Just to check

Levihan 7

•

•

  It was dark. Dark and the air muggy with heat. Not that she could ever care, not when her body was under such intense, tantalizing ministrations. She had never imagined sensations like this, and especially not from him...at least in the beginning. Her hands roamed the broad expanse of his shoulders, down the plane of his back and gripped at his skin when he provided friction against the apex of her thighs.

  A soft moan echoed in the room, and she ground back against him, desperate for more. His lips traversed the column of her neck, his touch barely even there, but enough to make her hum in encouragement. One hand gripped her hips, and she gasped as the other slipped between her legs, rubbing softly.

  She bucked up into the touch, fingers scrambling for purchase anywhere on his skin. Just a little more and she could feel herself crashing over the edge. She could barely breathe at the sudden tensing of her muscles and release that had her back arching. It almost felt like falling....or maybe she was falling?

  'Definitely falling.'

  "Ow! Shit!"

  Hanji yelped as she hit the floor with a loud thump, the fall and impact waking her from her dramatic, feverish dream. She rolled from her bruised hip onto her back and stared up at the ceiling, panting as the pleasant spasms in her loins slowly ceased. The dream hadn't been real, of course. But - upon sitting up and looking at her bed - she realized she had been straddling...or rather: grinding...against the corner of her mattress in her sleep. The slight wetness upon the sheet staring her straight in the face to prove it.

  She wasn't sure whether to be disgusted or not. She was simply too stunned to decide.

  She clamped her legs together and blushed heavily, swiping her sweat-matted hair from her forehead. She didn't know...well, okay she did know where that came from. But for her subconscious to go to such extremes...it really bothered her. It bothered her that she was starting to think of him this way.

  Thinking of him touching her like that, thinking of touching him like that.

  It was getting out hand, and it was driving her insane. The fact that she couldn't do those things with him, that is. And to think it was only two days before when he was close enough for her to kiss. She really should have taken her chance then.

  She stood and tugged the blanket over the mattress. And she jumped when the door opened and Isabel peered in, "You alright, Hanji?" she asked, "Farlan and I heard you fall or something."

  Hanji blushed again, rubbing the back of her neck, "Yeah I did. I...uh, I fell...off the bed." she gestured to said furniture with a shrug.

  "Oh, heh, well..." Isabel chuckled, "Careful." she closed the door with a smile.

  "Yeah-" Hanji murmured, gaze riveted on the bed, "-I will be."

•

•

  She wasn't exactly sure who she was rooting for, in Mikasa and Eren's little sparring match. They were fairly even in skill, build, and stamina. So she simply watched, chin propped on her hand.

  "I thought she said she sparred with him every day." Farlan leaned close to Armin to say. Both of them were standing near to her, observing the match with a moderate amount of interest. "How come Eren only arrived a couple days ago?"

  "Grisha had to go visit Lady Brzenska again. And since Eren's gonna be a physician too..." Armin shrugged, "He went with him."

  Farlan sat back up with a nod, "I see. And did he say how Brzenska was doing?"

  Armin shook his head, "Afraid not."

  Hanji shuffled in her seat, unnerved at the news of there being two noble families here. Her paranoia over being found out had died down over the past few weeks. But now it had come back to life with a vengeance. Upon hearing of a Lady, she remembered what Isabel had said about the Lord they were paying to own this land. She still wondered if news of her disappearance had gotten this far yet. Perhaps so, perhaps not. Only time would tell, she supposed.

  Nonetheless, her discomfort led her to head inside, sitting on the nearest chair and caressing her splinted arm absentmindedly. She glanced up when Levi walked by, and he paused to return that glance. It only lasted a moment, a moment before they both turned away. Her to hide her blush over his presence and the thought of her dream, and him to deal with the memory of a few nights back.

  He continued on, exiting the cabin.

