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Description
Much as you blame yourself
You can’t be blamed for the way that you feel

A soft knocking interrupted the comfortable silence that settled in Levi's room. The man looked up from from the boring paperwork he had been holding off for quite a while, and stared at the wood. "Name and reasoning." He said bluntly.

"It's me, Levi." A soft voice spoke out. Levi raised an eyebrow in confusion. It was definitely her. But she never sounded this shy or quiet. She was lively and outgoing, not as much as Hanji but enough to not get on the man's nerves.

"Come in." He said. The doorknob turned slowly as the girl stepped in. Her (h/c) hair gleamed in the candlelight that illuminated the room. Her (e/c) eyes shone with an unidentifiable emotion. She closed the door behind her and faced the expressionless man.

Her lips parted and she took in a breath as if to speak, but choked on her words and left her mouth agape. She shut her mouth and took a breath through her nose. "We're friends, right?" She asked slowly, as if she wasn't certain of each and every word.

Levi was silent for a moment. "Yeah." He finally murmured.

"And... I can tell you anything, right?" She continued, moving over to his desk and sitting in the vacant chair.

"Yeah." He repeated, almost through a breath.

The girl wriggled in her chair for a few moments before taking in another breath. "I have this... strong feeling towards you. I don't know what it is, but... I like it, but I hate it. I don't know why and I don't know what it is. I just know that I want to be next to you all the time, but when I am next to you, I feel weird and I get nervous... Then I don't want to be with you because of how I feel. But when I'm away, I want to be with you and... " She trailed off as her eyes fixed themselves to the flickering candle.

Had no example of a love
That was even remotely real

Levi was quiet, trying to search her eyes for anything she could give away. "(f/n)... Tell me about your childhood."

Her gaze shifted over to his, her (e/c) eyes widening with the sudden question. "My father left my mother when I was born. And my mother took her anger out on me, or she was out getting drunk or having sex with one man after another. I spent most of my time with my friends, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin, but I never felt like I fit in." She sighed and looked down at her hands. "Why am I telling you this? You don't want to hear my life story..."

How can you understand something that you never had
If you let me I can help you out with all of that

Levi stood up from his seat and clamped his hands behind his back. "I think I understand what you're feeling." He said bluntly, walking around to the other side of the desk. Her gaze drifted from her hands up to his face. He held out his hand with an expectant look on his face. She took it gently, and stood up so they were facing each other.

"You do?" She asked softly, furrowing her brows in confusion.

Levi held onto her hand tightly as he drifted his other hand over to latch onto hers. "Yes. You've lived a life without love, so you're unfamiliar with the feeling it brings. You're also unsure if it's a good or bad thing. It's both. It's good because you feel happy, but it's bad because something can come in to destroy it. And if something does destroy it, you'll feel broken."

The (e/c)-eyed girl gazed into Levi's steely grey eyes. "So... you're saying that I'm in love with you?" She asked. Levi shrugged. The girl quickly drew away and ran a hand through her hair. "No, no, no, I told myself I couldn't let this happen..." She murmured, more to herself that to him. She turned so her back was facing him as she continued mumbling to herself.

"Is there a problem?" He asked, crossing his arms.

She turned around and gave him an exasperated look. "Of course there is! I can't let myself fall in love! All it brings is a broken heart and disappointment. And-and why would you ever be interested in me? No one likes me, I don't even like myself! And, you're... You're you! The strong Levi, Humanities Strongest Soldier! As if you'd even consider a pathetic idiot like me!"

Let me love you
And I will love you
Until you learn to love yourself.

Levi quickly stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. She gripped onto his shirt and took a few deep breaths. "Why wouldn't I consider a girl like you? You're brave, intelligent, beautiful-"

"Shut up."

Levi was quiet at the harshness in her tone. He parted his lips to throw back a retort, but she beat him to it. "I'm none of those things. And I don't want anyone to love me anyway. It's scary. It could break at any moment, like you said. It's better just to be alone so no one can hurt you, and so you can't hurt anyone."

Let me love you
I know your trouble
Don’t be afraid, oh, I can help

Levi sighed and pulled away enough to see her face. "Love isn't so bad." He said.

"How would you know?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She was silent. Levi contemplated for a moment on what to say. "I don't know." He finally murmured. He inhaled deeply and looked off to the side. "I don't want you to deny this, but I've had the same feelings towards you."

"No-"

"I said to not deny." He cut in sharply. He took another deep breath. "Let me love you. Accept it. I'll show you that it's a good thing."

"But you said-"

"I know what I said." He said, placing a finger over her lips and turning his face to lock his gaze with hers. "Love can be a bad thing. It can, but it's not always a bad thing. It's a good thing. Let me love you, and I'll prove it."

Let me love you
And I will love you
Until you learn to love yourself.

