Look I don’t know why I started writing this but I did take it or leave it
That being said, I like to think Levi is as direct with affection/what he wants when he wants you as he is about his opinions on stuff
Another week passed you by, and you trudged tiredly to your room. Training was more intense these days, and while you were glad the cadets were being trained even better and more rigorously than you had been, you couldn’t help but feel annoyed that you were going through it. You decided that you could let yourself skip your nightly routine of exercising and just go straight to bed.
But when you heard your name, you froze. You hadn’t spoken to Levi since you’d embarrassed yourself in front of him the first day of ODM training. You turned around to look at him and saw him nod toward his office.
With a heavy sigh, you started following him.
He sat down on his desk and gestured for you to close the door.
You did, and walked over to the chair in front of his desk. “What’s up?” You asked, groaning in pain as you sat down.
“You’ve avoided me for an entire week.”
Shit. You thought to yourself. “Have I?” You asked, trying to make it seem unintentional.
“Spare me, Y/N. I know you, and can read you like a book.” He said, crossing his arms. “Why are you avoiding me?”
You stared at him, unsure of what you were supposed to say.
“It’s just us in here. What’s going on?” He asked.
“Do you… do you not remember what-!”
“Obviously I remember. Why would that be a reason to avoid me?”
“It was embarrassing and awkward.” You said. “Didn’t that make you feel awkward?”
“Was I supposed to feel awkward about that?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. “I certainly was surprised, but it didn’t make me feel awkward.”
You genuinely didn’t know what to say to that.
“I didn’t want to let go.” He said finally, with a shrug. “I guess that’s why I didn’t feel awkward.”
Your face turned pink as you struggled to formulate a response that wasn’t clumsy babbling. “What are you-what is going-what the hell?” You asked, flustered. “Do you like holding me, or something?”
Levi just stared at you quietly, calmly.
You could feel yourself getting more nervous by the minute. “You’re so frustrating! You tease me relentlessly, you make it seem like I’m annoying but also your best friend, you won’t tell people we’re together or not together… what do you want?”
As you rattled on, you didn’t notice him stand up and take a step toward you. He leaned forward, planting his hands on either side of the chair you sat in. “Are you sure you want the answer?” He asked softly. The way he looked at you was different from his usual expression. It was softer. More gentle.
You thought about it for a moment, and finally nodded.
He carefully closed the distance between you and kissed you oh so softly. Your body felt like someone had lit it on fire, and your heart started pounding again. It was like he’d kicked your entire nervous system into gear. You felt like you needed to run and jump and somersault, but you couldn’t move even a single inch if you wanted to.
If you wanted to. You didn’t want to.
Levi seemed to sense your internal panic, and his voice brought you back down to earth. “Are you okay?”
You didn’t even realize you’d grabbed his shirt until your lips were pressed against his again. You tightened your grip on his shirt when you heard the quiet sound he made. He slid his hand onto the side of your face, his fingertips brushing against your neck.
When you pulled away from him, you noticed his face was red, too. “Sorry.” You whispered.
He pressed his index finger to your lips. “Don’t ever apologize for kissing me ever again.” He said sternly.
“What… again?” You asked. “We’re going to kiss again?”
He looked at you with a defeated expression. “Are you stupid? I would fucking hope we’re going to kiss again.”
Ba-bump.
“Y/N, do you think I kissed you for no reason?” He asked.
“I dunno.” You shrugged.
He grabbed your chin and made you look him in the eye. “I didn’t.”
Your lips parted in surprise. “Since when do you want to kiss me?”
“None of your business.” He said, letting go of you and standing up. “I imagine you’re tired, so I’ll let you go to bed. I want you to stop avoiding me. There’s no reason for it.”
Your routine consisted of a few steps - simple yet challenging in their own way. Steps, that, unfortunately, seemed to match a number of your neighbour's own. But, for you, once there were rules set - whether it be by yourself or somebody else - you followed them to perfection. The fact they sometimes included the presence of a little pest certainly wouldn't stop you from performing brilliantly - like always.
First Step: Coffee
Each and every morning you got up at exactly six o'clock - half an hour before your stupid neighbour, so you could have some more time to plan his death in the bathroom. Once out of the shower, your first job was to make yourself a coffee. It didn't matter how you were dressed or if you were dressed at all - coffee was the first step to success, so it had to be completed. Some mornings you preferred your coffee black, much like your soul - as your annoying neighbour would love to remind, others you favoured it with some milk and sugar. It depended solely on your mood.
It was something like the circle of life for you - the thing you had going on with coffee.
Your coffee and its ingredients depended on your mood in the morning, yet the beverage itself was a vital influencer regarding your demeanour throughout the rest of the day. You had preferred not to name the process, but your oh so selfless neighbour had put some thought into what he liked to call Satan's cycle. Not to mention the satisfaction it probably brought him every time you glared upon hearing the dreaded name.
This particular morning, you felt weirdly energetic, excited even. Milk and sugar it was then. You had a good feeling and it was reflected in the way you hummed as your feet padded across the floor to the kitchen.
Maybe you'd get the promotion you'd been working for since last year.
Maybe the coworker with the smelly armpits would finally find himself a cubicle far from your own, which would lower your expenses due to all the deodorant you bought to spray during breaks when he was gone.
Maybe your mother wouldn't call, pestering you to get yourself a boyfriend when she was well aware of the fact you had better things to do.
Maybe the old lady who lived in the apartment above yours would finally get her sink fixed so you and the poor paint on your walls wouldn't suffer anymore.
Maybe the asshole living next door would trip down the stairs and you'd get to watch. Maybe.
You sighed wishfully whilst making your coffee, pondering the good feeling in your gut and the smile that couldn't help itself on your face. Anticipation was building within your chest. You were excited to welcome today's good luck with open arms. Only... would it really be good luck?
Second Step: Appearance
Appearance - what people would think after seeing how you looked. Or even better - what you would make them think using the way you looked.