  She turned to look in his direction after he left, bemoaning the fact that she was becoming so infatuated with him. She was deeply compelled to look past his shortcomings (hah!), past his emotionless wall. To somehow manage to connect with him, discover what makes him tick, what he feels for her.

  Granted, she knew he didn't feel the same about her. Not with his smug little display a few nights back. And she buried her face against the back of the chair in a sigh of defeat. What was she going to do with him?

•

•

  She pushed her food around with her fork, listening to her companions as they laughed and told stories. Levi's gaze was often cast in her direction, and she was most concentrated on ignoring him as well as she could. For the sake of her sanity.

  "Hey! Hey!" Eren caught everyone's attention, "Have you guys told Hanji here about Lord Ragúe?"

  "Ooohhh...." Isabel grinned deviously, shooting a most disgruntled Levi that very look before she turned her attention to the girl in question, "No we haven't."

"I'm going to kill you, brat." Levi hissed at Eren, who shrank back into his seat, and Mikasa's protective arm.

  "Who's Lord Ragúe?" Hanji pondered, both to herself and Isabel. It was a name she hadn't heard of before.

  "Well-" Isabel began, pausing briefly to quiet the snickers and giggles from around the table. "-we had just finished a job for this man. We picked up the bounty and achieved it in a scenario I'll elaborate upon some other time." she said, glancing at Levi again, who Hanji noticed appeared to be blushing, if only slightly. Upon noticing that she was watching him he looked away and tucked his fist beneath his chin in a resigned, uncharacteristic pout.

  "So we went up to this Lord's castle, hadn't met him before this, we only took claim on the bounty." Isabel continued, "Fat!" she exclaimed, slamming her hand down against the table and scaring Hanji half to death. "He was the fattest man we had ever seen! And gluttonous too, he was actually eating while we were trying to deliver his item."

  "And he didn't say a word. Not one word, just kept on eating and didn't even look at us." she shook her head, and Hanji noticed Levi tense as she inhaled to speak again. "So Levi...he decides it would be a good idea to instigate conversation. He steps forward all polite, sets the item down on the table, starts to speak, nice and formal."

  Eren snorted, and Mikasa covered her face while he coughed on his food.

  "And Lord Ragúe decides he doesn't like that." Isabel grins, "The giant stands up, grabs his plate, and the next thing we know, Levi is covered in roasted vegetables!" she explains.

  Hanji covered her mouth, glancing at Levi and fighting her laugh. He didn't look all too thrilled to have this story be told. She wouldn't blame him for it, but it's still funny.

  "To make matters worse, Levi slips up, curses and calls him a pig." Isabel chortled.

  "Isabel..." Levi groaned, and in an unusual display of emotion, planted his forehead against the table.

  Hanji gave a coo of sympathy for him.

  "Ragúe didn't have anything other than food to throw at him. And Levi got a few pastries to the face for his trouble." Isabel gently pat her brother on the head, chuckling all the while. "We've avoided all jobs from him ever since."

  Hanji chuckled, along with Armin, Mikasa, and Eren. "That sounds absolutely dreadful." she sighed, not missing the fact that Levi tilted his head to look up at her.

  He sat up straight and crossed his arms, "It was."

  "He was livid!" Isabel sniggered, "You only think you've seen him angry. We had to bash him over the head to calm him down, he was determined to kill Ragúe." she laughed.

  Hanji covered her mouth to hide her gasp, looking up at Levi, who punched the bridge of his nose and sighed. 'Poor thing...' she sympathized inwardly.

  "By the way, be ready tomorrow, Hanji." Farlan finally spoke up, "We're headed into town to have you see Doctor Jäger."

  Hanji tilted her head, "Oh!" she exclaimed in realization, lifting up her arm as if to remind herself of it, "Right, I'll be ready."

  "Oh, I can look at it for you. You don't need to go into town." Eren proposed.

  "You're no doctor, Eren." Isabel chided.

