#i also believe that levi would rather die than admit he's in love with you | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

shotofire · 3 years

Text

Butler

Levi Ackerman x F!Reader

Overview: Levi is a butler for your family, and you can’t help but fancy him

Warnings: Cursing, pushy parents, angst, smut, fingering, oral (female receiving), unprotected sex, creampie, age gap (legal of course), that filthy talk (mild), hair pulling, slight choking

Requested by @heyyharuhi (thank you for this request, as soon as i read the idea i started on it)

Okay, i’m going to admit.... i’m too lazy to proof read this. Work is kicking my ass and i just want to sleep. hopefully i didn’t fuck up too bad. I tend to type faster than my mind is thinking... so i apologize in advance for the typos. enjoy :)

The room is hot, almost enough to make ones skin feel as if it’s on fire. Maybe that had to do with the anger everyone at the dinner table is feeling. The scrunching face of your father and mother as the look of disbelief is spread across their features. Not to mention how silent it is, so uncomfortably silent. The sound of your fork scraping across the table is all that can be heard.

Your father takes in a deep breath, eyes closing in utter frustration. “Tell me again why you don’t like this boy? He’s taken you out to dinner several times now, and has been very kind to our family,” you can only roll your eyes at your fathers words. All they care about is setting you up with a wealthy stuck up man, not someone who will bring happiness. “And every time he flirted with the waitress,” you snap, “also, he has horrible manners.”

It’s sad the situation you’re in, really. This has been going in the family for years, the children not getting to choose who they marry. Of course they could’ve rejected and rejected until their parents gave up, but no one has been able to push through. Your mother is a perfect example with having to marry your father. A stuck up man who you’ve never even seen smile at your mother, it’s saddening. “The man has money, lots of it, and you know how much we’re struggling right now,” your mother says with the same look of disbelief.

The double doors to the dining room swing open, making the conversation come to a pause. There he stood, your butler, with a tray of freshly poured drinks. He has the same expressionless look as always as he strides over to the table setting each cup down. As his body stands close to yours, you can’t help but take in how good he smells. Yes it may come off as creepy, but you’d never encountered a man who smelled so fresh. Like a flower garden.

“Thank you, Levi,” you say with a small smile. Your parents never thank him or even acknowledge him and it pisses you off. The man must be in a horrible situation financially if he’s willing to put up with your parents. They always complain about money yet have maids, chefs, and butlers. As if they can’t do anything for themselves. Levi nods at you with a small smirk in reply before exciting the room.

The rest of dinner goes in, filled with arguments and insults. Just a regular night in this family. It’s frustrating, really, how your parents only care about money. They don’t even care for you, or even themselves. All the two want is to appear rich to everyone else. It’s all about image, that’s it. Why care about those things when you can have love and happiness? That’s all you’ve ever wanted.

Since you were a teen, your parents have been shoving stuck up boy after stuck up boy in your direction. Each one has bragged about their live’s, and how women love them. None have even bothered to ask you a personal question. To get to know you in anyway. Each one saw women as a pretty thing to wear on their arms for public gatherings. And any other time you’d just be seen as another maid to them, it’s the sad truth.

Women are pushed around by men, especially in this life style. All that matters is money and looks. Love won’t get your name respected by others, that’s the power of money. The people you call your parents have never been affectionate towards one another, not that you’ve ever witnessed. It’s not wonder they only ended up having one child. Usually by this age, in your family at least, people are married. Some even have a kid of their own on the way. But you just keep rebelling until they give up, that’s what you’re hoping for.

It’s late now and the hallways are dimly lit, not a sound to be heard. At times like this your mind wanders. Thinking about Levi, which isn’t a good idea. Sure he’s really good looking, but there’s no way he could be interested. When he’d first started coming around, a few months ago, you immediately wanted to get closer to him. Then you learned of his age which was something you definitely weren’t expecting. The man looked around the same age as you.

The sound of a faint hum can be heard from down the hall. It sounds like it’s coming from the living area. As you round the corner you see him standing there. Levi sat on the couch with a book perched in his hands, the lamp lit up next to him. His eyes move to your frame and jumps at your presence. The maids and butlers have their own area of the home to stay in during the night, which is really shitty may you add. He shouldn’t be here during this time. If your parents were to see him there they’d throw a fit.

Before he could react you’re walking towards him, sitting next to him on the red sofa. “What are you reading?” Levi is at a loss for words, really, this has his heart racing. Yet he manages to choke out, “Just some cheap poetry book.” The two of you had only talked a handful of times, and it was never real conversation. The man has always found you beautiful and can’t believe you haven’t gotten married yet. “Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” You ask and he lets out a small laugh, “Couldn��t you ask yourself that?”

Levi feels his chest tighten as you move closer to him, looking at the pages of his book. This whole things was off to him. The man had never seen you in anything but a dress, yet here you were in nothing but a shirt and shorts. He always imagined you to sleep in some sort of fancy silk nightgown. And yes, he thinks about what you wear to bed. He has scolded himself for where his mind has gone to thinking about you, but he can’t help himself. You’ve always been so kind to him.

“You should let me borrow this book sometime,” you say with a small smile. You’re inches away from his face now, eyes peering into one another’s. “Of course,” he gulps. The room fell silent. He isn’t sure if he is reading this moment correctly. One thing he is sure of is he’s definitely not the type of man you need to get caught up with. As this thought crosses his mind he’s quick to stand up off the sofa. “It’s getting late, I should get to bed.” Before you can say a word, he’s walking out of the room.

Complete and utter failure. That was your chance to get closer to him and you ended up scaring him off. Did you come across too forward? Sure you’d gotten rather close to him but you didn’t that that was too far. Was it? You let out a loud huff before falling face first into a pillow, groaning into it.

You were just a young girl who couldn’t decide her future, what could you possibly offer him? He’s older and has his shit figured out, it seems like it at least. As you mentally scold yourself for embarrassing yourself, Levi is in his room doing the same exact thing. He has found you breathtaking from day one and constantly wanted to get to know you. Then the moment you two are alone he panicked.

The man is grown, almost forty, and has been with countless women. Not to brag, he’s just never been one for settling. Then here comes a girl, younger and less experienced than him yet he’s the one choking up. Maybe it was the thought of your parents finding out that got the best of him. They may actually die of shock if they knew you even talked to him in the way you did, in your sweet voice. Or worse, they’d kill Levi themselves.

The next day rolls around, then the next, and so on. It seems like Levi is avoiding you to the furthest extent that he can and it’s really pissing you off. You don’t think he’s required to like you, but you’re still kind to him. You still try and brighten his day with a smile or a simple, “how are you?” Yet he won’t even stick around long enough for you to ask. Did you make him that uncomfortable? You’d rather hear him reject you then have this awkwardness floating in the air.

Knowing that you could’ve possibly made him feel uncomfortable really started to eat at your conscious. For awhile you stopped wandering the halls at night searching for him. Most of the times, after the first encounter, he’d hurry off at the first sight of you. Even through all of this your desire for him only seems to grow more intense.

Why did he have to be so damn attractive?

You lay in your bed, looking up at the ceiling. Levi is the only thing on your mind. It’s hard to not wonder what he’s doing on late nights like this. On a Sunday, your parents off doing business in town. No one here to boss him or the other workers around.Maybe he got scared off thinking of your parents catching you two so close that night, of course that’s something you keep telling yourself.