(f/n) let out a small huff. "I don't believe you can be romantic." She mumbled, staring down at the finger that was still pressed over her soft lips, causing her eyes to cross.

"Don't act so darkly. My job is to pull you out of that and brighten it." He said bluntly, trying to avoid smiling at her adorable actions.

Let me love you
A heart of numbness
Gets brought to life
I’ll take you there

She sighed. "Okay." She finally said. "I just... don't want to hurt you."

Levi let a small smirk adorn his features. "You won't."

"Will you hurt me?" She asked.

He sighed and let his hand drift over to cup her cheek. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. At first she was stiff, frozen. But she soon slowly melted into it. He pulled away with a barely noticeable smile. "No. I won't."

I can see the pain behind your eyes
It’s been there for quite awhile

Levi flicked his eyes away from his papers to the figure that sat on the windowsill. She had started to come more often. Helping him with his work, or just coming to talk and spend time. She still refused to accept any compliments, and blocked out any affectionate gestures. She seemed different, almost afraid.

And for some reason, Levi felt different too. Almost protective over this girl. He felt like he wanted to show her how much he actually loved her. How much he cared. How much he wanted to help her, to show her that love wasn't as bad as she thought. He wanted to be the one to make her smile, the one to brighten her day. She just didn't seem open to the idea.

I just wanna be the one to remind you what it is to smile
I would like to show you what true love can really do

Levi stood up and strode over to where she sat. He hesitated before setting a hand on her shoulder. She stiffened under his touch before relaxing and somewhat leaning into it. "I'm okay." She said, answering his unasked question as she turned her head to give him a halfhearted smile.

"What were you looking at?" He asked, nodding over to the window.

(f/n) gave him an actual grin and looked out past the glass. "The sky. It just looks so big, so welcoming, so... free. How far do you think the sky reaches out, Levi?" She asked, a dreamy expression on her face.

Levi stared at her for a bit longer. The way the sunlight made her skin glimmer, made her eyes twinkle like stars, made her hair shine. He finally tore his gaze away from her appearance and looked out the window. "As far as it wants to go." He said.

(f/n) elbowed him softly. "Give me a real answer, Levi." She said. He chuckled and crossed his arms.

"Farther than we can see while standing on the highest mountain." He said, sitting across from her on the windowsill. She turned and gave him an odd look with a small smile graced on her lips. She suddenly leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

Let me love you
And I will love you
Until you learn to love yourself.

Her eyes grew wide as she pulled away. Levi raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm sorry." She mumbled, looking down as a blush dusted her cheeks. Levi hummed softly at her actions and leaned towards her, cupping a cheek with his hand.

"There's nothing to be sorry of." He murmured, darting his gaze from her eyes to her lips.

"N-No, Levi..." She said, putting her hand atop his and sliding it off her cheek.

Levi sighed and gave her a small nod before leaning away. He had to respect her space, right? He can't force her to do anything she doesn't want to do. "Okay." He said softly.

Let me love you
A heart of numbness
Is brought to life
I’ll take you there

(f/n) gave him a look. It almost resembled longing. "Tell me what you're thinking." She said quietly.

Levi took a deep breath. "You need to give it a chance."

"I know. I'm just scared-"

"Scared of what? (f/n), I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. And I'm sure you're not going to die either, you're strong. There's nothing to be afraid of."

"I'm scared of this! I don't know what love is like, I don't know what to expect! I don't know if the feeling I get when you kiss me is good or not, I just don't know! I'm scared I'm not feeling the right thing."

Levi swiftly dove forward and pressed his lips against hers. She quickly responded by pressing back. He raised his hand to her cheek and softly caressed it with his thumb. Her hand hesitantly went up to the side of his neck, pressing him closer towards her. He pulled away enough for their eyes to lock. "Tell me how you feel now."

"I don't know how-"

"Just tell me what you're feeling. What you're seeing, what you're hearing."

Let me love you
And I will love you
Until you learn to love yourself.

She took a deep breath and glanced down. Her thumb idly stroked the nape of his neck. "I feel... Like I want to stay in this spot forever. Like, if I did stay in this spot, everything would be okay. I like the feeling of us being close. And... I see sparks, sort of. I see beautiful colors. And I hear my blood pumping in my ears, like I just ran five hundred laps."

She looked back up to gaze into his steely grey eyes. "Is that bad?"

Levi let a rare smile grace his lips. "No. That's perfect." He whispered. "You shouldn't be scared anymore."

She grinned and looked down. Levi kissed the top of her head. After a few moments of comfortable silence, she looked back up. "Levi?" She had an uncertain look in her eyes. He hummed in acknowledgement. "Is this what love feels like?"

He pecked her lips. "Yeah." He responded. She smiled and draped her arms around him, hugging him close. He was stiff for a moment before draping his arms about her waist.