  "No, but I live where all the kids in town tend to play, I've set too many broken bones to count." he defended, "I'll take a look at your arm anytime tonight, Hanji."

  Hanji nodded, "Thank you, Eren."

  "Still taking her to see Grisha tomorrow." Isabel mumbled.

  Hanji watched curiously as Levi stood and left the table.

  "But he'll just say the same thing I'll say! It would be a waste of time." Eren argued.

  Hanji tuned out of the conversation and excused herself when Levi did, tentatively following him outside. The man walked down the path a few feet, stepping to the side and sitting down on the grass before the bank of the lake. She took a few steps towards him, waiting for him to acknowledge her presence. But as he only picked at grass blades and gazed out upon the glossy, dark lake, she moved to sit beside him.

  It was a bold move, she wagered, but he didn't seem to mind, he simply glanced at her and then back at the lake. She smiled in the brief moment he had looked her way, and then tugged her knees up to her chest to rest her elbow upon.

  "I'm sorry that they embarrassed you." she said.

  He blinked, and turned to her curiously, "What?"

  "The story. I could tell it bothered you to hear it...bothered you that I heard it." she said with a sheepish smile, eyes flitting between his contemplative face and the ground.

  "I see." he said, crossing his legs and leaning forward into a relaxed with a hunch. "Well, you aren't wrong." he huffed a light laugh.

  Her smile widened, and they descended into a period of silence. It was a nice silence: crickets chirped, the water sloshed gently against the shore in soft waves. There were a few owls that Hanji could hear, hooting and screeching like they do. All accompanied by a cool, light breeze and the glow of the brilliant stars in the sky, it was simply lovely.

  "Aren't you cold?"

  She looked up at him in surprise at the question. While it was chilly outside, with the cooling season, and especially at night, she wasn't cold. Well, okay, she was a little cold. And she recalled moments like this in her novels. All those overdramatic and proportionately overblown stories that gave her such unrealistic expectations of the world. This scene in particular was often played out, so she decided to play along.

  "A little bit." she murmured.

  "Hmm." he hummed.

  She shuffled, opening her mouth to speak.

  "You should go inside then." he said before she could even attempt to say anything.

  She bit her lip, shrinking back a little. Well that backfired! She had thought he might offer his jacket or something. Just like the men did in those novels. Yet another thing she needed to correct authors in. She added it to her mental list. "I'm not that cold." she cleared her throat, picking at the hem of her trousers..

  He looked at her, glancing up and down, the motion sent a chill down her spine. And her breath hitched softly, "You have gooseflesh." he pointed out, "You are that cold."

  She grasped her arm and rubbed it gently, trying to think of the right words to express what she actually wanted.

  'I don't want to go inside, I just want to stay out here...spend time with you.' her thoughts sighed mournfully, and she turned her head away shyly. "I...I guess I'll go inside then." she murmured, wincing at her cowardice. Granted he would probably reject her attempts to advance their tense relationship further.

  He nodded, and she hesitated before standing, "I'll just-" she gestured at the house.

  "Mhmm." he hummed dismissively, turning back to the lake.

  She frowned, her chest clenching with a strange ache she had never felt before. It was like a sting and a burn melded together and mixed with a sharp pang of longing. She gulped, turning away from him and clutching her hands to her chest, "Goodnight, Levi." she whispered as she left. She didn't have a chance to observe how the corner of his lip quirked upwards at her words.

•

•

  She was met inside by Eren, who coaxed her into letting him see her arm. "Come on, just sit and take that off." he chuckled at her hesitance.

  "I still think she should see Grisha about it." Isabel cocked a brow, "You're no expert by any means."

  Eren pressed his lips into a thin line and he dropped his hands into his lap in exasperation. He glared at Isabel for a solid half minute before the redhead threw her arms up in surrender, "Okay! Sorry, go ahead."