Being stuck in your home not allowed anywhere always eats away at you. Being here wasn’t something you enjoyed any day, but actually being told you can’t leave makes you feel crazy. When your parents are away they think the maids and butlers are going to pocket the entire house and run off. But you know each staff member well enough to come to the conclusion that they’d never do such a thing. If only your parents would listen to you when saying this, maybe you wouldn’t be trapped in here.

When they’re off doing business or whatnot, the staff takes that as their full opportunity to get some good sleep. Just be able to relax. Your parents always have them on the go it seems, until the sun goes down. Sometimes, most of the time, even later than that. They’ll see a book out of place and call for a maid instead of doing it themselves.

The staff has always been fond of you from the beginning. Some of the older maids watched you as a little girl. You’d always beg them to help clean or just be around them. As you grew older, you stopped asking to help and went ahead and did it anyway. If you notice they happen to miss something, which is rare, you’ll grab a duster or a broom and finish the job. It breaks your heart when your parents treat them to harshly.

That’s one of the many reasons Levi is so fond of you. Even after being raised by such pigs you still managed to be your own person. To be kind. He’d worked for other wealthy families in the past and usually every member was horrid, and treated him like dirt. Then he came here and met you, a sweet girl who loves to help.

Levi remembers when he was first joined the staff at your home. It was very hectic. He didn’t expect your parents to need such assistance. Usually families would try and do some things for themselves, but no. It seems your parents need their hands held constantly like children. It was a lot to handle at once, but you made it easier for him.

You helped him set appointments, organize, or any other unpredictable needs. He didn’t talk much, but he still made it very apparent that he appreciated all of your help. Moments like those were when you would look at him and just be in awe of his beauty. To you he was like a prince. So charming and kind, his looks are just a bonus.

You find yourself rising to your feet and leaving your room. The sun has already set and the stars are lighting up the sky. Your home is quiet now, somewhat peaceful without your parents. Without thinking, you’re in the hall walking through the darkness. Your fingers trace along the wall as your toes gently push into the carpet. You’d hate to wake anyone up this late.

As if your body knows something before you do, your stomach begins to have slight butterflies before rounding the corner into the living area. Would Levi even be up this late? it’s much later than the times he’s usually out here reading. As you turn the corner your eyes land on him and you take a silent breath, that you can’t help but hold onto for a second longer.

On the sofa sits Levi. His hair is clutched between a few of his fingers as his eyes squint at the book he’s reading, almost frustrated it seems. Instead of saying anything and scaring him off you swiftly walk to him and sit yourself down. He lets out a small, ‘ah’ at your presence, not expecting you, and you can’t help but let out a small giggle at his reaction.

“What? Not happy to see me?” The sweet smile on your face makes a blush rise to his cheeks. Of course he’s happy to see you, even if he can be complicated sometimes. “Uh, no. Not that, just didn’t expect you up so late.” That’s truly what it is. He came out here with a full expectation that you, and everyone else, would be fast asleep. “I guess we’re both night people, huh?” You shove at him lightly with your arm and he smirks.

There’s a silence that falls over you two, but it’s not uncomfortable. You can’t help but move a bit closer to him, the situation feeling all too familiar. This time Levi isn’t tensing up, or moving away. If anything, you’re pretty sure he moves closer to you ass well. “What are you reading this time?” Your sweet voice makes him shiver.

His eyes scan over your features, sticking to your lips for a little too long. This doesn’t go unnoticed by you. “Just some romance novel I picked up, it’s sorta frustrating to read.” “How so?” Your eyes sparkle in interest. Your bodies are so close, just the side of your leg pressed up against his has his heart racing. That and the fact you look beautiful right now.

“They both like each other and won’t act upon it, and it just keeps getting drawn out. All it is is boring conversation and hearing their thoughts. They should just kiss already.” He watches as your face moves closer to his, lip sinking into your bottom lip. “I think they should just kiss already, too.”

That’s all it takes for Levi to close the gap in-between you two. Your arms come up to wrap around his neck, while his hands have already started grabbing at your waist. His touch sends electricity through you. You’d only been with a few men, and Levi was already making you feel a knot in your stomach that you’d never felt before. It was a good feeling.

A feeling of excitement.

One of his, rather big, hands trail up your spine causing you to shiver at his touch. The hand goes all the way up until it reaches the base of your neck, tangling in your hair. You can’t stop yourself from moaning into the bruising kiss as his fingers tug at your locks. He smirks, and you feel it. His other hand squeezes your thigh, sending a jolt right to your heat.

Levi pulls back to examine your face, rosy cheeks and eyes half open. “Fuck, you’re breathtaking,” he cursed before diving back in. This time his lips are attack your neck, nibbling and licking as you let out high pitched sighs.

This is all happening so fast, but you love it. There is so much built up tension between the two of you and it’s all coming out. You can’t stop yourself from tugging at his shirt, a whine falls from your lips. There’s no telling how many times you’ve dreamed of seeing this man without a shirt on. He follows your complies and pulls the shirt over his head, exposing the pure glory beneath. Yes, glory.

You stare for a good moment. He’s so fit, more than you imagined. “Like what you see?” He teases with a cocky smile. “More than like, I could look at you all day.” The blush that spreads across his face doesn’t go unnoticed by you. He looks into your eyes and his hands snake under your shirt, slightly pushing you backwards until your back meets the sofa. He’s above you now, with a shit-eating grin.

When his fingers make contact with your chest he can’t help but bite his lip. You don’t have a bra on. “Do you want me as much as I want you?” You’re about to answer his question, but his fingers brush against your nipples. The action makes you let out a soft gasp at the feeling. “What was that?” He asks with that same cocky smirk, “Use your words princess.”

The pet name just sends you for another loop. “Yes,” you manage to get out, “I want you.” He presses his lips to yours, then your neck again, before discarding of your shirt. His soft lips trace down you stomach with light feathery kisses, making your breathing become uneven. His fingers loop in the waist ban of your shorts before pulling them down your legs, tossing them in some random direction.

Everything happening has your head spinning. In the best way possible, of course. His mouth is hovering about your clothes core now, it’s enough to drive you mad. Your excitement is visible on your underwear. “So wet,” he coos, his breath fanning against you. He takes off the last item on your body, leaving you bare.

For a second you want to close your legs when the shyness kicks in, but Levi acts quick. His lips attack to your clit in an instant, and your fingers fly to his hair. Tangling and pushing him closer into you. His mouth is like magic. “Fuck-“ you cut yourself off with a moan. His tongue moves up and down your slit, circling your clit. Your eyes practically roll into the back of your head.

His finger comes up to circle your entrance before pushing its way in. The way he’s working with his mouth and fingers had you seeing stars. “I’m gonna-“ right before you finish he completed stops his actions. Of course he just had to be a little shit.

“You’re going to come on my cock,” he says with a smile. Just his words alone have your stomach turning. He lines himself up with you before pushing forward slowly. You hiss at the pain, never ever have you been with someone this big. He halts his actions at the sound you make, but you’re quick to beg for me. “No, keep going, please don’t stop!”