Let me love you
I know your trouble
Don’t be afraid, oh, I can help

Description
Much as you blame yourself
You can’t be blamed for the way that you feel

A soft knocking interrupted the comfortable silence that settled in Levi's room. The man looked up from from the boring paperwork he had been holding off for quite a while, and stared at the wood. "Name and reasoning." He said bluntly.

"It's me, Levi." A soft voice spoke out. Levi raised an eyebrow in confusion. It was definitely her. But she never sounded this shy or quiet. She was lively and outgoing, not as much as Hanji but enough to not get on the man's nerves.

"Come in." He said. The doorknob turned slowly as the girl stepped in. Her (h/c) hair gleamed in the candlelight that illuminated the room. Her (e/c) eyes shone with an unidentifiable emotion. She closed the door behind her and faced the expressionless man.

Her lips parted and she took in a breath as if to speak, but choked on her words and left her mouth agape. She shut her mouth and took a breath through her nose. "We're friends, right?" She asked slowly, as if she wasn't certain of each and every word.

Levi was silent for a moment. "Yeah." He finally murmured.

"And... I can tell you anything, right?" She continued, moving over to his desk and sitting in the vacant chair.

"Yeah." He repeated, almost through a breath.

The girl wriggled in her chair for a few moments before taking in another breath. "I have this... strong feeling towards you. I don't know what it is, but... I like it, but I hate it. I don't know why and I don't know what it is. I just know that I want to be next to you all the time, but when I am next to you, I feel weird and I get nervous... Then I don't want to be with you because of how I feel. But when I'm away, I want to be with you and... " She trailed off as her eyes fixed themselves to the flickering candle.

Had no example of a love
That was even remotely real

Levi was quiet, trying to search her eyes for anything she could give away. "(f/n)... Tell me about your childhood."

Her gaze shifted over to his, her (e/c) eyes widening with the sudden question. "My father left my mother when I was born. And my mother took her anger out on me, or she was out getting drunk or having sex with one man after another. I spent most of my time with my friends, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin, but I never felt like I fit in." She sighed and looked down at her hands. "Why am I telling you this? You don't want to hear my life story..."

How can you understand something that you never had
If you let me I can help you out with all of that

Levi stood up from his seat and clamped his hands behind his back. "I think I understand what you're feeling." He said bluntly, walking around to the other side of the desk. Her gaze drifted from her hands up to his face. He held out his hand with an expectant look on his face. She took it gently, and stood up so they were facing each other.

"You do?" She asked softly, furrowing her brows in confusion.

Levi held onto her hand tightly as he drifted his other hand over to latch onto hers. "Yes. You've lived a life without love, so you're unfamiliar with the feeling it brings. You're also unsure if it's a good or bad thing. It's both. It's good because you feel happy, but it's bad because something can come in to destroy it. And if something does destroy it, you'll feel broken."

The (e/c)-eyed girl gazed into Levi's steely grey eyes. "So... you're saying that I'm in love with you?" She asked. Levi shrugged. The girl quickly drew away and ran a hand through her hair. "No, no, no, I told myself I couldn't let this happen..." She murmured, more to herself that to him. She turned so her back was facing him as she continued mumbling to herself.

"Is there a problem?" He asked, crossing his arms.

She turned around and gave him an exasperated look. "Of course there is! I can't let myself fall in love! All it brings is a broken heart and disappointment. And-and why would you ever be interested in me? No one likes me, I don't even like myself! And, you're... You're you! The strong Levi, Humanities Strongest Soldier! As if you'd even consider a pathetic idiot like me!"

Let me love you
And I will love you
Until you learn to love yourself.

Levi quickly stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. She gripped onto his shirt and took a few deep breaths. "Why wouldn't I consider a girl like you? You're brave, intelligent, beautiful-"

"Shut up."

Levi was quiet at the harshness in her tone. He parted his lips to throw back a retort, but she beat him to it. "I'm none of those things. And I don't want anyone to love me anyway. It's scary. It could break at any moment, like you said. It's better just to be alone so no one can hurt you, and so you can't hurt anyone."

Let me love you
I know your trouble
Don’t be afraid, oh, I can help

Levi sighed and pulled away enough to see her face. "Love isn't so bad." He said.

"How would you know?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She was silent. Levi contemplated for a moment on what to say. "I don't know." He finally murmured. He inhaled deeply and looked off to the side. "I don't want you to deny this, but I've had the same feelings towards you."

"No-"

"I said to not deny." He cut in sharply. He took another deep breath. "Let me love you. Accept it. I'll show you that it's a good thing."

"But you said-"

"I know what I said." He said, placing a finger over her lips and turning his face to lock his gaze with hers. "Love can be a bad thing. It can, but it's not always a bad thing. It's a good thing. Let me love you, and I'll prove it."

Let me love you
And I will love you
Until you learn to love yourself.