On workdays, your attire consisted of a tight-fitted white blouse tucked into a plain-coloured pencil skirt and a simple purse that matched your shoes. Other additional accessories were picked in accordance with the weather. On weekends your clothes were mostly casual - a pair of sweatpants and a baggy shirt, since you never went out. The only encounters you had were with your annoying neighbour and your landlady, mostly because you still hadn't found a way to do your laundry without a washing machine and suitable detergents.
Your make-up was absent during Saturday and Sunday, and kept light during the rest of the week. Lip gloss, mascara, some foundation to cover the imperfection on your skin and you were ready to go. You didn't need much, but, as the waste of space next door would add in such a situation - he'd agree with that statement when he went blind. You desperately wished to help him achieve that.
Today was a good day so you went with the usual and decided to go the extra mile just to spite him because you were well aware of the fact you were attractive, albeit allegedly mediocre. You put on a black pencil skirt, black high heels and red lipstick you used on special occasions. You tossed a mint in your mouth and smiled wide at the mirror before heading for your door.
The key went into the lock and spun once before a click was heard. The key exited and your hand opened the door. This day would be good. You stepped outside when you heard the click of the lock next door.
Your body froze as your mind calculated the time it would take for you to lock and sprint towards the elevator, but, as always, the numbers didn't quite add up in your favour. You were busying yourself with the lock of your own door as your neighbour exited his apartment, dressed in his usual suit and tie. You could see his shiny dress shoes with your peripheral vision.
Instead of frowning, you decided to cling to the reassuring good feeling you had and smile instead. It was a restrained smile that had bigger chances of getting across the message you were constipated, but it was still a smile.
"Good morning." You greeted in a manner resembling the tweet of a bird. The man next to you would say the bird couldn't be anything but a crow with damaged vocal cords.
"In a good mood, aren't we?" His eyes were pinned to his door and your own had just decided to leave the floor upon hearing the sarcastic note in his voice.
"Depends. Call me if something bad happens to you today, yeah? I'll make sure I celebrate it after I come back." You were smiling so brightly it might as well have been called blinding. Levi Ackerman was nowhere near being impressed, but his attention was briefly drawn to your lips - the very reason you'd decided to smile in the first place.
"No need for that, your wishful thinking has gotten the best of you." He informed casually as you strutted towards the elevator side by side, silently competing to see who'd be the first to drop their air of haughtiness. "May you break a leg with those ice-picks you've decided to walk with." The raven's abrupt yet light remark made you conclude he'd eyed you from head to toe by the time you'd reached the elevator.
"As long as that flamboyant tie gets to suffocate you." The words flowed so sweetly it probably made him sick as you made sure he understood his weird-patterned ties were, as always, not appreciated. Today it was the peacock one - with the bright eye-like feathers pattern. How suitable was that? "Why don't you take the stairs?" You inquired politely as the elevator arrived at your floor and you opened the door, getting in first.
"Why don't you?" He asked back as you began your ride together, much like every single morning. Your smile was now sour and your fingers were clutching the handle of your purse like it would turn to ashes if you let go.
"You know very well why." A slight spiteful tone made itself known in your voice as you pressed yourself into the corner of the narrow space. Levi's shoulder was literally digging into the wall of his own corner.
"Maybe the ice-picks were actually a mistake, huh. Who would've ever thought." Sarcasm was one of the few useful weapons he had in verbal fights against you, but at least he used it well. Of course, not better than yourself - because when it came down to words you always won. A snort was drawn from your nostrils as the elevator arrived on the first floor. You reached for the door, sparing your annoying neighbour a last smug glance.
"I don't need fashion advice from somebody whose head looks like a charred bowl."
Third Step: Work
Work was, as always, a nuisance.
Not to mistake you for a person who hated their job, but you hated your job.
The problem wasn't the job per se, nor the duties you had to fulfil to say, at the end of the day, that you had actually worked. No, you hated the coworkers you shared office space with because they were pigs in human skin and suits who only cared for themselves. You hated your superiors, who either liked to humiliate or sexually harass you, and you hated the clients you had to talk to because they were either so spoiled they were rotten or they had placed themselves so high up on an imaginary pedestal you probably had to poke at their assholes with a mile-long stick in order to make them glance at you.
Most of all you hated the terrible view you had to face every single day at this job. Which was the corporation building across the street with its high-class interior and glass everything.
To say fate was playing a dirty joke on your poor self whilst picking your cubicle wouldn't have been a lie. The only person standing between you and the glass windows to your right was the man whose armpits had gotten very used to sometimes draining your bank account prior to payday. Past him, you had a perfect view of the few floors of the glass building across from your own.
The floor facing yours?
It had only a single person occupying it, which was plain unfair since you had to watch him bathe in solitude and pleasant aromas all day long, every workday.
The person's name?
Here comes the catch - Levi Ackerman, also known to yourself as Migraine Causer and the annoying waste of space next door.
You and him, unlike most people, were a pair on extremely early birds. On some occasions you'd been in the building before the security downstairs, having to wait for its appearance. Thankfully, today the office was unlocked and rather unpopulated, safe for the few secretaries at the reception downstairs and the small number of coworkers in the opposite end of the room you had to greet.
The best part was that your cubicle neighbour was nowhere to be seen. You used the opportunity to quickly spray some deodorant over his chair and the space surrounding it when you came to notice the exchange Levi and his secretary - Petra, were having across the street. He was leaning on his polished mahogany desk and she was preparing a vase for a bouquet of roses she'd brought for him when he looked up from his phone and saw you.
A glare was immediately activated on your side. He came in second place, less than a millisecond later. The staring contest had come to a start and once it began, nobody looked away before a victor was announced. You gritted your teeth and stood straight, stepping a bit closer to the open window. In the glass building across the street, Levi had addressed his secretary prior to having her leave the room.
He pushed himself off his desk and also neared his window. Thank God you had to look into his eyes otherwise his hideous tie would've made you gag. He was probably thinking a much similar thing about every other part of you, but you had no real way of knowing that. The only thing you knew was you had no time to prepare yourself for this round and you could already feel your eyeballs sting.