He slams into you and you hold back a scream. The pain quickly turns into pleasure as his hips start to slam into yours. “How does that feel princess?” Him and that damn pet name again. “So, So good,” you manage to get out. Unexpectedly, his hand comes up to wrap around your throat, pressing lightly. Your eyes just about light up when he brushes against that spot.

He must of saw the sparkle in your eyes, so he does the same movement. Over, over, and over again. It doesn’t take long before you’re coming undone around him, shaking and vision blurring. His movements continue until he’s coming inside of you, deep grunts escaping his mouth. The only sound is heavy breathing as Levi lays on top of your chest.

“Do you want to go to my room and cuddle?”

Levi looks at you with a childish grin. “of course.”

681 notes · View notes

still-a-morosexual-help · 2 years

Note

Out of all the characters we have so far, (the brothers and the main five (also known as the dateables)), who do you think needs the most chara. development?

(Personally, I think that Asmo/Beel need the most out of the brothers, and Barbatos needs more. Not the most, just more.)

In addition to that, which of the new characters will have the most plot focus in S4? TBH, I think it'll be Raph, then 13 and Mephisto will share a spot (or something like that).

So, what do you think? Ramble as much as you need, it's fun to see your thoughts.

Sadly with no pink in this ask,

Lesson 46 Anon

(P.S. What was your favorite part in each season so far? I'll tell mine if you'd like.)

1.) Definitely Asmo, I think! We always get so little development for him, the only thing we got was the story about how he met Solomon but even then the story was more for Solomon's development than it was for Asmo's.

Beel doesn't get much either but I think S3 gave him more than S2, with the way they spoke about why he's so loyal to Lucifer

With Barbatos, I feel like we're being deliberately left in the dark and fed little titbits of information - and that's why he refuses to answer questions even though MC can directly ask him things. And it makes sense that he doesn't answer them cause he's nowhere near as close to them as any of the other characters are. But I think in due time they'll develop him more

2.) Raphael! They teased him a lot in S3 and there are so many questions surrounding him PLUS he's already deeply connected to questions about Simeon, Michael, the brothers and the Celestial Realm - which I feel will all be big plot points

13 might get the second place of importance cause they could be tied to questions about Solomon's past which was teased at in S3 and which may also be a big plot point

Ahhhh thank you😂 I don't know what significance the colours have for you but can I give you some pink instead? -> Hi! Thank you for coming and talking to me <3

P.S. I'm only answering this part on the promise that you answer it back

....by now you should know most of this parts are about Mammon...

They're not so much my favourite - rather they are parts that make me genuinely emotional

Season 1

•Right after Mammon & MC make a pact and they're somewhere between enemies and friends. Where Mammon's starting to feel just the beginnings of a crush. Just the moment from when the day after they made the pact with him to MC promising to die if Mammon isn't able to save them next time

•Mammon yelling at MC to not joke about dying in one timeline and then sobbing over their dead body in the other timeline

Season 2

•Lucifer giving MC a key to the HoL

• When MC more or less tells Mammon, both their entire lives would be easier if he just admitted that he was in love with them

•There are so many amazing Mammon & MC moments in S2 and I can't list them all but pls know they're all added here

•The brothers and MC each giving a part of their soul to save Beel

•Mammon saying that not having a pact with MC won't change their relationship and then initiating a hug with MC and MC thinking that they could feel the bond between the two of them grow stronger

•Levi worrying that Lucifer might be happier without his memories and Mammon telling him that Lucifer loves his brothers too much to be genuinely happy in a world where he can't remember them

•Lucifer asking MC to kill him

•Lucifer helping the brothers and MC run away and then promising them that this time he won't let them be apart for long

Season 3

•Mammon carrying Luke, while standing on the roof of a moving train, and showing him the stars

•Mammon getting offended when MC teases him about loving Lucifer, cause of course he loves him!

•Lucifer buying the train tickets for Mammon even after saying he wouldn't and Mammon running and jumping onto Lucifer and hugging him while Lucifer was in the shower, and continuing to cling on no matter how much Lucifer yelled

•Lucifer believing none of his brothers love him

•MC & Satan holding hands and sitting in silence when Satan was upset

•Simeon talking to the hallucination angel Lucifer and being sad and Lucifer saying that things will be the same forever and Simeon saying that won't be possible

•MC & Satan immediately fitting in with the brothers when they were angels as if they were always meant to be part of the family

• MC & Diavolo getting pissed and defending Belphie from the kidnapper

•Levi who thinks he's worthless and Diavolo who is just so heartbreakingly alone becoming friends

•The entirety of the two "Greatest Fear" lessons - specifically Beel, Belphie, Satan, Lucifer & Simeon's greatest fears

Ik you probably only wanted one part per lesson but I couldn't help myself, I really can't choose just one thing

68 notes · View notes

vrisrezis · 3 years

Text

aot characters having a crush + dating hcs (havent proof read sorry for any mistakes)

- she understands that there’s something that draws you to her, however doesn’t fully understand what it is at first

- it’s enough to make her be more interested in you rather than the yeagers

- she believes that it might be your strength that’s overwhelming (and if you have overwhelming strength she is convinced that’s what it is for awhile)

- it is until she sees how Niccolo and Sasha are with eachother does she actually realize that what she feels is love and attraction towards you

- upon realizing this, doesn’t know what to do at first

- she was originally professional, but often kept to your side and felt an odd protectiveness admiration towards you

- now, she was much more casual and more flirtatious

- while acting confident around you, she secretly got butterflies.. you made her ... nervous ..

- nonetheless flirting with you is often, sometimes going as far as to kiss your hand

- she wants to properly court you and get you to return her feelings. She’d feel really bad if you never felt the same. Especially since she isn’t as used to the feeling

- it takes a long time for her to finally ask you out officially, but she does and is pleased by your answer

- however being with yelena isn’t easy, she isn’t one to follow you around like a lost puppy

- she had her motivations, she’s a yeagerist. If you’re not okay with that she isn’t gonna care enough to bother to stay along.

- she feels bad of course, she loves you after all but still

- if she ever had to go against you it hurt her but she would also understand it just needs to be done

- when that mess is over though she is fine with just sticking by your side

- or if you join her it just makes your relationship stronger and better

- doesn’t like pda cuz people might think she’s weak but she’s very soft when you guys are alone though

- lots of smooches from her

- she loves to tease you as well, she can’t help it though..

- she says you’re just so cute she has to bully you a little (more like a lot)

- secretly wants you two to get married so one day she will purpose be prepared for it

- she knows it’s stupid but hey... she has some hope

- secretly feels lucky to be with you even if she doesn’t say it

- doesn’t say that she loves you as often as she’d like, which she feels bad for deep down

- she doesn’t always know how to be vulnerable and express herself, while yes it does happen it takes time

- in a way you are her safe space and you make her calmer

- in a way, you were her hope and her god more than zeke ever was.. and that’s because you allowed to her to feel freedom, to feel love and to feel being loved, you’re more of a god to her now more than .. anyone else

- so maybe she tends to be a bit too protective, and maybe she tends to be very short with others that wanna talk to you because she wants your attention, aaaand maybe she tends to go overboard for you because she believes you saved her...

- so maybe she shows she loves you through actions rather than words

(While I don’t like her in the romantic sense she is my second best girl so I felt it was almost necessary)

- having a crush is always complicated, especially when you’re a kid.

