You woke to the sound of the shower running from the bathroom, and you stretched your limbs with a smile, reminiscing on the wonderful night before. The way Levi made you feel, the way he touched you, the things he'd said to you-
Oh...
It was just then that you realised what day it was.
Today, you were heading out to Marley.
You sat up in the bed and looked out the window. It was early morning, the sun was just starting to peek out from above the trees. It looked like any other morning, except... deep down, it wasn't.
With a sigh, you sound your legs over the bed and shakily stood. Of course, your activities from last night caught up with you this morning. You slowly walked to the bathroom and opened the door, only to find Levi standing underneath the water in the shower.
He looked over at you and smiled, then stretched out his hand. "C'mere."
You walked over to him and took his hand. He pulled you into the shower and wrapped you in his arms, so warm and safe. The water cascaded down your back, soothing your aching muscles from the events of the night before.
Levi saw you wince, and he smirked against your temple. "Are you okay, sweetheart?" he asked, his tone laced with playfulness.
You pouted and buried your face into his neck while he rubbed soap along your back, massaging your muscles. You were pretty sore from last night, but with the hot water cascading down your back and Levi's hands gently massaging your sore muscles, you would be fine in no time.
Levi didn't say anything for a while, and neither did you. You just basked in the warmth and love radiating out of him, forgetting all about the outside world. Nothing besides the two of you existed in this moment.
He placed a tender kiss on your shoulder while his hands roamed along your waist and hips. He was being so gentle and caring, and all you wanted to do was stay here with him for the rest of your life.
You pulled away a little and looked up at him, droplets of water dripping from his wet hair and onto his pale cheeks.
His lips quirked up into a half smile. "Hi."
You grinned at him. "Hi."
Levi leaned forward and tenderly kissed your forehead. His touch was feather-light, but it still sent sparks throughout your body all the same. Whenever he touched you, it was like everything else disappeared.
His skin was so soft and warm, even underneath the water. With utmost gentleness, Levi wrapped his arms around you and pressed you firmly up against him, leaving no space between your bodies.
This was exactly what you wanted - a normal morning with your husband.
The fear and uncertainties about the day ahead could come later.
You rested the side of your face against his shoulder and snuggled into him, cherishing in his warmth. Your body completely relaxed against his, because you immediately knew this was home.
Levi held you for a while, his hands roaming over your sore muscles, his lips dusting over your temple. You placed your hands on his chest, smiling when you felt the tightly packed muscle beneath your fingertips.
How was he so perfect?
After a while, Levi pulled away and stepped out of the shower, leaving you confused. He grabbed a large towel from the cabinet under the sink and walked back over to you to turn the shower off. You smiled when he helped you out of the tub and wrapped the towel around the both of you, your bodies pressed up against each other.
He was so warm and his heartbeat was so comforting and...
You never wanted to leave.
Levi caught on to the way your body slumped against his, the way a defeated sigh left your lips. He leaned down to press a kiss to your bare shoulder.
"We'll be okay," he whispered against your skin.
You nodded and buried your face into his chest, getting as much contact as possible before you had to leave.
To lighten the mood, Levi dropped the towel and hoisted you up over his shoulder, making you squeal in surprise. He walked out the bathroom and toward the kitchen, with you struggling in his arms.
"Levi!" You squealed as he bit at your bare hip.
And all throughout the morning, you were graced with his gentle touches and soft kisses, both of you completely forgetting what dangers you were about to face.
¤¤¤¤
"Captain." August greeted you as you and Levi boarded the blimp, hand in hand.
You nodded in return with a small smile, too distracted by the small voice in your head that kept telling you that everything would go wrong today.
Everyone was rushing around, trying to get everything ready for when you took off. Levi led you straight to the front of the ship, into a small room that you assumed was the cockpit.
He opened the door, and you noticed Hange standing there with Onyankopon, the pilot. Hange turned to face you, her black Scouts uniform neat and pristine. You smiled slightly; she'd really taken on the role of Commander so well.
"You guys ready?" she asked, her voice lacking the spark that it once had. Though, that may have been because of the situation you were about to face.
"Yeah." Levi nodded, his fingers digging into the fabric of your uniform, his nervousness at an all-time high.
"Good," Hange replied. "We're taking off in five minutes. Can you two go and make sure that everyone is on board and ready?" she asked.
You nodded, then took Levi's hand and started to lead him out the room. "Of course."