You'd try not to lose this round, whatever it cost you. Twenty seconds of tears almost ruining your mascara and twitching eyelids later you became very grateful you hadn't sworn on it, because when your cubicle neighbour slammed the window closed in front of your face, making you jump as your eyes left Levi's, you felt great anger well up in you. Your attention was once again on the raven-haired male, now smirking.
Slowly, without much haste, you lifted a middle finger in front of the window for him to see, as a poetic messenger of the one emotion you had in you - the equivalent of 'fuck you' Levi Ackerman had gotten used to seeing throughout your years as neighbours.
The male's smirk widened at the gesture as you fled for your cubicle and he stayed there, close to his window and staring at you furiously get to work.
You hated your job, but, since it was a part of your routine, you needed not complain too much. It could've been much worse, you'd tried telling yourself. Not that you knew in what way this could possibly be any worse.
Fourth Step: Smile
To constantly keep up a good attitude and smile wouldn't have been a crucial rule in your everyday routine, not to mention your whole life, had it not been for the many times it had saved your rash ass a bunch of trouble.
Smiling in particularly crappy situations made them better for yourself - not because of the "fact" that when one fakes a smile for a certain amount of time the smile turns genuine, but because faking it had taught you an endless amount of patience you could never possibly exert to the point of it running out.
Levi Ackerman was the only exception since, as your neighbour and number one archenemy, he was allowed to see the part of you whose only goal was to put an end to the human race. He was allowed to see more frowns than smiles. Smiling in front of him was a vain attempt at faking anything, mostly because he knew it had no way of being genuine.
Smiling at him right now protected you from public humiliation and rumours. It was lunch break and you were sitting at a table in the corner of the coffee shop down the street, away from your annoying coworkers and terrible superiors. Away from the smell of sweat, away from the paperwork and the shitty clients. Away for just a bit, drowning in the scent of coffee, relishing in the sound of quiet chatter and enjoying the sight of unfamiliar faces.
Then he showed up. You should've known it was him by the way the room temperature dropped a few degrees, as it always did around dear old Grandpa Death, but you realised it right about the time he sat across from you, loyal secretary at his side.
A polite smile forced its way over your lips, but your eyes reminded him of the earlier poetic message you'd send him from across the street. The strawberry blonde by his side greeted you and you returned with the sweetest voice you could muster. She made sure to apologise for intruding since all other tables had been taken when Levi had ever so kindly pointed out you were here, sitting alone. You had to have known Petra wasn't the root of the problem - it was always him.
And you were left alone with him seconds later when he requested his secretary bring him an Earl Grey with some milk. The moment she turned her back to the table the smile fell from your face so fast he decided to snort at it.
"Miss me this much, huh?"
"Of course, who else's face would make all appetite and happiness drain from me?" In comparison to earlier, you had no real intention of faking sweetness here, where nobody except Petra knew you. They'd think you were flirting with Levi and that would classify somewhere amongst the material for your top ten worst nightmares in existence.
"Well, I obviously serve a very big purpose in your petty life." He returned, eyes pinned to the screen of his phone. You caught the way they squinted at it and took a small second imagining what it would be if he had glasses. So many new nicknames to piss him off with, so many opportunities of pulling pranks on him, so many phrases and puns that could put him in his place. You snickered internally before returning to the conversation at hand with a bored expression and a careless whisk of your hand.
"I'd say you're somewhere inbetween the brush I use to clean my toilet and the leak I have in my living room." You shrugged nonchalantly prior to taking a sip from your coffee.
"Doing me the honour of putting me in the top two I see." Levi's eyes were yet to leave the screen of his phone and yours were yet to stray from the nice, little, brown drop of coffee on the table in front of you. Surely its innocent inferiority didn't prevent you from glaring the fuck out of its pitiful existence.
"Your tea, sir." Petra's arrival snapped you out of your spiteful trance and you looked up at the secretary handing her boss his drink, fingers brushing as a blush appeared on her cheeks. The sight made you huff internally - you were yet to betray Petra by involving her in your everyday arguments with Levi and using her feelings in some taunt against him.
"Thank you, Petra."
Something in the way he never addressed you by name yet always turned to her with hers made you glare even harder. The reason for your anger was incomprehensible even to yourself - you weren't supposed to get angry over stuff like this, but it wasn't like you were complaining to get an excuse to go as far away from the raven as possible.
You drowned the rest of your coffee and stood from the table with a sweet smile. The sweetest you'd pulled so far today.
"I think I'll be taking my leave." You said softly, like something hadn't snapped in you to the point of making you want to punch a dent into a wall. Very thin and most probably made of cardboard, but still a wall.
"It was nice seeing you, (Y/N)." The strawberry blonde made way for you to pass and you felt like you could suddenly breathe a bit better.
"Same here, Petra." You said, smile clinging to your lips as you tugged at your skirt and glanced at your annoying neighbour, finally looking away from his phone. It would be rude to leave without saying goodbye to him as well and there was nothing else you'd rather do than 'hurt' him like that, but then you thought of something you could say that would appear as an even bigger blow to his pride. "Bye, Grandpa Death."
"See you soon, Satan Junior." The nickname he'd voiced put to use that endless amount of patience smiling had taught you, but the fact it hadn't gone out of his mouth without his teeth gritting or his eyebrow twitching in exasperation proved you'd won for the second time today.
Smiling, once again, proved to be the only thing that could lessen your troubles to a certain extent. An extent that, unfortunately, seemed not to cover your neighbour and his foul mouth well enough.
Fifth Step: Don't Punch
The rule not to let your temper get the best of you wasn't an actual step to success as much as it was a matter of precaution in order for you not to go to jail before you turned thirty. Faking a smile might've taught you an endless amount of patience, but it certainly didn't get rid of your unhealthy habit of punching when you boiled over the edge. Be it people or objects, they'd receive a nice greeting by your knuckles if they happened to be too close.