- when you’re a kid as stubborn and prideful as gabi though, it’s even more complicated.

- she doesn’t even realize she likes you either, she’s too into her own head. Too overconfident to think about other people and especially in that way .. she’s oblivious, even to her own emotions

- she can’t help but wanna be around you all the time though, that’s something not even she can ignore

- she tries to impress you often, she will do the dumbest shit just to get you to pay attention to her in some way

- she works harder than normal, falco notices that immediately and catches onto what’s going on

- she tries to act tougher around you, just better in general

- she gets protective of you, when she does something stupid and you follow along she gets really angry and doesn’t understand why

- eventually after a talk with falco, she realizes (finally) that she likes you but never knows how to approach something like that

- eventually works up to the courage to tell you how she really feels about you but it’s really rushed

- is very happy when you guys start dating though

- doesn’t know how relationships should go.. important to keep in mind it’s her first relationship and you guys are just kids

- everyone likes you guys together though

- often grabs your hand, as her way of trying to keep you protected

- she hates getting you involved in her messes but it happens very often and she feels bad about it like everytime

- the first time you kissed she was a blushy mess wow

- yeah you’re the only one that’ll make her so flustered like that

- and it’s easy too, all you gotta do is kiss her cheek, or hand, and she loses it

- she lets you do her hair every morning, ah so today you decided to do her normal look? With the ponytail with some hair down? Or maybe a full on ponytail? Or maybe a little braid, or maybe just leaving her hair down for the day? Yeah who knows! Really she doesn’t care you do her hair everyday now

- speaking of which likes you playing with her hair even if she doesn’t admit it or say much about it

- hugs are often from her but usually when nobody’s around, she’s been through a lot... especially for a 12 year old.. (probably you too), just hug it out y’all

- she has a problem saying that she loves you, not that she doesn’t but she feels almost scared to say it.. like maybe you don’t love her and just like her

- after all, you guys are young.. how would you even know what romantic love is?

- but deep down you both know that nobody else would ever in a million years make you guys feel how you two feel about eachother

- on multiple occasions thought of leaving this all behind with you and falco and just living in a forest or something together but she knows she wouldn’t be happy that way

- she was meant to fight, but she and you make a promise to try not to die in this shitty war

- she will brag about how amazing of a girlfriend she is, but also brag about how you’re a wonderful s/o and how everyone should be jealous of how happy she is

- you know how she screamed while those mfs were getting trampled? Yeah if anyone were to hurt you she screams that kinda crazy ...

- she’s just extremely protective and really doesn’t wanna lose you too:( she’s lost some close friends and she’s scared of losing you as well

- kinda just always sticks to you like glue

- Levi just refers to you as the brats s/o

- real talk though Sasha would’ve adored you guys and been your biggest shipper

- gabi gets embarrassed if anyone says how cute you guys are

( not interested in him romantically either but he is a fav)

- falco realizes quite quickly that he likes you, gabi loves to constantly remind him and tease him to hell about it which is so annoying to him ...

- while he worries about you .. way too often.. if you ever wanted to become a titan he is doing everything he can to make sure it doesn’t happen

- he is extremely blushy and flustered around you like at all times

- he can’t say for certain he’s in love, after all he’s a kid and he knows at that age he has no idea what that shit is but at the same time he’s never felt this way for anyone in his life and he doesn’t think he ever will

- protective of you, especially in battles. Would not hesitate to jump in front of you to save you and take any hits he can for you. He does this for gabi and still does. He’s a protective guy when it comes to you two

- he lacks the confidence to tell you how he feels, he is extremely shy with you

- eventually gabi eggs him on so much that he’s basically forced to ask you out

- he’s relieved you say yes

- he’s even more blushy around you though, and ends up panicking because he’s not sure how he should be around you..

- should he act different? Or the same? Yeah you get it

- he loves holding your hand though, while it does make him die on the inside it makes him happy and warm

- hug him and he will die

- kiss him and he will die like 10 times over

- seriously this boy can’t handle affection without having like a heart attack or something

- gabi just thinks it’s so hilarious

- sometimes gabi purposelessly gets you guys to kiss so he can just die

- he’s an awkward boy but he loves you ... yes he loves you

- he’s way too scared to say it though, what if it’s too soon, what if you laugh, etc.

- will genuinely get mad in a relationship now though if you still wanna be a titan.. before he kept it to himself but he believes he deserves a say now that you’re dating and really hates the idea of your life being shortened

- eventually he admits he loves you, he wants you to live a long life, he wanted you guys to get married someday

- he would have dreams, fantasies, about you guys getting married.. even before you were dating

- it’s how he realized his feelings

- he would have dreams about you all the time

- now he still does, but he can just visit you at night and be by your side

- if he can, he’d like to buy you things and overall spoil you

- or try to take you out on dates as often as he could

- everyone knew about his crush though if we’re being honest he is obvious as fuck

- he would be too shy to hug you, but secretly wants a big hug from you give him a hug you both have been through it

- secretly a clingy boy don’t comment on it he will die

- he just wants to keep you safe and protect you please let him protect you

- she’s a bit of a tsundere let’s be real! She can be a bit mean at times and brush you off

- or just relentlessly tease you

- however she cares about you, she wanted you to live a long life and not get yourself involved in this fucked up shit

- that’s why she for the longest time wanted you in the military police

- and why it’s so obvious to everyone else that she likes you

- she eventually admits her feelings thanks to marlo and she is forever grateful to him for it even after him being gone

- hand holding is often, and gives you a big kiss on the cheek usually

- she’s not shy about her relationship, she wants everyone to know. She doesn’t see it as weakness

- besides she lost an important friend, she wants you to know you’re important to her and that she isn’t ashamed of you or to be with you.

- enjoys teasing you in general, sometimes will tease and call you a perv even if you’re so obviously not being one she loves to embarrass you

- often feels worried whenever she can’t be with you

- she often freaks herself out and thinks something bad might’ve happened to you

- she always tries to be respectful of you and your boundaries, while this is a normal thing to do she really gets worried about overstepping ever and will apologize even when she doesn’t have to

- something about you just makes her more soft and more worried she’s doing something bad or wrong

- protective gal that will kick anybody’s ass for you to keep you safe

- in the world you live in though, kinda necessary isn’t it?

- she tries to take you on dates and even if it isn’t always a common occurrence she tries her best

- kinda wants to baby you sometimes but she also knows how annoyed she’d be if you did so

- she just cannot help but act like a mom sometimes to you, especially if you don’t know how to take care of yourself

- now that you’re dating flirting with you is quite common, she likes to flirt !

