Servant

Chapter 20

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I dried my hair with a towel after I dressed myself as I walked back to my room, and I grabbed the door handle before pushing the door open and shutting it behind me, relieved to find that Levi wasn't there.

I don't want a cloud of awkwardness following me around everywhere today...

I sighed, knowing that there would be anyways, so I just sat in the bay window, trying to tune out my anxiety with my thoughts. I had managed to stare out at the ocean for a good forty minutes with nothing but my thoughts to entertain me when the door opened.

I turned around, and Levi was standing there. He stepped inside before shutting the door. "Thankfully, only one guy was injured with a sprained angle overnight, and a few cords snapped and there are a few tears in the sails, but that seemed to be it. No deadly damage done." He said, and I sighed in relief. "Actually, this is kind of good. Because of the crazy waves, they managed to actually push us closer to Stohess at a fast pace, so we're gonna make it in about two days." He finished, and I smiled. "Awesome," I replied, and he nodded before sitting beside me.

I was mentally relieved that he didn't talk about yesterday or earlier, making me assume it was as awkward for him as it was for me."So..." I started but stopped realizing I didn't know what to say.

In my opinion, I was getting a little angry at the fact that in the time span of only a few hours, our entire friendship turned south.

Then I had an idea."Have you ever heard of rock, paper, scissors?" I asked as I turned to look at him. He tilted his head in confusion."Yes of course rocks are what the earth is made from and paper-." I cut him off, his reply making me chuckle. "I meant the game." I clarified, and then he made an 'mm' sound in realization."No, I haven't." He said, and I was a little taken back but, I nodded. "I can teach you." I said, and he sat down beside me before I started speaking."You start with one of your hands in a fist, And say 'rock,

Paper, scissors'." Then I explained to him how to play, to which he eventually understood and we began to play the child's game.

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By the time I snapped back into reality, the sun was halfway behind the horizon, and Levi had just kicked my butt fifteen times in a row. "I taught you too well!" I exclaimed as I crossed my arms over my chest and puffed out my cheeks in frustration.

He chuckled at my antics before we sat in silence, but it was a comforting silence, thank Freckled Jesus. As the boat gently swayed on the ocean's currents, we sat there, staring at the sun as it set behind the horizon.

The sky was lit up in so many colours, that it seemed blinding at first, but my eyes quickly adjusted and I watched the horizon with a relaxed smile on my face. I watched from my peripheral vision as Levi turned his attention to my face, and I flushed red.

I didn't turn to look at him, but he kept his gaze on my face for quite a while."It's pretty, huh?" I said as I looked at the sky. "Yeah, sure is." He said, but I flushed a brighter red as I realized that he had said that as he kept staring at me."We're gonna be there the day after tomorrow." He said, and I nodded. "Yeah, that'll be fun," I said, and a question suddenly came to mind.

"Hey, what's it like there?"He thought about it for a moment before he flushed red."Huh? Levi are you okay?" I asked, and he stared out the window, as if in a daze."Do you have a fever?" I asked and raised a hand to put it to his forehead.

The second my knuckles grazed his face he snapped out of it and grabbed my wrist."I-I'm fine. It's just that..." he trailed off, not letting go of my wrist."This is usually when you finish the sentence." I said, and he nodded."To make sure we don't end up being discriminated and seem normal, we had Hanji make..." he trailed off, and I raised an eyebrow."Make?..." I trailed off in curiosity, and Levi sighed.

"She has made a position to turn us into Neko's." He concluded, and I sat there in shock for a moment. He turned to look at me, and my mind was clouded by thoughts.

Levi... with cat ears and a tail...

I was as red as the middle of the sky, and my temperature rose to meet the suns. "Holy crap, are you okay?!" He asked with concern. I snapped back into reality and eagerly nodded. "Yeah yeah no I'm fine I'm great! I'm better than fine I'm fan-freaking-tastic yeah I'm great I'm gonna go bye!" I exclaimed and ran out of the door to get to the bathroom.

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When the heat finally died down, I went back into our room. He was laying down in his bed facing away from the door. I couldn't tell if he was asleep or not, so I just went with asleep.

I walked over to the window, where the moon was sitting high in the sky and stars twinkled around it. The ocean was as dark as the sky, but the moon illuminated the waves, making it look absolutely show-stopping."You will know you're reborn tonight...

....Must be ragged, but I stay by your side...Even if my body's.....bleached to the bones...I don't want to go through that ever again...." I unconsciously started singing as my mother would when I had a nightmare, and watched the pale moon as we sailed on through the night sky "...So cry no more, oh my beloved....Go ahead, be proud and fight it out...You are the ONE, our rising star...You guide us far to home yet girt" the song brought tears to my eyes, and I didn't even try to hold them back as they trickled down my face. I

continued to hum and softly sing the song as it pulled at my heartstrings, and I kept singing until my eyes grew to too heavy to keep open, and I shut them.

I wasn't aware that I wasn't the only person I helped go to sleep that night.

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Third Person P.O.V

The man listened as the boy sang by the window, unaware that he was listening with open ears. He was quite surprised by his soft voice. It wasn't show-stoppingly beautiful, but it was quiet and soft, allowing anyone to fall asleep.

Him included.

The lyrics were unknown to him, but he listened with an open mind. Then he watched through squinted vision as a tear trickled down his face. He was in shock, seeing as how he had never seen him cry before.

In his opinion, it made the boy even more beautiful. He realized that he had said some things in the past that made fun of his weight and looks, but to him, he was as perfect as perfect could be.

The way his messy brown hair complimented his kind bright blue-green eyes made his heart skip a beat, and his body... there wasn't a single flaw he could find, not a single problem.

Every time they were close, he found himself needing to hold back from making a move on the bright-eyed boy, in fear that his feelings were merely one-sided.

Yet, no matter how many times he tried to brush him off and name him as just another lowlife servant, it only made him seem more important to him.

No matter how many times he tried to deem the boy as ugly, it only made him seem more beautiful. No matter how many times he tried to deem him nothing to him, the more his life seemed to revolve around those beautiful eyes.

The more he tried to push the boy away, the more he realized he needed him. And right now, he needed the boy more than anything.

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