So far, people at the office seemed to be dancing the macarena all over your nerves and Levi's smug expression from across the street pushed you further down the road to Punch Town. You'd spent over fifteen minutes talking to a client who had fewer brain cells than Grandpa Death when he picked fights with you after a bad day at work and now you were glaring at your computer screen, attempting not to breathe.
Your cubicle neighbour hadn't gotten up from his seat ever since you'd returned from the coffee shop down the street and the sour aroma in the air had started stinging your eyes. You'd also made eye contact with Levi over your cubicle neighbour's shoulder a few times and his expression was really pissing you off.
You needed a little break, you needed to renew your positive attitude. This day was supposed to be good.
You stood from your desk, turned off your work phone, and headed to the bathroom down the hallway. You'd spray yourself with some deodorant, maybe stuff your nose with some toilet paper or open the little window above the toilet and smoke a cigarette whilst observing the busy streets ten floors below you and your stressful routine.
The moment you closed the door behind yourself you felt a new kind of air enter your nostrils. You took a deep breath before locking the door and climbed on top of the toilet seat cover to open the little window. You fished a cigarette out of your purse and lit it up, inhaling shortly after. You sighed when your phone started ringing.
"Yes?"
"Something bad happened, Satan Junior." The ass-hat's voice made your eyes narrow as you spitefully inhaled from your cigarette. He was the last person you wanted to hear from.
"Please tell me all about it, Grandpa Death. Are you currently in an ambulance?" You tried to sound smug, but you were so angry it turned hopeful instead. Oh, but deep down you knew he wouldn't be calling you if he were truly wounded.
"Still in my office. But you're not there." He said it in a way that made your blood boil. You snorted through your nose, feeling your nostrils sting as the smoke exited them.
"What do you need me for? To make fun of me?" You taunted sarcastically, urge to throw a punch at the handsome face his secretary adored so much rapidly growing. You were scowling and the fingers holding the cigarette were shaking lightly.
"Of course, I don't feel good if I don't look at you smugly at least ten times a day." He was so lucky you weren't talking face to face right now.
"I'm not in the mood to deal with you." You spat, face red from anger. You'd started tapping your heel over the toilet seat cover.
"I thought you were in a good mood today." His voice sounded innocently oblivious but that didn't stop you from snorting spitefully at his statement. Yes, today was supposedly going to be your lucky day. You had to be in a good mood. You'd woken up with a good feeling, which was nowhere to be found at the current moment.
"I thought so too." Your words were curt and harsh, and then you heard the annoying asshole shamelessly chuckling on the other end of the line. He hadn't even tried to hide the sound. It made you stab the leftovers of your cigarette into the window frame before you jumped from the toilet seat and flushed the crumpled butt down the toilet.
"Make sure to call me when it turns even worse. I think I'll be the one celebrating tonight." You hung up without waiting for the bastard to add anything else - you'd boiled over the edge. You stuffed your phone into your purse and repeatedly murmured the step under your breath.
"Don't punch, don't punch, don't punch, don't punch." It was too late. Your knuckles were bruised but the tile on the wall was so old a small crack appeared in the bottom corner. You huffed before taking your stuff and going outside to hold your hand under the cold water for a little bit.
Step failed. It was a rare occurrence, but the main rule sticking to its side was that you shouldn't punch anything or anybody in front of other people. You guessed you'd failed only halfway since nobody was around to see you punch a crack in the bathroom tile yet you hadn't managed to hold back from doing it. You didn't have to pay for any damage and though your knuckles were now beat red your conscience had calmed down considerably.
You sighed a heavy sigh prior to leaving the bathroom and taking your time down the hallway because you knew the first thing you'd see was your annoying neighbour's smirk. Maybe one day you'd actually get the opportunity to take that smirk off his face using your fist. Your mind elaborated on the thought as you made your way to your cubicle with a smile on your lips.
Oh, would you look at that, the good feeling in your gut was back.
Sixth Step: Rest
On a normal workday, you'd come home at six in the evening and sit on the couch in your living room, watching a TV show that interested you or reading a book that had been on your nightstand for far too long. It was your favourite time of the day, to be honest. Sometimes, on days you felt terribly drained of energy you'd opt for a little power nap instead. You avoided doing that, but still needed it occasionally. Today was such an occasion.
Your high-heels clicked down the hallway. The metallic rattle of your keys was heard as you unlocked your apartment and got inside, totally exhausted and ready for your two-hour power nap. You took off your make-up and tossed your clothes on the edge of the bed. Your half-naked body tumbled into the soft mattress and you felt like you might melt in ecstasy. Oh, how you wished for this. Nothing was going to take it from you now.
Then, as always, your neighbour began the sixth step of his own routine, which, ever so horribly, did not match your own, and the terrible sound of his vacuum cleaner left your blissful thoughts in ruins.
You rose from your bed with a rural growl slipping past your lips. Why did Levi Ackerman have to clean when you were meant to be resting? What were they punishing you for today? You would not wait to understand - you'd go and learn on your own instead. You slipped into a baggy T-shirt that covered every PG-13 region of your body and walked out of your apartment. You banged your fist over Levi's door for the entirety of fifteen seconds before he actually opened it.
"I want to sleep." You wore a deadpan.
"That doesn't concern me - I want to clean." He also did.
"Maybe use the vacuum after two hours then." You suggested with an emotionless voice.
"Maybe sleep after I've finished using it." He returned in the same manner.
"Maybe don't use it if you really treasure it." Your eyes slid over his figure to the insides of his apartment. You could imagine setting his dear vacuum cleaner on fire first thing tomorrow morning after he'd left for work. You could risk being late for once.
"Maybe don't tell me what to do." His orbs traced your poorly dressed form and lingered over your thighs before returning to your face. Then it wasn't his gaze on your face, it was his door. Your jaw clicked and you started slapping the wooden surface whilst imagining his visage.