- especially if it makes you flustered, all of a sudden she’s a huge flirt now

- overall you make her nervous and flustered, so she wants you to feel the same

- totally used to gush about you to like Annie before you guys started dating, she couldn’t help it! Thankfully Annie found it amusing

- still even after all these years swoons over you like damn how are you so attractive

- still tries to convince you to stop fighting within the survey corps if she can but she knows she can’t at this point with how long it’s been going on you’ve clearly had your mind made up for awhile now

- she wants to start a family with you but doesn’t know how to tell you

- honestly just wants a normal life with you she loves you so much

- (btw, y’all end up having kids named Sasha and marlo <//3)

- she hates the idea of you dying it’s something she thinks about extremely often and she gets nightmares

- she tries to keep that from you, honestly she tries to make herself look strong in front of you like all the time

- she eventually opens up doe

- give her cuddles and hugs ;( plz

- oohhh boy here we go

- if falco was bad enough well here’s armin

- motherfucker dies if you even look his way

- he’s so blushy and so nervous, he cannot help it

- he would eventually get comfortable around you though, and would often talk to you about the sea and things he wanted to explore with you together

- or read books for you to fall asleep to

- it made him happy when you did though, it meant you were comfortable enough to fall asleep around him

- if you ever teased him he wouldn’t know what to say and would just stutter and not get his words out

- in general stutters around you from time to time he can’t help it you make him so nervous

- he told you how he felt of course because of mikasa and eren

- when you guys started dating though, he still didn’t know how to go about romance as it was entirely new to him.

- in a relationship? Not a protective guy let’s be real you’re the one protecting him half the time and he always feels embarrassed about it

- he gets worried easily though, if you’re fighting and tend to be reckless.. it’s easy to be overprotective of a rather weak boy so it’s likely he’s constantly worrying about you .. yeah

- more courage now that you’re dating so if you tease him he may stutter but at least he’ll try to defend himself a bit better

- loves giving you cheek kisses

- shy boy is not for pda but if you wanted it who is he to deny

- likes holding your hand, loves when you hold his hand... man he just loves you so much please

- he probably spent a lot of time talking about you to Annie

- he’s thought about starting a family with you but truly cannot bring himself to talk to you about it, in the world you’re in and the place he holds .. he will just have to wait

- while a smart person, you are somebody he will go to for advice from time to time

- mostly though, he wants to be somebody you can rely on

- spoils you, my god he is such a simp he can’t help but spoil you

- sometimes you’re a distraction he will just stare at you and when he gets caught he’s so embarrassed

- like armin is so obviously in love with you wtf

- he likes being hugged a lot

- often lays his head on your lap and falls asleep he finds it calming

- he’s very sweet, and calls you sweetheart or honey

- he likes to just remind you how much he loves and cares for you, he never wants you to forget.. even if it makes him blushy and embarrassed

- hitch totally teases him about how lame and mushy he can be when it comes to you

- you’re his biggest motivation to finish this war for good

- also he is quite insecure in a relationship but he’s generally insecure asf just reassure him <//3

- what a sweet gal! She loves spending time with you, talking to you about random shit like how your day was and whatnot

- sometimes complains to you about how tough the day was or how hard Levi made her work lol

- or about all the cleaning

- she tells eren about you quite often and even somebody as dumb as eren catches onto her feelings for you

- she’s aware of her feelings.. or eventually becomes aware of them

- she’s not sure initially what to do with them, she’s young but she’s not an idiot and she understands that loving somebody in this line of work isn’t ideal

- she hasn’t truly experienced what others have though, she doesn’t understand the full extent

- so she allows herself to selfishly tell you how she feels

- she’s glad you return them, and if you weren’t already in Levi squad you are now as you show to be an important asset

- often you two will clean together and spend as much time as you can, you keep your relationship mainly secretive

- it’s unprofessional and besides you two might be separated due to Levi’s order

- it’s just best to say you work better together, which you do btw

- while her father believes she’s too young to marry, he does like you nonetheless

- she’s always embarrassed when he brings up the marriage thing and how she’s still young

- the idea of getting married to you just makes her flustered and drives her crazy that’s all

- not for pda, again your relationship is a secret

- Levi catches on, he could care less

- holds your hand mainly, kisses your hand, caresses it ... she loves your hands please

- often jokes around with you, she always did but moreso now that you’re dating

- she likes to tease you a bit but it’s all in good fun, plus bonus points if you get flustered

- she wants to brush and do your hair in the morning (yes even if short)

- she lets you brush and do her hair too though

- in a modern au would totally be the type to make you music playlists and have you listen to them but okay

- she finds comfort in being around you, even in her worst times

- which would’ve saved her tbh

- she tries not to think too much about the future, or a future that could be without you.. she just wants to live in the present with you for now and pretend everything’s gonna be okay

- she’s (mainly cuz of her father) had thoughts about having a normal life with you and getting married and having kids

- she knows that can’t happen, not for a long time :(

- clings to your arm a lot

- she’s good at comforting you

- she’d do anything to keep you from being moody or sad

- she’s also very sappy sometimes

- blushy boy, anytime he’s around you his entire face is filled with an enormous blush that anybody can notice

- while people might not notice things about bertholdt they can at the very least notice his rather obvious crush on you

- if you haven’t made a move by now you either wanna see him do it himself or your oblivious as fuck

- lots of stutters

- probably sweats a little tbh

- stares at you constantly, it’s hard not to notice and Reiner comments on it quite a bit

- if you’re a soldier he definitely feels guilty, but considers taking you back home with Reiner (kinda like ymir with historia)

- he tells you how he feels finally because Reiner keeps egging him about it

- he’s a blushy mess as he confesses, but he’s happy that you say yes

- in a relationship he can be insecure at times, he doesn’t think highly of himself so it’s to be expected

- just reassure him:(

- of course you would know about his secret if you’re a soldier, and you’d have to be okay with it and not expose him. Of course he’ll say his side of the story and all that. It’s likely you take his now

- he’s still a blushy nervous ... and rather obvious boy

- sometimes he just wants to hold your hand but is too shy to but he’s so obvious about it since he keeps staring

- just take this mf hand already

- he’s too shy for a lot of things tbh

- also side note if you’re really short like historia that is so funny to him but he doesn’t say it out loud

- will absolutely swoon if you touch or play with his hair, first of all you’re probably too short to reach his hair so it’s not a common occurrence (or if not, always in public), but also because nobody’s done that before it makes him feel so loved

- after dating for awhile and being a bit more confident he is the type to say I love you often, he can’t help it because he genuinely does love you but sometimes is scared it’ll lose its meaning because he says it so often

- is extremely protective actually, light cause him to make some grave mistakes on the battlefield because of how protective he can be of you

- you in general got him swooning

- he likes to cook for you (back at home?)

- in general would love to just spoil you

- if you do the same he dies

- if you ever compliment him, big blush on his face

- honestly can’t help but talk about you to Reiner, Reiner likes hearing about it though and he’s not annoyed by it because Reiner is a sweet boy that likes hearing his friend be happy

- while he likes you laying on him, likes laying on you more, like your lap or something ..

- he’s a big cuddle baby he wants to be held despite being so tall he is just.. please

- he wants to protect you during the day but at night just wants to feel safe and protected in your arms

- if you were ever threatened, if you are attacked and etc he is gonna be yelling he ain’t going down without a fight

- you make his brain short circuit and you make him stupid

#yelena x reader #snk x reader #aot x reader #attack on Titan x reader #bertholdt x reader #gabi x reader #falco x reader #hitch x reader #armin x reader #petra x reader

177 notes · View notes

mxvladdy · 3 years

Note

Ey, could you make food source reactions for Mammon & Levi like you did with the others?

I've read it like 3 times now, they're all so sweet and believable you did a great job!

You got it Fam! Glad you like them so much lol. (I got a lot more angsty with Mammon than I thought I would but I love him sooooo)

Mammon

This poor man. He gets to spend so little time alone with you. He has to make every second count. Between the hustling, modeling, and running from Lucifer, he’s a pretty busy guy.

