walked you to the bathroom, arm stretched out for you to hold onto through every step. âYou look terrible.â He murmured, helping you stand in front of the small tub.Â
âArenât you sweet.â You laughed dryly, slowly loosening your grip on his forearm to let him stand back.
You and Levi stared at each other willfully, both waiting for the other to take the next step.Â
âCan you do it alone?â He asked while reaching for the top button of your shirt, undoing it slowly, waiting for you to form a response, groggy and restless voice adding something new to his usual stoic tone.Â
You wanted to object, tell him he didnât need to continue. But you were sure youâd end up falling face first on the floor at some point if he wasnât holding onto you. âMaybe I could.â
âSure.â He muttered, gaze focused on where his hands started to undo the rest of your shirt, a deep frown covering his features at the side of fresh red bruises covering your left side.Â
He carefully undid the bandages on your arm to slowly slide off the shirt. You didnât care to watch his movements; you couldnât look away from his face, how concentrated he was, how troubled he seemed over your wounds. It made you smile, both that and the pink tint of his cheeks when he exposed you further.Â
If you knew him less, you wouldâve asked him to kiss you right then and there, but by now you knew well his only answer to that would be questioning if you were concussed.
Levi kept himself from speaking. Too focused on the crushing weight in his heart over the sight of your bruised and battered frame, a weight that grew more draining the more of your clothes he got rid off.Â
His mind also trotted over the idea of kissing you. He thought about it every single day, but now more than ever he wished he had done so before. That way he could pepper every single inch of your body with small soothing kisses now and it wouldnât be strange, there wouldnât be a possibility of you freaking out, because by now you wouldâve been used to his affections.Â
If only he had been braver about it before.Â
He desperately wished to hold you tenderly in his arms, to caress your skin and kiss you senselessly, trusting that every bit of his devotion would help you forget about the pain you must be feeling.
âWhat happened?â He helped you stand above the drain, squeezing your hand before letting you stand on your own. He soaked a cloth before he started carefully scrubbing your arms, trying his best to not pressure the slash on your left arm into bleeding again.
âIt was my stupidity. One of my scouts was kicked off his horse, and a titan was going to grab him, and Iâ It was impulsive. I threw myself at them and I didnât realize another titan was coming. It was a big mess and I wasnât thinking clearly.â You yawned between your sentences, watching him with tired eyes, following his hands whenever he bent to dampen the cloth and settling back on his face when he returned; his eyebrows furrowed at your anecdote. âI couldnât tell you exactly what happened, I just know I flew through more trees than I would like, and when I finally got my cables to stick to something I was hanging two inches from the floor and looked like this.â
Levi stayed silent for a moment, trying to picture the situation, as if that helped him in any way. âHow did you get on your horse?âÂ
âMiche found me. I would have only been able to drag myself until I found someone. Itâs hard to lift this leg.â His grip on your waist tightened at the notion, his eyes now meeting yours to avoid staring at where he scrubbed on your chest, ever-present frown adorning his features.
Levi saw the images of your explanation vividly in his mind; he could clearly see you dragging yourself out of the woods in fear that you wouldnât make it, as if it actually happened, as if he had been present. It was completely nauseating. âIâm sorry.â His hands stopped, both settled firmly on your hips, indifferent to his proximity and your bare skin.
âFor what?â
âI couldâve been there.âÂ
One of your hands reached his bicep, tentatively caressing him. âDonât do that.â
He pursed his lips together; he knew it was ridiculous to upset himself over something he had no control over, and yet he couldnât stop. He stayed silent, instead opting to watch you get closer, your hands rubbing up and down his arms to ease him. The delicate body heâs grown to yearn for standing less than an inch away from him, laid bare for his eyes only.
âIâm supposed to be taking care of you.â He murmured, tense muscles taut under your touch as it rose up to his shoulders then back down to the front of his chest.Â
âI know, but you seem to be more troubled than I am. I may need help getting up, but youâre looking at me like Iâm dying.â
âI just donât know what to do with myself.â Levi let himself get closer, his hands hesitantly moving to your back. âSeeing you like this.â
âIâve been hurt before.â Your tone was confused, and he hated that it urged him to continue.
âNot like this. Not when Iâm not around.â
âI thought you didnât care if I was not by your side.â
âI lied.â
You couldnât help the weak laugh that left your lips, looking away from him as you tried to retrieve your composure.Â
âAre my worries amusing to you?â His gaze narrowed, not in his usual scowlâin dismay.