¤¤¤¤
After a few hours of impatience and anxiety, Onyankopon announced that you were approaching Marley.
Your stomach was in knots, your hands were shaking, your mind running at a million miles per minute, hoping and praying that nothing would happen, that nothing would go wrong.
"Hey," Levi murmured, placing his hand on your waist to try and stop you from moving around so much. "Calm down."
"I-" you stammered, your breath becoming shallow. "Sorry, I-"
"Don't apologise," he told you, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you in close. Your arms were still by your sides, so you were at complete mercy to his grip. "Nothing is going to happen. You'll be fine."
"Levi-"
"No talking," he whispered, then pressed his lips against yours with so much force that you completely forgot about all your troubles.
When he pulled away, you looked at him, unamused. "I hate when you do that," you admitted.
Levi chuckled. "Well, it's the only way I can get you to shut up."
You rolled your eyes and buried your face in his chest, comforted by the feeling of his body pressed against yours.
Eventually, you calmed down enough to the point where you weren't shaking, and your breath returned to normal. You pulled away slightly from Levi's grip and looked into his eyes. They were full of love and adoration, not like the hard exterior he put up in front of everyone else. With you, he could be himself. He didn't have to pretend to be someone he wasn't.
You leaned in and dusted your lips against his. "You okay?" you asked, knowing he would never put his needs before yours, so you had to ask.
He gave you a light peck on the lips and nodded. "I'm okay. Don't worry about me."
You furrowed your brows. After all this time...
"Talk to me," you encouraged gently, tilting your head to softly kiss his jaw.
He sighed. "It's just... I feel like these kids are my responsibility, you know? If something happens to them..."
Your heart sank. If you were being completely honest, you felt the exact same way. If anything happened to the people you got to know and love so much... you wouldn't know how to handle it.
"I know, love," you murmured. "I understand. But I also know that you will do everything you can to keep them safe."
He hummed and kissed the side of your head as a thank-you for always being there for him.
As if your worst nightmare became a reality, someone knocked on the door of the room you were in and said you'd arrived in Marley. And since your Squad were going to be the first ones to leave the ship, you had to leave immediately.
You looked at Levi, panic in your eyes. He grazed your cheek with his knuckles and gave you a small smile, letting you know everything would be okay. Then he took your hand and led you out of the room, over to where your Squad were getting ready.
"Captain," they all greeted, their voices monotone and dry. They were all just as terrified as you.
"We'll be fine, guys," you stated gently. They looked up at you for just a second, then went back to what they were doing, but you noticed that they were now moving with a little more confidence than before. It seemed a little word of encouragement was all they needed.
Two people opened the doors of the blimp so you could leave, and the panic started to settle in. You tried to hide it; if you panicked, your Squad would panic, and everything would just be one big panicked mess.
"Hey," Levi whispered from beside you, but you weren't listening. You stared at the floor, trying to control your breathing, trying to remain calm. "Y/N, look at me," he whispered a little more sternly, but you still wouldn't listen.
"Captain, it's time to leave," you heard someone say, but you couldn't quite tell who it was. The blood rushing behind your ears was too loud.
Then, you felt two hands grab each side of your face, and Levi's lips being pressed aginst yours.
To say you were shocked would be an understatement. Levi wasn't one for extreme public displays of affection, and here he was, kissing you in front of practically the whole regiment.
Levi pulled away, but not fully. Just enough so that his lips were still grazing yours as he spoke. "You will be fine, my love. I promise," he spoke in barely a whisper. "I love you."
You stared at him in a state of shock, but came back to reality when his thumb started grazing your cheek.
"I love you," you whispered back.
"Come back to me."
And with that, Levi gave you one last, slow kiss, and pulled away. Knowing you couldn't look at him any longer, you turned around and gestured to your Squad to follow you to the doors of the blimp.
You sighed. "Alright, guys. Follow me."
You jumped from the blimp and used your gear to get to the roof of a building just on the outskirts of Marley. When you found a good spot that would keep you well-hidden, you landed and waited for everyone else to catch up.
When Jodi landed beside you, she giggled loudly and nudged you with her elbow, reminding you of the kiss that you and Levi just shared. You rolled your eyes with a smile and nudged her back.
"Alright," you started, "so, our only job in this whole mission is to make sure that nothing gets in the way of our attack, and that all threats are taken out."
They all nodded.