"I'll keep banging on your door if you don't stop!" His vacuum cleaner was turned on again, almost drowning the sound of your hand attempting to bitch-slap his doorway into another dimension.
"Can't hear you!" He called from the inside, making you kick his door with your bare foot before returning to your apartment, desperate and losing all hope. You face-palmed using the soft surface of your bed and buried your nose deep into your pillow. Your hands covered your ears in a vain attempt at muffling the loud vacuum cleaner next door and you didn't move for the next ten seconds, hoping that if you were extremely motionless a miracle would occur.
Like a meteor wiping out your neighbour's apartment along with his annoying vacuum cleaner.
When that didn't happen your legs started kicking the soft covers on your bed as you screamed angrily into your pillow - a banshee screech proven to be deafening under normal circumstances. Except, now it was nowhere close to beating the volume of the stupid cleaning device next door.
Sure, this was totally your favourite part of the day.
Seventh Step: Tea
It was a tradition for you to drink tea at exactly 19:00 every evening.
The tradition had subconsciously turned into one the very first day you moved into this apartment. You were moving the boxes on your own and the elevator was broken, and there were many boxes for the many books you possessed. You tripped and there was your Prince Charming, catching you right before your nose could get a free cosmetic surgery at the hands of a step's sharp edge.
You looked up, three books tumbled out of the box in your hands, and your breath hitched. The man who saved you had a scary face and sharp eyes. Silver. You rouse and thanked him. He said nothing and bent down to collect the books that had dropped. They were gently laid on top of the box by his slender hands before it was taken from your arms altogether.
"Lead the way to your apartment, brat." You led the way. The box was placed in the corner of what would be your future living room.
"How many are left?" Six, you'd returned, unable to look away from his eyes. Ten were already stacked in front of him. He exited through the door and headed downstairs, followed by your quiet self.
"Wash your hands and sit." He ordered ten minutes later when you stood at the doorway of his apartment, next door to your own. He made tea - black tea, and you almost spit it out the moment it touched your tongue. You could've sworn the corner of his mouth had turned upwards as he snorted. It was the first time you'd tried black tea. You drank it many times afterwards, but never came to love it. Never got used to it either.
Today you opened the cupboard that held your tea and coffee only to find it had run out. You sighed in defeat and left your apartment with your wallet in hand, only to get stopped as you were locking the door.
"Making a fashion statement?" Your neighbour questioned boredly, eyeing the pink flip-flops on your feet.
"Funny, wouldn't dare to compete with you in that department." You looked at the Spongebob Squarepants shirt he wore before nodding in sympathy. "I ran out of tea, I'm going to the store." Was your next statement, almost as bored as his face looked. You locked and stuffed the keys into the pocket of your jeans.
"I was just about to make some for myself." Levi said in passing, making your eyebrows furrow briefly in slight confusion. It had been some time since he'd casually informed you about his intentions.
"Enjoy it then." You rolled your eyes and headed to the elevator before he called out.
"That's my way of telling you I'm willing to make a bit more." Levi never raised his voice when he could get across a message quietly. Your feet were rooted to the floor and your fingers were tapping the leather wallet in your hand in thought.
"I'm guessing after five years of planning my murder you've finally perfected it?" You spun to face him with a smile and he unlocked his apartment, gesturing for you to hurry your ass up and follow him inside.
"Down to the very specific pair of gloves I'll be using, yes." He spoke quietly once more after his hands had pushed the door closed behind your back. You looked around and took a seat in the kitchen, like you had five years ago. Your keys and wallet were on the table and your hands were in your lap. You saw the purple box of tea get down from the lower shelf above the sink and your mind went back to the process you'd observed with awe-struck eyes the first time he made tea for you.
In less than three minutes two steaming cups of black tea stood proudly on the table. You took yours with both hands and gently blew on the steam before taking a sip. The same disgusting taste every time. Yet, the same disgusting taste every time you made it.
"Honey?" You looked up at Levi, but his silver eyes wouldn't clash with yours.
"Two spoons." He informed casually, knowing exactly what you meant. He could've mocked you, but he didn't. Maybe he wasn't in the mood. He was stirring his tea with a little spoon and you couldn't help but compare it to the movement he'd used five years ago. Some things didn't change.
"I haven't told you." Your eyes narrowed but the rest of your face was expressionless. You drank from your tea again, relishing in the unpleasant taste it left in your mouth. Strange, correct? You hadn't told anybody what you thought of the tea, but they would certainly think so.
"You haven't." Levi confirmed with downcast eyes, finally taking a sip from his own beverage. You dared not question why he knew how you drank your tea when you hadn't told him. Maybe he'd seen you. Maybe something else. Silence settled in the kitchen and then: "Was your day as good as you hoped?" His eyes hadn't lifted from the dark liquid in his cup. It was the same cup he'd drank his tea in five years ago. Thinking about it, yours was the same as well.
Coincidence was a funny thing.
"I'm afraid not. You may rejoice now." You sighed in a dejected way, emotionally defeated by how uneventful this day had been. How lacking in anything that might at least make you smile. The raven's eyes raised for a little second from his cup. You weren't looking so you never saw.
"Believe me, I already am." His voice didn't sound like every time he'd wish for you to break a leg. Well, it wasn't like you were complaining. Maybe, just like yourself, he'd gotten a bit too wrapped up in memories of your previous tea parties here to mock you properly. Or maybe he wasn't in the mood to do it, like you hadn't been earlier at work. Or maybe you were making excuses and he sounded perfectly normal.
And, would you look at that, it was exactly 19:04. Yet another day of keeping up with a tradition you didn't even like in the first place had passed.
Eight Step: Chores
Here came your second favourite time of the day.
It was only fifteen past seven and you finally arrived at your penultimate step to daily success, which just so happened to coexist with Levi's time for rest.