You shook your head, a hand coming up to caress his face, looking at him with nothing but utter reverence. âIâm more than appreciative of your worries. But I do find it humorous that I have to come back like this for you to say these things.âÂ
The time seemed to stand still between you. Patient, as always, you waited; letting him find the words heâs been struggling to muster. He hated how difficult this was; to expose feelings he has been certain of for years. âSit, we need to wash your hair.â
You sighed, hands dropping from him with a small nod. He helped you sit in the middle of the tub, kneeling down on the floor next to you, holding onto a small water pitcher with trembling hands.Â
You closed your eyes at the feeling of water slowly dripping onto your scalp, finally relishing in a soothing feeling. âDonât look at me when I say this." His voice was low, unusually unsteady, despite being completely certain of his words. "Iâm terrified of losing you.â
Your lips pursed together, trying your best to keep yourself from turning your head; wanting to indulge him if it meant being able to hear what he had to confess. âWhy?â You asked quietly, eyes stuck to the water falling from your shoulders, bloody and muddy dark streaks slowly disappearing, becoming clearer the more his fingers helped brush water through the thick locks of hair.
Silence lingered for a moment. The only sound being the slow rush of water, and Leviâs deep breaths. He could do this, if thereâs someone he could say anything to, it was you. So why did his chest ache this much?
âIâve belonged to you from the moment I met you.â Leviâs voice came out ragged, broken. His hands softly brushed through your hair, moving back the strands that fell on your face. He cleared his throat, trying to regain some semblance of control. âAnd I donât know what will be of me if the only reason I hold any hope for the future is no longer with me.â
You couldnât help meeting his gaze, lips parting and closing with suppressed praises. To hear something that gentle, romantic, out of the very lips youâve wished had graced yours long before today; it couldâve been enough to push you through every day of your life from now on.Â
The way you were looking at him was his undoing, a softness he did not deserve, and that he could only ever receive from you. He watched you uneasy, his throat running dry, unsure of what he was even waiting for. âPlease say something.â
Words evaded you completely, too stuck on repeating that sweet confession over and over again in your head. Instead of coming up with some clever poetry of your equal feelings, you did the one thing you knew no amount of prodding would make him do.Â
Your hands slowly reached for him, cupping his face to bring him closer to you. And you waited, for a moment; not wanting to miss how he relaxed, how he gave in. Only then did your lips meet his with a tenderness that made Leviâs stomach flutter.Â
One of his hands went to the back of your neck, long fingers twisting into your hair, keeping your lips flush against his while he inched closer to you. His free hand gripped the back edge of the tub, his body looming above yours, completely trapping you under him.Â
The kiss was searing and all consuming. As if you were trying to pour into him every unsaid word; as if Levi was trying to make up for every single moment he wished your lips had been on his. It grew desperate within seconds, teeth clashing and noses bumping while both of you tried to absorb each otherâs oxygen.
Itâs only when you tried to wrap your arms around his neck to drag him down did you break away, wincing at the sting from a gash on your bicep.
Levi immediately tensed when you stopped. âIâm sorry.â His voice was breathless, a small whisper followed by him pulling back, softened gaze raking over you to make sure he didnât hurt you.Â
âItâs my fault, I shouldâve waited until we were laying down.â You quipped, instinctively reaching out for his arm to keep him somewhat close.Â
He laughed, openly, warm. âThat mightâve ended worse.â
A comfortable silence fell in the room after your chuckles died down. Both of you staring at each other with the sweetness of two madly in love idiots. All flushed lips, red cheeks, and stupid smiles.
â
âAnd then what happened?â Erwin asked while flipping through pages of planning, the words he had written already mixing together from how long he had been staring at them, and how late it already was.
Miche stood by the window, looking out to the empty grounds below them. âI told him sheâd be lying down in the carriage, probably more comfortable.â
âMhm.â
âAnd he argued sheâd be alone, very solemnly.â
âHe did not.â Erwin dropped the papers, turning on his chair to meet Micheâs gaze, the other man already snickering to himself.
âHe did, and then he just took her away. And Iâm completely certain he kissed her hair when they got on the horse.â Miche whispered the last part, as if he was sharing the most confidential work information he could ever manage to get his hands on.
âIn front of everyone?â Erwin stared at him dumbfounded, imagining the scene he described before letting out a quiet laugh.
âIf they remain nothing but friends after tonight I fear we might have to send Hange in.â