  "Thank you." Eren scoffed, taking Hanji's arm and prying the last of the bandaging and splint. It wasn't painful, per se, when he prodded at the point of breakage, it only ached a little. But Hanji still winced reflexively, flexing her hand. "Does it hurt?" he asked, observing her reaction to his careful, analytic touch.

  She shook her head, "Not really, it's just tender." she shrugged.

  "Mmm." Eren nodded, "Feels well set, and I personally don't think you will need to wear the splint anymore." he dragged his fingers back and forth over the breaking point and scrunched his brow, "Seems like I was fractured...luckily. A full break would take much longer to heal." he observed. "You might have taken the splint off a week or so ago, if you so pleased." he gently placed her arm down on her lap and tilted his head in dismissal of the examination.

  "Really?" Hanji carefully lifted and flexed her arm, wincing at the slight sting in her forearm.

  "Don't do anything too strenuous. It's not fully healed yet." Eren warned, "Though you do need to be sure to use it moderately each day. The muscles need to be rebuilt after sitting stationary for so long."

  "How long before she can shot a bow?" Isabel asked, curious.

  Eren raised one brow at the question, but he pondered it, "About two, maybe three months." he suggested. "Her arm could suffer a mild relapse even just from carrying something too heavy and putting strain on it."

  Isabel exhaled through her mouth, "Well, I'll just have to teach her to crochet first." she moved to sit beside Hanji, who was still moving her arm around experimentally.

  "Thanks, Eren." Hanji gave him a gratuitous smile and rubbed her forearm gently.

  "It was nothing. Saved you a ride into town, that's all." he stood and gathered her splint up to throw out.

  "Unless you still want to go?" Isabel corrected, looking to her for a yes or no.

  Hanji mulled it around in her head and sighed, "I honestly would rather stay here. I need a break from long rides." she stretched both arms above her head and flopped into her side against the couch.

  Isabel nodded, "I can surely understand that." she stood and brushed off her pant legs, "I'll go let Farlan know. Eren?" she called to the boy in the kitchen.

  "Yeah?"

"Are you heading back with us tomorrow?" she asked.

  Eren shook his head, "I'm staying a few more days." he decided. "Dad doesn't need me back and I used to stay for weeks at a time anyways."

  Isabel nodded, "Fair enough." she clapped her hands together and spun around to face Hanji, "I suppose I'll see you in the morning, if you're up early enough. If not, see you tomorrow evening." she bent over for a hug, of which Hanji returned eagerly.

  "Alright." she smiled upon releasing the older woman.

  Levi entered the house and managed to walk through the living room halfway before Isabel assaulted him with a leaping hug. As if he had expected it, he simply caught her and spun her once to avoid falling over from her momentum.

  "Farlan and I will be back late tomorrow." she informed him.

  He smiled as he ruffled her hair, "Still no reason to jump me." he chastised.

  "It's fun though!" Isabel chirped, skipping away and throwing a smirk over her shoulder as she ascended the stairs.

  "Childish...." Levi hummed to himself.

  Hanji observed with a soft smile on her face, and jumped when he looked in her direction. "Hi." she murmured.

  "I just saw you outside." Levi raised a brow.

  "Huh?" she blinked, the word blurted in what sounded like a mix between a hiccup and a squeak. In short, it was a rather humorous noise that she wasn't aware she was capable of making.

  Eren snorted on the water he was drinking, coughing and sputtering over the sink. Levi turned to watch the boy suffer through the water he no doubt spewed through his nose. "Clean up after yourself, Eren." he instructed.

  "Uh-huh..." Eren coughed.

  Hanji swung her legs over the edge of the couch and stood, stretching once more for good measure. "Would you tell Mikasa that I'll help her with breakfast tomorrow?" she called to Eren as she made to head upstairs.

  Eren held out an affirmative thumbs-up.

  "Goodnight, Levi." she paused in her trek to the stairs so she could murmur it to him.

  "Goodnight."

