Remember Your Promise - Levi Ackerman

Chapter 8

Dedicated Chapter Song: Once Upon a December - Anastasia OST

Dancing bears, painted wings. Things I almost remember. And a song someone sings. Once upon a December.
(Anna)

"I remember this story..." Anna smiled as she ran her finger along the spines of the books in Levi's office. "Goldilocks and The Three Bears. She isn't satisfied with the chairs or the porridge. Well, she eventually is but then the bears found her in their house. A strange story but I've read stranger things."

"Stranger... things?" Levi asked. "I wouldn't call them all stories. Sometimes it would be graffiti, sometimes I'd read a shanty's lyrics down in a tavern. One of my favorite things to do was read Irish and Gaelic books while everyone questioned how I understood the words." she laughed a bit. "You can read in other languages, correct?"

"Mhmm. My family is half-British, part-Asian and part-Irish. My last name is actually Japanese, believe it or not." she nervously laughed. "I've learned 12 languages in my lifetime and the only use I've put them towards was... " she sighed, plucking a book from the shelf. "Reading books."

"I thought you liked reading books," Levi remarked. "I do. It's just...I know there's more to my life and skills than just sitting in a room reading books all day. I want to be the hero of my own story. I don't want to sit down and read other's stories!" she protested. "I...I haven't told you the truth, Levi..." she admitted, rubbing her arms as she padded over to him at his desk. "I have remembered a few things. Well- I say 'remember', but it's more like I can just see the events being replayed in my head." she sighed.

"How much do you remember?" he asked, taking note of what she'd said. "Not enough." she let out a deep sigh, but put a hand on her head as it began to ache again. "Gr... ergh... not again..."

"Anna? Something wrong?" he looked up. "Erg.. it's nothing. Just another headache." she lowered her hand as her eyes flashed, and for a moment there was a sliver of gold behind them. "Dancing bears...." Anna sang quietly, glancing at the Goldilocks book. "Painted wings..." her frail fingers wrapped around the Wings of Freedom necklace. "Things I almost remember..."

Levi looked up at her, surprised she was singing at all. "And a song... someone sings..." she glanced around as several images of her and Levi laughing and singing together in his office played throughout her mind. "Once... upon a December. Someone holds me safe and warm." she clutched to her temples again as more vibrant images played, this time in a scene like a forest with a brigade of soldiers running from a large woman. "Horses prance through a silver storm..." and men flew through the air with their ODM gear, as graceful as a falling snowflake. "Figures dancing gracefully... across my memory. Someone holds me safe and warm. Far away, long ago, glowing dim as an ember. Things my heart used to know... Once upon a December...", she turned just a bit, her eyes glancing at Levi for the slightest second. "Someone holds me safe and warm. Horses prance through a silver storm. Figures dancing gracefully across my memory. Far away, long ago. Glowing dim as an ember Things my heart used to know...things it yearns to remember." she fiddled with her fingers as in the back of her head she could hear Levi's voice singing to her. "And a song someone sings...once upon a December..."

"Are you all right?" Levi asked her, putting down his paperwork for a moment. "I...don't know." Anna's voice cracked like shattered armor. "I have all these feelings swarming through my head, yet I can't seem to make sense of them anymore." she took a seat in the armchair by his window.

      "Which emotion is the strongest that you feel?" he inquired. Anna breathed out a longing sigh. "Regret," she admitted. "Sadness, anger, fear, desire, lust, agony...I just can't tell which one is strongest anymore. I just have a gaping hole in my chest filled with guilt of something I don't remember."

       "Tell me the truth," and he was before her, crouched down so that their gazes matched. "do you even want to remember?" Anna looked at him, pain flashing in her eyes. Levi didn't need to ask any more. "Everyone expects me to be her..." she whispered. "I want to be, but I'm not remembering anything. All I'm seeing is like a movie of her life being played before my eyes. I don't remember what it felt like to be a Titan. I don't remember what it felt like to be experimented on. I don't even remember what it felt like to be intimate with you." she put her head into her hands. "I'm sorry. I've let everyone down already and it's barely been a week."

      "There's still time. As long as you can fight well, you won't have to be sent to the Cadet Corps." Levi reminded her. "That reminds me... you're not serious about bringing me along for a mission, are you?" she asked. "I am. If you can't kill at least one Titan then you really won't be much use to us. Unfortunately, I'm not the one who made the terms. The Military Police are."

      "Those bastards." Anna spat. "They think they're so privileged just because they get to work for the King. I'd love to just stab that Nile Dok right in his face." she grumbled. Levi snorted. "Good luck with that. Then again, I'd probably help you."

      Anna innocently bit her lip and looked at him. "Hey...just because I don't... remember the feeling... doesn't mean that I don't want to..." she bat her lashes. "Anna... are you implying what I think you're implying?"

      "Come on, Captain," Anna laughed, leaning closer to him. "You, me, alone in a locked room." Levi let out a low growl. "You're tempting me, you shitty brat." Anna pouted. "What's wrong with giving in to your temptations every now and then?    Besides, even if I don't remember everyone will believe we're growing closer which might lighten the mood here."

      "You had me at me at "giving in to your temptations" and you lost me at "besides". Bed, now." He ordered. Anna pouted and lightly kicked him onto the floor on his back with her foot. She pounced on top of him, pinning his hands above his head. "But the bed's too far awaaaay." she pouted and whined.

    "I swear to god, you're sanitizing every inch of this office." his silver eyes narrowed. "Deal." Anna dipped her head down and pressed her lips to his neck, shocking him just in the slightest to where he let out a gasp. Anna grinned against his cool skin. "Enjoying that, Captain?" she teased.

      Levi groaned. "Shut up... stupid maggot." Anna kept one hand on his wrists and lightly trailed the other along his stomach and down his leg. "I've still got the upper hand." Anna kissed him again, and then started to pepper his skin with kisses, tracing a path along his jaw and down her neck. His hands were at his sides, and he could feel the smile on her lips. Levi knew in the back of his mind, that night he wasn't going to be sleeping for a very different reason.