(f/n) let out a small huff. "I don't believe you can be romantic." She mumbled, staring down at the finger that was still pressed over her soft lips, causing her eyes to cross.

"Don't act so darkly. My job is to pull you out of that and brighten it." He said bluntly, trying to avoid smiling at her adorable actions.

Let me love you
A heart of numbness
Gets brought to life
I’ll take you there

She sighed. "Okay." She finally said. "I just... don't want to hurt you."

Levi let a small smirk adorn his features. "You won't."

"Will you hurt me?" She asked.

He sighed and let his hand drift over to cup her cheek. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. At first she was stiff, frozen. But she soon slowly melted into it. He pulled away with a barely noticeable smile. "No. I won't."

I can see the pain behind your eyes
It’s been there for quite awhile

Levi flicked his eyes away from his papers to the figure that sat on the windowsill. She had started to come more often. Helping him with his work, or just coming to talk and spend time. She still refused to accept any compliments, and blocked out any affectionate gestures. She seemed different, almost afraid.

And for some reason, Levi felt different too. Almost protective over this girl. He felt like he wanted to show her how much he actually loved her. How much he cared. How much he wanted to help her, to show her that love wasn't as bad as she thought. He wanted to be the one to make her smile, the one to brighten her day. She just didn't seem open to the idea.

I just wanna be the one to remind you what it is to smile
I would like to show you what true love can really do

Levi stood up and strode over to where she sat. He hesitated before setting a hand on her shoulder. She stiffened under his touch before relaxing and somewhat leaning into it. "I'm okay." She said, answering his unasked question as she turned her head to give him a halfhearted smile.

"What were you looking at?" He asked, nodding over to the window.

(f/n) gave him an actual grin and looked out past the glass. "The sky. It just looks so big, so welcoming, so... free. How far do you think the sky reaches out, Levi?" She asked, a dreamy expression on her face.

Levi stared at her for a bit longer. The way the sunlight made her skin glimmer, made her eyes twinkle like stars, made her hair shine. He finally tore his gaze away from her appearance and looked out the window. "As far as it wants to go." He said.

(f/n) elbowed him softly. "Give me a real answer, Levi." She said. He chuckled and crossed his arms.

"Farther than we can see while standing on the highest mountain." He said, sitting across from her on the windowsill. She turned and gave him an odd look with a small smile graced on her lips. She suddenly leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

Let me love you
And I will love you
Until you learn to love yourself.

Her eyes grew wide as she pulled away. Levi raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm sorry." She mumbled, looking down as a blush dusted her cheeks. Levi hummed softly at her actions and leaned towards her, cupping a cheek with his hand.

"There's nothing to be sorry of." He murmured, darting his gaze from her eyes to her lips.

"N-No, Levi..." She said, putting her hand atop his and sliding it off her cheek.

Levi sighed and gave her a small nod before leaning away. He had to respect her space, right? He can't force her to do anything she doesn't want to do. "Okay." He said softly.

Let me love you
A heart of numbness
Is brought to life
I’ll take you there

(f/n) gave him a look. It almost resembled longing. "Tell me what you're thinking." She said quietly.

Levi took a deep breath. "You need to give it a chance."

"I know. I'm just scared-"

"Scared of what? (f/n), I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. And I'm sure you're not going to die either, you're strong. There's nothing to be afraid of."

"I'm scared of this! I don't know what love is like, I don't know what to expect! I don't know if the feeling I get when you kiss me is good or not, I just don't know! I'm scared I'm not feeling the right thing."

Levi swiftly dove forward and pressed his lips against hers. She quickly responded by pressing back. He raised his hand to her cheek and softly caressed it with his thumb. Her hand hesitantly went up to the side of his neck, pressing him closer towards her. He pulled away enough for their eyes to lock. "Tell me how you feel now."

"I don't know how-"

"Just tell me what you're feeling. What you're seeing, what you're hearing."

Let me love you
And I will love you
Until you learn to love yourself.

She took a deep breath and glanced down. Her thumb idly stroked the nape of his neck. "I feel... Like I want to stay in this spot forever. Like, if I did stay in this spot, everything would be okay. I like the feeling of us being close. And... I see sparks, sort of. I see beautiful colors. And I hear my blood pumping in my ears, like I just ran five hundred laps."

She looked back up to gaze into his steely grey eyes. "Is that bad?"

Levi let a rare smile grace his lips. "No. That's perfect." He whispered. "You shouldn't be scared anymore."

She grinned and looked down. Levi kissed the top of her head. After a few moments of comfortable silence, she looked back up. "Levi?" She had an uncertain look in her eyes. He hummed in acknowledgement. "Is this what love feels like?"

He pecked her lips. "Yeah." He responded. She smiled and draped her arms around him, hugging him close. He was stiff for a moment before draping his arms about her waist.

Let me love you
I know your trouble
Don’t be afraid, oh, I can help