  She tucked herself in bed with both hands fisted above her heart, closing her eyes with the image of his soft expression in her mind's eye. She hardly even cared that she was falling over him, it felt too right to fight it anymore. Though she still refused to say she was in love, because she knew she wasn't that far yet. It wasn't possible to be in love with him over a single, short month. Give or take a few weeks.

  This was only the meager beginning. One that could only progress if he reciprocated her feelings. And so far, he apparently didn't. According to how he behaved and what he did a few nights back. She assumed that he could only possibly find her a little attractive, nothing more from what she could gather.

  She rolled over and tugged her blanket over her shoulder, sighing and closing her eyes.

•

•

  He was bathing her again.

  He'd woken her early that morning, Isabel and Farlan were just leaving for town as he draped her over his shoulder and took her down to the waiting bath. She had no complaints, she simply yawned and waited for him to set her on her feet. "Thanks." she groaned as she stretched her arms above her head.

  "Don't get used to it." he tugged her shirt up and over her head, and while she complied, she slapped his hands away with another yawn afterwards.

  "I can-ah-do it myself." she exhaled loudly as her yawn passed. She demonstrated by slipping her thumbs beneath the waistband of her pants and tugging it down the length of her legs. She stumbled lightly as she kicked them away, and she pulled what was left of her ponytail out, shaking her hair free.

  Levi waited patiently, his stance less casual and more tense than she was used to seeing in him, but she mentally waved it off. She stepped into the tub and sank into the warm water with a hum of delight, dunking her head to wet her hair before he had the chance to do it himself. "You know I can wash myself now..." she murmured as he began to lather soap in her hair.

  He scoffed, "You still wouldn't do it right." he said.

  She leaned back into his touch unconsciously, "I can learn..." she sighed.

  He hummed in acknowledgment, but the tone of his voice gave the impression that he didn't like that idea. She dunked her head under the water when he pulled his hands back, and after rinsing the soap out she came sputtering back to the surface. She spun in place and wiped her hair back from her face, studying him curiously.

  He looked irked, if only just slightly, and his frown was most foreign on his face. She didn't like seeing his face like that. "What's that face for?" she asked, resting her arms on the rim of the tub and propping her chin upon them.

  His lips parted and he cleared his throat. "What face?" he asked, reaching for the soap again, "You need to turn around so I can get your back."

  She tilted her head in consideration, "You...don't want me to learn to bathe right, do you?"

  He paused, looking at her with a deeper frown, "No?"

  She got to her knees, standing level with him, "You enjoy this." she said it as if she were in awe of her discovery. And it wouldn't be incorrect to say so. She found no denial in his features, in fact, he looked like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar. "Why?" she asked in most genuine curiosity.

  He looked to the side, and she reached a glistening, wet hand up to his chin and turned his face back towards her. "You'll get my shirt wet." he pointed out.

  "Neither of us really care, Levi." she murmured, "Please tell me." He exhaled through his nose, looking in any direction but hers. He looked positively shy, and she would be lying if she said she wasn't enjoying this a little. "Levi?" she prodded.

  He glanced at her, and then down, and she adjusted her arms so she wasn't pressing her breasts together. "There's no reason." he finally said.

  "Don't lie to me." she deadpanned, it was more than obvious that he had some ulterior motive behind his incessant need to bathe her every other day. Insisting that she couldn't do it properly herself, and now she could tell he didn't want her to learn to do it properly.

  His frown deepened, "Hanji-" he said in warning, grasping her wrist with a sudsy hand when she tried to grab his chin again.

  "Ah...careful." she gestured to her left arm pointedly, and he loosened his grip.

  "Hanji, you don't understand, and you're seeing things that aren't there-"

  "Please don't feed me that bullshit, Levi." she interrupted, sliding her wrist out of his grip, only to entwine her fingers with his. She heard his breath hitch as she looked down at their hands. It felt so right to hold his hand, a perfect fit. Despite his stature, his hands were slighter bigger than hers, and she gently rubbed her thumb against his hand.