So he plans date nights. Just you, him, and his leather couch. Ya ain’t goin’ nowhere, ya hear? He looks forward to this every month. He pins it on his calendar too just so he doesn’t double book himself.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Just cause he plans this doesn’t mean he necessarily has a plan. Not that you care. Most of his activities turn into trouble anyway, even when he is not trying.

Sometimes he teaches you how to play cards (also shows you human ways to cheat-just in case you need it). The hours are spent pleasantly sitting in his lap while he teaches you how to count cards.

But, most nights, he just wants to talk. He enjoys his time with you. You and him cuddling and chatting away the hours before passing out for the night.

He has a lot of things he wants to know about you. To him, he feels like if he knows you better than the other brothers he’s won.

Won what? Idk, your affection? Approval? He already has it, but he is insecure about his place in your heart regardless.

This evening starts out like any other. Mammon dashing to the kitchens to pilfer some snacks and drinks before Beel can steal them all, and you bring your cute self over to his room.

You two toss back a few drinks and spend some time looking over his latest photo shoots before going on to the main event. Tonight you brought one of your favorite human card games. It was like 20 questions, but some questions were more risque than others. Was it meant for more than two players? Yes, but whatever- Mammon wants to play it so you are.

You both are relaxed and drowsy by the time you start playing. Your stomachs are full of junk, and the morning moons are just on the horizon. It’s the perfect mixture for loose lips and secrets, before falling asleep in each other's arms.

You pick easy cards first, jumping from silly innocent questions to one that made him blush from ear to ear. The hours pass quickly and Mammon’s answers become more slurred and accented as he tires out.

He was on the verge of sleep when you ask, “What’s your favorite dish?”

It was a slip of the tongue, a long-lost memory pulled up from the dregs of his exhausted mind. He remembers a savory dish Barbatos use to make way back when. He can still smell the savory smoky spices mixing with the fresh vegetables and meat- Oh shit.

He feels you stiffen and he ain’t sleepy anymore, that’s for sure. Immediately up and apologizes. He stumbles over himself in his haste to explain himself.

You spend the rest of the evening with him in your arms trying to comfort him as he tearfully swears he hasn’t eaten a person in a couple of hundred years.

Mini Fic

He regrets it the moment the words slip out. His sleepy remark hangs out in the chilly air of his room. He feels you jerk in his arms as if punched. “Shit! I-I didn’t mean.” Mouth agape, he backtracks, tongue working faster than his overtaxed brain. He looks down at your head on his chest.

Your eyes are wide. Their surprise reflected in the bright blue moonlight. His heart sinks to his stomach. Gods, he ruined it. “I’m sorry- I.” Pushing you off of his chest he goes to grab his shirt and redress, ignoring the prickling heat growing at the corner of his eyes. He could sleep somewhere else tonight. You could have the room if you wanted, or at least give you a minute to flee in terror from the demon that masqueraded as your friend. He can’t look at you. Hells, he was too ashamed to even glance in your direction. What kind of idiot let’s slip that? They even had a council meeting about this very thing before you arrived.

So lost in his panic he doesn’t notice you trying to get his attention. It wasn’t until you forcefully grab his arm did he hear you. “It’s ok Mammon.” You engulf him in your warm and comforting scent. Strong arms dragging him back to the crumpled sheets of his bed. Your soft fingers wipe at the silent tears streaking down his cheeks.

He dislodges himself from your light grasp to rub at his own eyes. “How can ya’ say that?” Where was your sense of self-preservation? Ain’t humans supposed to be aware of such dangers? The irony wasn’t lost on him though. Being your ‘protector’ and all.

You shuffle closer, hellbent on comforting. His pack mark hums gently on his chest when you touch it. As much as his body wanted to run, your pact mark cemented him to his seat. He sits while you fuss over him slowly breathing through his mouth to calm his racing heart. He can’t help but drift closer to you when he feels your hand on the top of his head. When had he become so weak for you?

“Well-How can I not?” You shrug. He closes his eyes when you start ruffling his fringe. “You’ve been nothing but sweet to me. Yes, you have,” You cut him off firmly before he can object. “Always my number one anyway.” That pulls a wet chuckle from your demon. His eyes clear up at your admission. “I trust you Mammon, honestly. I mean, I kinda knew that you’ve probably eaten a human or two in your life. Knowing, and knowing are more different than I thought.”

Mammon cages you in his arms, his nose brushing along your neck and jawline. “Damn-.” He huffs covering you in his warm body, arms tight around your sides. “I’m sorry. I ruined tonight.” Mammon sighs into your skin.

You hug him back. “Nonsense, if you want to get technical I think you won this game. I can’t top that answer.” You push away with a wide yawn. “Now can we go back to bed?” With a nod, he flops over pulling you down with him. You bully your way into his arms again. Sighing constantly you snuggle in for the night, ready to drift off. His eyelids began to feel heavy again too. Your soft weight on him like a security blanket. He listens to your slowly beating heart, matching his breathing to yours. The rhythmic thumps working to calm him better than his noise machine. He basks in your presence, rubbing his broad hand down your back for a moment before you speak again.

“Hey, Mammon.”

“Hmm?”

“Do you think I would taste good?”

Leviathan

Awkward boy. Of course, he has had his fair share of humans. Not particularly his favorite through. A lot of the time it wasn’t on purpose. His demon form is big and sometimes more than just fish and other demons get swallowed up. Course when that happened, they weren’t exactly fresh either. Bleh-just thinking about it makes his stomach turn.

No, he never got a taste for it, even when it was served in the royal palace. The memories of the sea are still pretty vivid. It never really crosses his mind anymore. Till you bring it up.

He invites you over for a game night. A new VR game he had been saving up for just dropped and he had to play it with you.

It was a horror stealth game. Heavy on critical thinking and solving puzzles in real-time.

Your two characters were on a race against time against a flesh eating cult that had invaded a small village. He thought it was a fun concept and you both liked horror games. He didn’t notice how quiet you had gotten until you had set your controller down.

You ask during a loading screen after a pretty graphic cut scene of a npc getting caught. How realistic was that cut scene? Had he ever eaten a human before?

Boy is a brighter pink than Ruri-chan’s signature outfit (and twice as cute lbr)

He gets so flustered that he misses the start of the next round and gets you both eaten.

He doesn’t take conflict well. Like at all. He much rather slink off into his fish tank and hide than answer you. In fact, that sounds like an excellent idea.

He slithers back out of his tank hours later thinking you had left or found a better brother to hang out with. Yucky people eaters like him aren’t good company for humans.

You jump him the minute his feet are back on solid ground. Have an answer now you must! Yrssss.

Mini Fic

“L-Let go!” Levi shrieks, caught in your sneak attack. He locks up when you jump him, all four of your limbs wrapping around his soaking body like an octopus.

“No!” You squeeze him harder taking full advantage of the fact that he won’t remove you himself. You feel the heat of his blush through his soaked clothes as you cling closer. If he could blush any harder you were pretty sure steam would be wafting off of him.

“Why do you want to know anyway?” He wiggles gently, trying to loosen your tight grip.