Usually, you'd sweep the floor before washing the dishes and wiping the dust, if there was even any. Then you'd water your collection of cactuses and wash your hands. Saturdays and Sundays you took care of your bathroom's condition and did your laundry. Today the plan was a bit different than what was on your schedule on a normal workday.
Not to give the generous Grandpa Death next door shit he didn't deserve after making tea for you, but first - you didn't ask for it, and second - he totally deserved the shit coming his way for the vacuum cleaner earlier when you were trying to sleep.
A devilish smirk broke out on your lips as you turned on your own vacuum and started cleaning your kitchen, living room and bedroom - in that same order. Your bedroom shared walls with Levi's own one, where you knew for a fact he loved to read books at this time of the day. It felt so good, imagining his expression let go of its emotionlessness as his patience thinned string by string until---
Very loud banging suddenly came from your door.
You nodded your head and started humming to yourself happily. Now was the time for your ultimate weapon. You grabbed your headphones off your nightstand and plugged them into your phone, choosing the first heavy metal song on your playlist and letting it reach your ears over the sound of the vacuum. You waited an additional few seconds before opening the door for Levi.
"How may I help you?" You smiled politely, headphones blasting the heavy metal music almost as loudly as the vacuum.
"I'm trying to read." Levi wore a deadpan. You blinked innocently at his pale face.
"Doesn't really concern me." Your voice was sweet and supposedly oblivious, like you couldn't understand why he was informing you of what he was trying to do. "I'm trying to clean." You decided to return the favour.
"You should've cleaned earlier." He advised ever so unwisely, making you chuckle like you were on a date and he'd said a really unfunny joke but if you didn't laugh you wouldn't get laid that night.
"I never clean when I get back from work." Your smile was bright and cheery, as if you were facing a high school crush or a kind person. "I always clean now." Then you turned into a mother trying to make her child understand a pretty simple notion it couldn't wrap its head around. And then, the best thing you got to do all day - you slammed the door in his face and spun the key in its lock.
"I'll file a complaint, you brat!" His fist kept banging over the door and you laughed, going back to your vacuum and turning it on, just like he had.
"Can't hear you, old man!" You called from the hallway, making him hit your doorway one last time before probably going away to wither in his boring bedroom.
Cleaning had never felt this good.
No, scratch that - cleaning had never felt as good as it did three seconds later when you heard Levi kick your door and hiss in slight pain right after. Yeah, no matter what that man at the store told you three years ago, you still thought getting rid of the wooden door and installing a metal one was one of the best decisions you'd made in your whole life.
Ninth Step: Sleep
Prior to going to bed you always combed your hair, brushed your teeth, drank a glass of water and read exactly four chapters, no matter how long, of a book you had - in that order every single time. Sleep came later, in the comfort of your bed, and stayed with you for the overall of six to eight hours every night, depending on how tired you were.
You were already in your pyjamas, in the middle of rinsing your mouth when the power went out and instead of your reflection in the mirror your gaze was met with darkness. You groaned and found your way to the towel you had prepared when somebody knocked at your good.
Just great, late-night guests. Good news was they wouldn't see that you only slept in an oversized T-shirt and underwear because it was pitch black. You made your way to the front door, almost beheading your toe in passing with the coffee table in the living room and the shoe rack in the hallway. Only darkness met you when the door was finally opened.
"Do you have any candles?" Amazing how the demon that had come to torture you for your sins sounded a lot like your annoying neighbour. What were the chances?
"Do I look like I have any candles?" You questioned with a pointed look, though it wouldn't be seen by anybody.
"I can't see you." Levi returned and you could picture to perfection the face he was probably making at you. You sighed and shook your head.
"I do have candles, though." Came the small admittance as your neighbour stepped forward. You could hear his flip-flops slap the parquet floor on your side of the doorstep.
"I'm going to have to borrow one because I have paperwork to do." Your chests almost bumped, or so you assumed. You sensed the raven's glare and he stepped back.
You felt like Levi Ackerman was exactly the kind of demon that would get sent to Earth to punish the sinners in the most trivial yet terrible of ways. You wouldn't get skinned, raped, dismembered or fed your own intestines - no, none of that R-rated bullshit.
Instead, you'd have to live without power naps, you'd get stared down every time you wore flip-flops, your ears would bleed from listening to your neighbour fuck numerous women's brains out, you'd punch walls at work and maybe one day your expression would turn into a permanent frown.
"You're not borrowing because I also have things to do and the candle's only one." You had to sleep - came the conclusion, and you couldn't do that without reading from your book. A habit was a habit - and sometimes it turned into a ritual as well. God knows what would happen to you if you didn't read from your book before going to sleep.
"I'll go ask Mrs Kendrick then." He started retreating but you reached out before he could leave, led by some strange impulse. Maybe by not being able to see him your levels of distaste towards him had suddenly dropped. After all, his face was a major reason for your annoyance. Your fingers brushed against the fabric of his shirt and your hand was on his shoulder. As far as you could guess either way.
"Seriously? You're going to bother the ninety-year-old woman for a candle? She's probably sleeping and has no idea the electricity's out." You let go of his shoulder as fast as you had gripped it, sensing the muscles underneath your palm tense defensively. You stepped back and tugged at his sleeve as an order for him to follow you.
"Does your brilliant brain have an idea what else I can do then?" He taunted in the dark as you made your way to the kitchen, hand on the wall and feet alert of the fact you held a shoebox somewhere around here. Your toe suddenly came in contact with something, almost making you tumble.
There was that shoebox you were thinking so much about.
"Your imbecile ass," you started, hands feeling around for the shelf next to your cupboards, "can get the candle and bring his paperwork here." Your fingers found the candle and you told Levi to get your lighter from the purse that had to be on the table. Warm golden light illuminated your faces and you held yourself back from shoving the candle in the male's hands instead of handing it to him carefully. "We can do our work in the living room." Was your final statement.
The raven left shortly, a time during which you contemplated whether your choice had been right. You could've lied about not having a candle and gotten rid of him. You could've told him he couldn't borrow it. You could've stayed put when he'd started retreating. Opportunities - they were raining from the sky upon your stupid little head. Even in the dark kitchen you could've lied and told him maybe you didn't have a candle after all.