"I know it can be hard to... kill people... but, this is what we have to do. We don't have any other choice." You sighed. "Make sure you keep each other safe. We're going to split up."
"Yes, Captain."
"Alright..." you wavered, looking between them all. You thought about placing Jodi and August together, but you figured that August's feelings might get in the way of your mission. But at the same time, August was an amazing soldier, and you knew that he wouldn't risk it. "Hunter and Isabella, you head east. August and Jodi, you guys head west. I'll go straight ahead."
"Yes, Captain!"
August gave you a grateful smile and took off with Jodi, while Hunter and Isabella headed the opposite way. You were going to be right in the middle of all the chaos, where all the threats were most likely to be. But you could handle it. You knew you could.
After a few seconds of making sure that your gear was all good, you took off, swinging through buildings, looking for anything that would jeopardize the mission. There were a few Marleyan soldiers perched on the roofs of buildings, and you knocked them all out swiftly.
You didn't want to do this. Never in your life did you think that you would be hurting people. But, because of a certain angry teenager, this was what you had to do.
After a while of not finding anything out of the ordinary, you took refuge on top of a rather tall building, where you could see everything happening in the distance. Eren bad already transformed, you could see, and there were many soldiers trying to take him down. But that wasn't your problem right now. After making sure the blimp got into Marley safely, you had to step back to make sure everyone left safely. You just had to wait.
¤¤¤¤
Several minutes of watching and waiting had passed. Then you finally saw Eren and Mikasa heading back to the ship, and you knew that meant that is was time to go.
While you were readying your gear, you froze, a chill overcoming your body. Someone was watching you.
Deciding to stay calm, you continued your task, keeping your head tilted downwards while you only moved your eyes. You saw a slight flash of metal behind one of the chimneys on a building, and you knew that someone was definitely there.
You started to walk to the edge of the building, keeping your eyes trained on the chimney, looking for an opening to strike.
Then, whoever was there made the smallest movement, so you grabbed a dagger from your thigh and hurled it towards them, hearing a slice, then a scream following after.
The person hiding emerged. A Marleyan soldier. Six foot, at least. He was holding his bleeding arm, his face murderous and angry.
Deciding that it wasn't safe to stay there, you took off, faster and faster, the passing buildings becoming a blur. You didn't know who that man was or what he wanted, so you had to get away. Fast.
You heard the whir of metal clashing almost directly behind you, so you turned the corner of a building just a second too late, hoping to throw him off.
Shit, how did he catch up to me so fast?!
Next thing you knew, a heavy weight pressed itself onto your back, and you lost the grip you had on your gear, sending you plummeting down to the ground. Panicking, you tried to grab hold of your gear again, but the man on top of you grabbed your arms, restraining you. Tears pricked your eyes as you fell through the air, but then you were swept up by the man, landing harshly on the ground.
Your breaths were heavy, your adrenaline at an all-time high. And as if you realised where you were, you shakily stood up, almost losing your balance at how numb you felt.
Then you came face to face with the barrel of a gun.
Your breath stopped completely, but only for a second. You had to fight. You couldn't die here.
From the corner of your eye, you saw the ship starting to leave. If you didn't catch up now, you would be stranded in Marley.
Without a second of hesitation, you grabbed the barrel of the gun and pushed it to the side, driving your boot into the man's stomach with such a force that he went flying backwards. You turned and tried to run, but fell to the ground when a burning sensation made itself apparent on the side of your left thigh.
When you looked, blood was trickling down your leg, but you didn't even feel any pain. All you could focus on was getting to the ship. Getting back to Levi.
You stood up, noticing that the man was running towards you with his fist raised. When he went in for the punch, you swiftly dodged.
One, two, three attempted hits, and he didn't touch you once. At this point, you didn't want to knock him out or kill him, you just wanted to get away.
All your breath left your lungs as the man finally punched your jaw, then kicked you in the stomach, sending you flying back.
Once you recovered from the hit, you heard the signifying click that the man had cocked the gun. And now he was pointing it directly at you again.
This time, for some odd reason, you didn't want to fight. Your adrenaline was wearing off, you were in so much pain. Physically and mentally.
But Levi...
You couldn't leave Levi. You just couldn't leave him all alone.
It seemed as if it was too late. In slow motion, you saw the man's finger about to press down on the trigger. In one last attempt to get away, you tried to stand up, but failed, your leg feeling like it was on fire.
You closed your eyes.
Bang!