“Morbid curiosity.” Well, at least you were honest. He was still going to say no, you didn’t need to know that about him. He opens his mouth to shut you down but makes the mistake of looking at you. The words die when he catches the pout growing on your face. Oh no- his one weakness. Your way your lower lip pops out adorably, accompanied by slightly puffed-out cheeks. It was a one-two punch to his defenses.

“I-they weren’t on purpose.” He pleads. Nevermore in his life did he wish he could turn into a mist-like his brother. He feels you slip off of him. Your bare feet don’t make a sound on his carpeted floor. “It just happened sometimes.” He admits. You accept it for a few seconds before his words fully hit you.

“Wait? How do you accidentally eat someone?” You ask incredulously. “All though- that’s something Beel might do.” You ponder the logistics and step back to give him some space.

He rights himself, wicking the moisture from his coat and pants with magic until he is completely dry again. You start asking a dozen more questions in rapid fire. It was enough to make his head spin. You were too curious for your own good. “Ever heard of basking whales?”

You blink.

Levi sighs and waves a hand to himself. “When I lived in the ocean… I’m big ya know. I kinda would just open my mouth and swallow. Whatever I caught I ate.” He waits for you to get the jest. Most of the time it was smaller fish and aquatic mammals. When a demon encroached on his territory he would eat them too. The dead were meant for his army, but sometimes they got sucked into.

Instead of nodding in understatement, you cover your mouth with the palm of your hand and snort. His eyes grow big and his blush turns brighter. You were spending way too much time with Asmo. “No-Not like that!” His flailing only makes you laugh harder. Great, as if he didn’t want to die of embarrassment already.

“Well word it better, nerd.” You laugh retreating back to the mound of pillows you claimed for gaming, VR headset in hand. “Come on, we have to start over now- thanks to someone.”

“You started it!” Levi shoots back grabbing up his gear as well. He fiddles with it for a moment before glancing back at you. You were oblivious to inner turmoil over this admission. A naval admiral was one thing. Humans had them too, that wasn’t too much for you to comprehend. Being a devil was easy enough to understand too, at least in his mind. But eating people? Shouldn’t you be more concerned? “So-that’s it?”

You look up questioningly. “What’s it?”

He raises a purple brow. “You have nothing else to say? I just admitted to eating people!”

“Not really.” You shrug. “I can’t get too pressed about it. It’s not like you are human. I’m like what-at the bottom of the food chain to you, right?” Levi nods. “See! So no point stressing over it. ‘Sides, you haven’t munched on me yet.” You turn your attention back to the screen, flicking your controller to wake his flat-screen back up. “Unless~” He gulps at the sly eyebrow wiggle you throw at him, the shit eating grin that accompanied it only made him worry. “Perhaps you just have an appetite for seamen.”

Your peals of laughter mix with his shrill yelps of objection, as he tackles you. His previous worries were completely forgotten by your teasing.

#obey me #obey me fanfic #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan

171 notes · View notes

un-beel-lievable · 4 years

Text

A soft, sleepy, headcanon:

A/N: Should I actually start writing headcanons and scenarios and stuff? I’m almost 22 and I’ve been writing fanfiction for 10 years I shit you not. That’s to say, I’ve been writing for a long ass time. You know what? Fuck it. Ask box is OPEN!

There is no day/night cycle in the Devildom

MC’s circadian rythm is thrown off because it’s always dark out and she tends to oversleep or undersleep quite often

Devildom days are also much longer than human days so Diavolo has allowed MC one nap period in school to assure she gets her proper rest

Lucifer also lets her nap frequently at home if she requests it (instead of doing meaningless tasks he’s given her to occupy her time so she doesn’t cause more trouble)

Belphie loves the fact that MC is allowed to take naps and consistently uses excuses to nap with her. “jUsT kEePiNg HeR cOmPaNy!” Headass

The boys fight over who gets to nap with MC

So much so that Lucifer has to make a color coded chart for them to follow

He left himself out of the chart

“Hey! What the hell? Why’d ya give Levi so much time with her?! I should get the most time because-“

“Because you’re in love with her?”

“CAUSE I WAS HER FIRST THAT’S WHY”

Asmodeus has a lot more on his mind than cuddling of course but loves to stroke MC’s hair and play with it until she falls asleep. (His bed is the most comfortable but don’t tell the other boys)

Levi LOVES taking naps in between long gaming seshes especially when MC is by his side. He dare not touch her while she’s awake for fear of turning scarlet at the drop of a hat but you best believe this boy musters up his faux courage and snakes his arm around MC to hold her while they sleep

Mammon would rather die on his hill than admit that his naps with MC are the highlight of his week. Every time it’s his turn he looks foward to it all day and counts down the hours until after school when he eagerly awaits MC’s tell tale signs of drowsiness. He always notes how cute she looks when she begins to flutter her eyes while fighting off sleep or how adorable her little yawn sounds are. He always makes sure they have enough blankets so she doesn’t get cold. (He’s a blanket stealer. What can I say, he’s greedy!)

Satan loves having her head resting on his lap and will often spend his time reading as opposed to actually sleeping. He’ll often just stop to watch her chest rise and fall with her breath. It calms him to see her so at ease and innocent looking

It’s no secret that Beel is one of the best snuggle buddies in the Devildom and is proud to show off his cuddling prowess to his dear MC who’s so small and warm in his arms

Beel will sometimes secretly share his slot with Belphie and the three of them will cuddle into a big sandwich...sandwich...now Beel’s hungry :(

In conclusion, MC gets SO many cuddles!!!

Bonus:

Lucifer leaves MC in his study to fill out some paperwork and when he comes back he sees her sleeping after she passed out on the couch. He carries her to his bed to let her rest more comfortably. He was about to leave when he saw how peaceful she looked. Him, being stressed and tired said “fuck it” and curled up next to her. He would DEFINITELY be making some changes to the schedule after this

#obey me #obey me shall we date #lucifer obey me #mammon obey me #leviathan obey me #satan obey me #asmodeus obey me #beelzebub obey me #belphegor obey me #headcanon #diavolo obey me #barbatos obey me #simeon obey me #luke obey me #solomon obey me #cute #fluff #obey me headcanons #jennie brain

1K notes · View notes

softluci · 3 years

Text

atla hcs

i’ve been thinking about this for a minute, and i wanna do a set of headcanons for how i think the brothers (and eventually the undateables) would feel about certain avatar: the last airbender characters, or something along those lines. i actually just wanted to talk about lucifer and azula, so everything else here is a bonus. this doesn’t matter, but for what it’s worth: wherever the mc pops up, they will be gn, enjoy!

also: this kinda goes without saying, but there are most definitely spoilers in here. for which seasons? i don’t remember, i watched this show when i was nine, but proceed with caution if you have yet to watch it.

lucifer

if it’s one thing you are not gonna play with him about, it is princess azula. this man is an azula supremacist, and while he might not say those words exactly, anyone would be able to tell that’s the case if they talked to him about the show for longer than two minutes. he actually wasn’t even interested in the show until azula showed up, and he will readily admit this to anyone who inquires about it. what makes it funny is the fact that her first appearance is literally, like, ten seconds, so that means he saw her and immediately knew she was the best, which, like—real recognize real. is he projecting? am i projecting? yes, no. in that order. shut up.