It was a bit too late for that now.
You made your way to the living room when Levi Ackerman returned and with him, a fifty-page stack of papers that had to be thoroughly read, signed and filled in. You could swear your soul left your body when you saw the pile in his hand. The candle in front of you would've been better utilised burning it to ashes, but he wouldn't have that.
You feared, sitting on your small couch next to your annoying neighbour and reading your book, that sleep wouldn't come to you tonight.
Bonus Step: Don't Look At Him For Too Long
It was an additional rule you'd set for yourself. You were well aware of your initial reaction to seeing his face and meeting his silver gaze. They both came to challenge the restraint of your gag reflex nowadays, but it hadn't always been like that. No, in actual fact, in the very distant past you'd wished another part of him would get to challenge your gag reflex, but that was a whole other story for another time. Along with the story of how you came to be like this.
The rule of not looking at him for too long appeared years after your routine was already established and it was a rule you set for yourself after months of doubt and great hesitance. You figured, after coming to (probably) hate your neighbour, that thoroughly observing his visage wasn't the best of ideas because it did stuff to your brain and body both.
You became easily distracted during arguments when looking at his lips, your retorts were slower and dumber each time you'd glance at his jawline and meeting his eyes turned you and your resolve to make roasted human meat out of him with your wit into a pile of stuttering mush. That was humiliating so you decided to put a stop to it.
Gradually, your gaze started fleeing to the floor or the ceiling instead of his cheekbones, your eyes strayed from his lips and how he would occasionally lick them when dry, and your glare grew in intensity upon meeting your own hands instead of his hues.
All was well. You decided it always would be. But sometimes habits wavered, and along with them - everything already built and achieved. That was why you had a specific rule against such abrupt discrepancy that could happen at any time. The smallest loss of focus on your side could ruin everything for you, even with the kind of immunity you guessed you held at this point of things.
Levi Ackerman was the thing furthest from attractive in your eyes. His lips didn't matter, his body didn't matter, his eyes didn't matter. You spent no time whatsoever imagining him engage in intimate relations with you and you wouldn't ever.
You still had your rule though. Just to be safe. It was a bonus step to your daily success. You kept reassuring yourself it was for your happiness's good. Maybe it was. Otherwise, you'd get all sad and hesitant and you'd have to lay in bed later thinking of it and what it meant when you could sleep instead. In order for that not to happen you just had to keep your eyes off him.
Easy-peasy.
Said no female besides yourself who knew him ever.
"You seriously wouldn't let me borrow the candle because of a book?" He questioned, irritation slipping from his tongue as you turned the page and the candle's little flame started dancing.
"You seriously cannot thank me for once?" You snapped with furrowed eyebrows, eyes following the words in front of you. Levi fell silent because you obviously had a point. As previously stated by yourself, you had many opportunities not to share the candle with him, which would force him to wander left and right asking other people and that would waste time he now spent doing his paperwork.
The satisfaction of being right because you'd impulsively played the good Samaritan had dealt its card in your mind - you knew Levi would never actually thank you, but his silence gave you enough.
"... thanks, Satan Junior." His voice was soft and you were afraid to look at him. Your eyes had widened and were now frozen somewhere inbetween the paragraphs they were supposed to be reading. How was it that he sounded genuine whilst expressing gratitude? It was probably another of his demon powers, to be a good actor.
"You're welcome, Grandpa Death. Do find yourself a girlfriend so you needn't ask anything else of me next time." You huffed, attempting to brush off the feeling that had fallen on your shoulders with a smart-ass retort.
"Do start ordering me around regarding my love life when you get one yourself." The raven snorted, hand never stopping to fill out the blanks in the documents in front of him. Your eyes had started moving over the words again. You smirked, tempted to see how he would react to your next words.
"I see you're trying to run your smart mouth, but, this late into the night, I'm afraid the 'smart' part has gone to sleep." Your voice feigned sweetness and the male next to you made a sound at the back of his throat - something like a haughty hum.
"I'm assuming it's sharing a bed with the wit you never had in the first place." He sure as hell sounded very pleased with that comeback. You snorted with laughter and shook your head a bit in disappointment.
"Why yes, any part of me willing to share a bed with any part of you should be unexistent." Your lips were curled into the victor's smirk and you thought that turning to look at the damage your words had done wasn't such a bad idea. Drunk on yet another win, you forgot your little bonus rule and looked. For a bit too long.
Silver clashed with (e/c) for the first time in a while. There was no longer an exchange of subtle insults, nor any physical fight eventuating. It was you, having stopped reading, and him, having stopped writing, sitting dangerously close to each other as the candlelight brought out the best in his features. You didn't know about yours.
Your lips were parted and you felt like the innocent twenty-two-year-old who had moved in here five years ago all over again. Levi Ackerman, lacking his usual frown and glare, looked exactly like he had all those years ago as well. He didn't look bitter because of the loss just now and he certainly didn't look threatening either. In actual fact, there was something in his eyes that greatly differed from the first time you'd met him.
Back then they were simply beautiful and bored. Now... there was something else. Maybe if you got closer you'd see. Maybe if you speak it'd disappear. Maybe it had been there for some time but you'd never looked for it. You'd never looked this close.
His jaw flexed when he took a breath and you gulped. Your common sense was leaving you. You could tell because you found something attractive in the male before you, something you wished you'd get to kiss and caress, and feel. Something you shouldn't have seen at all.
You blinked and returned to your book so abruptly the candle's flame started flickering again. Silence overwhelmed the room for the next hour, during which all of Levi's paperwork was completed and all your chapters were read. Then you were at the front door, sending him off and willing to lend him the candle for the remainder of the night.
"Lots of nightmares, brat." He wished the version of your usual greeting you'd changed up upon starting this feud and you smiled at him mockingly.
