The Red String of Fate

Lust

Anya sighed as she unlocked the door to her apartment, silently thanking herself that she had remembered to make the bed and pick the towels up off the bathroom floor during her haphazard morning routine. She led Levi in, and smiled at the sight of him in her home. The apartment wasn't much, but it was home to her for the last 7 years. She glanced at the kitchen, the wall she would lean against while getting drunk and pulling at her hair while crying and begging the universe to bring him back to her. Her eyes met the couch, where she spent endless nights crying herself to sleep in Sarina's lap – but all of that was over now, because he was right there with her, in her home, her home that she silently hoped he would make his home too. She led him around, getting him acquainted to the space, the last thing she would want is him to be uncomfortable.

Levi breathed in, taking the scent of soap, the scent of lavender, the scent of citrus, the scent of mint – the light and delicate scents that always reminded him of his Anya. And there she was, his Anya, smiling at him while showing him around the home she made for herself in his absence. He took everything in – the last time he was here he sat on that couch, not knowing she was just in the other room, crying because she missed him so, so very much. He smiled, thinking about how if he had just done things a little differently that day, they could have spent the years since in this little apartment, building a home together – building a family together. But no, he reminded himself, it would have been so hard on her to watch him leave and wonder if he was ever coming back from all those missions and it would have been hell for him to step out of those wall's everyday not knowing if he would make it back to her. Maybe, just maybe, things were better this way. They could live their lives, free from the threat of him having to go out and be Humanity's Strongest, free from war, free from ever feeling the pain of separation again. They were free from all of it, free to just live their lives together.

Anya reached down, taking his hand in hers, and looked into his eyes. With her free hand, she reached out and traced his scars delicately with her fingertips. She couldn't deny that she was still afraid it was all a dream she was going to wake up from, because having him there with her was just too good to be true. Kneeling down, she laid her lips on his soft forehead, letting her fingers stroke through his raven hair as she squeezed his hand to hers.

"Please don't leave," she whispered to him, barely audible as she felt her heart swell.

Levi cupped her face in the hand that wasn't interlaced with hers, pulling her down ever so gently for a kiss. Before their lips could meet, his mouth formed the words his heart felt. "I'm not going anywhere". He could feel her smile as their lips pressed together gently, as if the kiss was a promise to keep to his word. Their kiss lingered, delicately on both of their lips – no interruptions to pull them out of it. Just the magical haze of Levi having his Anya and Anya having her Levi.

They couldn't deny that as magical as the day was, the crying and all the overwhelming emotions left their physical bodies drained of energy. Levi insisted that he bathed before bed, so Anya ran him a hot bath and brought him fresh, fluffy, warm towels. While he showered, she quickly laundered his clothes and left them out to dry, so they would be fresh for him in the morning. She felt her own exhaustion creeping in and used her guest bathroom to take a quick shower, slipping on a white linen nightgown covered by a small robe and pulling her hair into a small ponytail. As she walked back into the master bedroom, a rush of steam hit her face as Levi emerged from the bath, wearing only his boxers with a towel draped over his shoulders. Anya couldn't help but blush as she looked at him like this, like she had never seen him before. Gone was the athletic but young body she had known, replaced by what she could only describe as absolute perfection. He was still smaller in frame, but now – as a grown man – she could see his defined abs, his strong arms, his perfectly sculpted body. Anya averted her gaze, realizing how hot her face was.