  "What are you doing?" he whispered.

  She looked back up at him and studied his face. He looked just as awe-struck and she felt. Her eyes drifted down to his lips, and she tugged him forward.

  "Hanji?" though he protested vocally, he didn't resist her pull, but rather followed her lead most eagerly.

  Their faces were inches apart, and she paused to look at his steely blue eyes, "This is familiar." she huffed the lightest of laughs.

  He nodded, glancing down at her lips, "Yeah."

  "Levi?" she gulped, breath quickening.

  "Yes?"

  "I think I'm going to kiss you." she breathed.

  His nose touched hers, and he tilted his head to accommodate the impending kiss, "Why?"

  "You ask too many questions." she snaked her hand around his neck, never minding the water that dripped from it, "And because I want to." she closed the distance with a gentle pull on his nape. The water sloshed as her knee slipped, and he steadied her with a hand against the small of her back. His lips were soft and warm, and the kiss all-too-brief before he pulled back only just enough for them to look at one another in focus.

  The pull was like gravity, and they came crashing back together, more impassioned and less timid than the few seconds before. Her chest pressed against his, and she raked her fingers through his hair while his free hand did the same. He gripped her hair and tilted her head back, breaking the sloppy kiss and moving his lips along her jaw. She closed her eyes and hummed in bliss, her heart pounding in her ears as she listened to his ragged breath.

  It only lasted mere moments, a fact she grieved most dearly, but he stopped himself from progressing down the column of her neck and resolved to press his forehead against her collarbone. She panted softly, dragging her fingers across the short hairs on the back of his head soothingly.

  "You got my shirt wet." he murmured.

  She chuckled breathlessly, "You would say something like that, wouldn't you?" she sighed to herself.

  "You're getting pruny too." he pointed out.

  "Mmhmm." she tugged him closer to her, eliciting a slight noise of protest, "I don't want to leave yet...I'm not clean anyway." she said.

  He pulled back and gave a sigh of his own, "I..." he began, and she had to resist the urge to tug his lips back into reach when he pulled his lower lip between his teeth, "I should let you take care of that." he stood and backed away, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away.

  She felt her heart sink, did he regret it? It sure looked like it. And the thought was almost physically painful to her. She sat down on her rear and sunk to her chin in the water, "I'm sorry." she murmured.

  "Sorry?" he turned back to her in confusion.

  "I won't kiss you again if that's what you want." she pulled her knees up to her chest and kept her eyes on the soapy water.

  "Hanji-" he began, returning to the side of the tub, "-what makes you think I didn't want that?"

  She gaped up at him and scrambled to find words, "But...I...what?" she gasped.

  "Now you're the one asking questions." he said smugly, reaching to hoist her up to her feet by her shoulders. She gripped the ends of the towel he draped around her back to her chest, self-consciously swiping her wet hair away. "Do you really think I'd just let a girl kiss me if I didn't want it too?" he asked.

  She mulled the logic of his question around in her head and shook her head sheepishly, "No, I suppose not." she bit her lip as he led her out of the tub.

  "I don't like to talk about things if I can help it." he continued, helping her into the clean clothes he had brought with them. "Isabel has probably told you: I'm not good with words." he rubbed her head vigorously with the towel, and she grunted once or twice as she nearly lost her balance. "But I will say this-" he grasped her chin and pulled her close. Despite their height difference he somehow managed to make her feel small next to him. "-I don't care that you kissed me...and I don't care if you do it again." he said assuringly, punctuating his statement with a chaste press of his lips against hers.

  "Would you care if I told you I might love you?" she asked as he pulled back.

  "You don't love me." he said.

  She nodded, "But...I might. In the future."

  He paused in retrieving her dirty laundry from the floor, "You think so?"

  "Yeah."

  He straightened and hummed in consideration, "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." he declared as he moved to leave the room.