"Insomnia and pain in the back, old man." He started walking to his door and you watched him open it and spare you a last glance.
"See you tomorrow." The gaze lingered. Yours locked with it and you swore to purposefully stub your toe in the shoe rack on your way inside for being this dumb. They were like two pools of melted silver, those goddamn eyes of his.
"Mhm." You hummed, softer than expected, and you both closed your doors. You didn't just stub your toe into the shoe rack, you whacked your whole foot with the metal door in front of you. A sigh was torn from your lungs as you clenched your teeth in hopelessness.
This Levi Ackerman was a real pain in the ass, especially today.
Hey this may seem a wee bit shallow but can you do Levi with a gf that’s like straight up gorgeous and very charming? And like everyone’s wondering how she ended up with him (since he’s considered ugly in the snk world)
Actually, I love this request. Another story I am working on alludes to his appeal in the SNK world as well. ARE THEY BLIND???? I mean, look at him.....
💜Skin Deep💜
To say that Y/N was beautiful would be an understatement. An insult. While the 104th Cadet Corps may have had their “goddess” in Christa, the Scouting Legion had Squad Leader Y/N.
She was one of those rare creatures that would receive random marriage proposals when in town, shopping. There were rumors that most of the nobles had begged for her hand, promising her a life of luxury within the Wall Sina. She had turned them all down with a polite, yet firm no.
She was just as charming as she was gorgeous. Using the combination, she had assisted Erwin many times with swaying the nobles support for the floundering branch. Many had assumed with the amount of time she spent in the tall, handsome man’s presence that they were a couple.
What they hadn’t realized was that the third person in the group was the one that held the woman’s heart, Captain Levi. The first one to perhaps piece it together was the ever astute Armin.
They were on the training grounds, practicing hand to hand combat when Y/N had come up to Captain Levi. Of course, the moment she stepped onto the field, every male eye turned to watch the siren interact with the short sullen man. While the others were drinking in her curves, Armin was looking at her body language and her face while she spoke with their scary leader.
“Uhhhh, guys....I wouldn’t stare at Y/N for too long. I don’t think Captain Levi will like it.” The other boys didn’t take their eyes off of her retreating figure as Eren asked what they were all thinking.
“Why?”
“I think that Captain Levi and Y/N are together.” Now that she had disappeared from view, all eyes turned to the smaller boy. Jean, Connie, Eren, and Reiner began to laugh as they realized when he had meant.
“How to hell do you figure someone like Y/N would be with Captain Levi? Yeah he’s strong and all but look at him. No way.” Jean scoffed at the seemingly absurd notion.
“Yeah, Y/N has to be with the Commander. She’s always with him.” Connie interjected with a grin on his face.
“True.” Armin admitted. “But, when she is with the Commander, so is the Captain. I’m telling you, they are together.”
Their conversation was quickly cut off by the Captain yelling at them to quit dicking around and practice.
~~~~~
Walking into the Mess Hall that evening, Y/N had come up behind the table holding the 104th Cadet Corps recruits. She had already gotten wind of their conversation on the fields this afternoon. Christa Lentz had a similar problem with being judged on her looks alone and the two had spent some time together, with Y/N trying to bolster the introverted girl’s confidence.
While she believed that it was no one’s business but theirs, the idea that someone might believe Levi wasn’t good enough for her because of looks made her blood boil. Sure, many didn’t believe that the raven haired man was attractive, but they weren’t Y/N. She knew that true beauty wasn’t skin deep. She knew the man inside, and loved that he looked beyond her outer shell and wanted the woman inside.
Grabbing her tray, she purposefully forgot her tea, knowing that he might grumble at her but that he would share his. Sitting down beside Levi, she greeting the other officers and began her campaign. Leaning over, she pried the tea cup from Levi’s fingers, smiling at his frown.
“What are you doing, Y/N?” His gruff voice always did magical things to her.
“I forgot my tea, so I’m having some of yours.” He blinked and gave a small nod.
As she brought the cup up to her lips, she heard the loud voices from the table. She knew they had been watching. They were probably trying to figure out how she hadn’t lost her hand in taking Levi’s precious tea. Her lips curled in delight.
Handing the tea cup back to her lover, she forked up a delicious portion of the special dessert that she had requested the mess officer make tonight. Levi rarely like sweet things, but he had a weakness for this tart that paired perfectly with his tea. Bringing the fork up, she leaned over and held it out for Levi.
Arching a brow, he didn’t comment, but opened his mouth and took the proffered bite, closing his eyes in bliss as the flavor hit his taste buds. A small crumb was left at the edge of his mouth, so rather than wipe it away with a napkin, she ran her thumb across his lips and quickly put the abandoned morsel in her own mouth.
“Okay, what is going on? You never act this way in public and the brats are screaming the roof down.” Levi looked at Y/N, now demanding answers.
Quickly explaining, she watched his expression change. It was a subtle flash of hurt, before he took on his bored countenance.
“I know it doesn’t matter to you what people say, but damnit, I care! And you care more than you will admit.” Y/N soothed his slightly ruffled feathers with her declaration. “I love you and I’ll be damned if some teenage twerps are going to question why I’m with you!”
Levi smirked at her impassioned statement. “Fine.”
Standing, he pulled her up against him. threading his fingers through her hair, he gave her a deep kiss. He felt her melt into him, her hands against his chest, and a breathy moan escaping her. Pulling away, his eyes flashed in amusement at her dreamy expression.
“I’ll see you tonight.” Turning his back, he walked out the doors, every eye in the room focused on his retreating back.
Walking over to the table, Y/N grins at the slack jawed expression and wide eyes before her. Only Armin didn’t seemed overwhelmed, just slightly discomfited by the display he just witnessed.
“Before you boys judge who someone should be with, perhaps you should look beyond the surface. While you may not consider Captain Levi attractive enough for me, he’s the one that gets to see me naked every day.” With a saucy grin, Y/N turns and struts out of the Mess Hall, eager to join her lover in his quarters.