he actually almost couldn’t hide how proud he was when azula almost killed aang, this man is deranged. the same way he takes her wins personally, he takes every loss of hers personally as well, so when she lost that agni kai? 🚶‍��️

the average azula enjoyer believes azula should get a redemption arc, lucifer believes azula should simply get whatever she wants, and the difference between those two things is striking.

average azula enjoyer: i believe azula deserves to heal and redeem herself. it isn’t fair that she was left with her tyrannical, abusive father during formative years of her childhood, with no one to help her or show her what it means to be good. she cannot be blamed for the way she turned out. it especially isn’t fair that she gets no redemption for evil things she did at age fourteen, for a year, while the entire show is iroh’s redemption arc, and he was doing evil for decades—he is literally called “the dragon of the west” because of it. additionally—

lucifer morningstar, resident azula supremacist: everything azula did, she was right to do, because i would’ve done the same. there was never a point at which she was wrong, it’s just unfortunate that nobody could keep up with her, her father included. the only reason why she ended up losing, ultimately, is because this is a children’s show, and good is supposed to win out. it was plot armor. if this were realistic, she would’ve beaten everyone—at the very least, she would’ve beaten zuko in the final agni kai, it’s just that he broke the rules and brought backup. at the time of the agni kai, she was literally the strongest firebender in the show. that’s actually the only part of this lucifer is right about, but you can’t tell him that.

if you ask him what his favorite quote in the show is, he’ll immediately say, “i can see your whole history in your eyes. you were born with nothing, so you’ve had to struggle, and connive, and claw your way to power. but true power? the divine right to rule? is something you’re born with.” and he will do it so well that it’ll give you the chills.

in actuality, his favorite quote is, “i’d really rather our family physician look after little zuzu, if you don’t mind.” it’s just that it doesn’t have the same chilling effect as the first one.

does he like any other characters? does he even care about any other characters? he has a deep fondness for sokka because he reminds him of mammon. yes, and they are katara and suki, with honorable mention to avatar kyoshi.

does he hate any characters? no, but if you mention avatar kuruk or uncle iroh to him, he might get annoyed. is mildly frustrated by aang, but has the sense to cut him some slack for being twelve and the last of his kind. never speak of ozai.

mammon

toph supremacist. frequent user of the phrase, “toph is just fucking class.” knows for a fact that toph is the best and strongest bender in the entire show, and no one has ever managed to convince him otherwise. mainly because nobody really disagrees. like, have you ever even seen toph slander?

just like lucifer with azula, he wasn’t invested in the show until toph showed up, which, once again, is funny, because technically her very first appearance is only a few seconds long, so that means he saw her for a literal second and just knew. you can’t even be mad at that, real recognize real.

no one will ever see him more proud than when he’s talking about one toph beifong. he can’t get over her raw, unbridled talent, and he really never should. if you let him (so, if you’re levi), he will spend so much time analyzing her character and every single one of her strengths, from the fact that she’s the only one who knows when azula is lying, all the way down to the fact that even though she projects a tough persona, she can still be vulnerable, AND—

not only is she strong, but her personality is simply untouchable. this girl grows on literally everyone; like, even lucifer likes her, even though he’ll die before saying it out loud.

he gets so smug whenever someone asks him who his favorite is and it’s because he knows his taste is top tier, and what makes it worse is that no one can even disagree because toph is just that good.

will never admit it, but he was shaking and crying during the scene where it looked like toph and sokka were literally gonna die. was also gonna cry when toph almost drowned. basically: he is eternally grateful to suki.

his favorite line in the entire show is, “i am the greatest earthbender in the world! don’t you two dunderheads ever forget it.” it’s just fucking class.

does he like any other characters? he sees himself in sokka, he’ll tell you that much. he also knows that satan and lucifer like sokka because of him, and he found out because he heard them talking about it. to their joint dismay, they turned to see him standing behind them, grinning like an idiot, and they couldn’t even scare him into leaving them alone when he hugged both of them at the same time because, one, they didn’t really want to, and two, they couldn’t turn off their fondness for him fast enough ^_^. did they reciprocate his hug? did they stay like that for a little bit? did lucifer kiss the tops of their heads? maybe so🤨

does he hate any characters? not really, but he doesn’t particularly like azula because she scares him and makes him sad, like lucifer and doesn’t see her appeal. once tried to make a case for why she shouldn’t have a redemption arc and felt painfully human from the way he almost died. do not mention toph’s parents to him. the name ozai should also never be on your tongue.

levi

resident sokka enjoyer and suki appreciator. do not ever call sokka dumb in front of this man unless you want a proper lecture. unlike a few of his brothers, he doesn’t like sokka just because of his similarities to mammon. he also likes sokka because he relates to him on a personal level.

levi absolutely knows what it’s like to feel inadequate and outshined by people younger than you. he absolutely knows what it’s like to feel like your competence is overlooked. while he might be unfamiliar with how it feels to strategize for a war and lose a battle, but it is one of his biggest fears and it absolutely crushed him to see sokka go through that.

on a lighter note, levi has a deep appreciation for sokka’s comedic value, despite the fact that it can overshadow his intelligence. levi would actually venture to say that he likes sokka’s funnier side because it overshadows his intelligence to the point that it throws the opposition for a loop. this is the aspect of sokka that reminds him of mammon.

it also seriously warmed his heart to see how everyone missed sokka while he was away for sword training; he especially liked that episode because it was just an affirmation of the fact that sokka is an integral part of team avatar, which he really needed to see.

you know who else is an integral part of team avatar who needs to be recognized as such more often? suki. do you know how much pain levi is in every time he thinks about the lack of suki screentime . it’s a lot . suki is just too good for the amount of screentime she has, he’s sorry, but it’s true. this is evidenced by the scene of her literally running across prisoners’ heads to apprehend the warden of boiling rock. that scene speaks for itself—she and the other kyoshi warriors end up as zuko’s body guards for a reason.

he will never let anyone forget that if it weren’t for suki, sokka would still be a misogynist. she was an essential element to sokka’s growth as a character and everyone had better remember it or so help him. also , he is a firm believer in the fact that suki was the best love interest for sokka, with zuko as a close second. don’t ask questions. rip yue but argue with the wall.

his favorite line in the series?

“zuko’s gone crazy! i made a sand sculpture of suki, and he destroyed it! oh, and he’s attacking aang.”

it’s not profound or cool or anything like that, but it makes him smile and giggle every time he thinks of it ^_^.

does he like any other characters? he has a lot of love for toph and azula for the sole fact that the series improved exponentially after both of their introductions; he thinks both of them are in leagues of their own and seeing them in action just puts a smile on his face. he’s also inexplicably fond of king bumi.

does he hate any characters? not particularly, actually! he pretty much respects and appreciates everyone, except the guy who mutilated his thirteen year old son for speaking out of turn.

satan

just pick a girl. any girl. and from the way he talks about them, you’ll think they’re his favorite. he can and will go on about the girls of atla for the rest of eternity.

but since we’re being specific:

katara appreciator. azula enjoyer. basically, between him and lucifer, no tongue raised against azula shall prosper. he has a deep respect for each of their wraths. he also really must have a thing for angst because both of these characters just break his heart.

if you let him (in other words, if you’re levi), he will go on about how it’s not fair that people call katara annoying when, in reality, she just hasn’t healed from the trauma of seeing her mother’s corpse at age eight, followed by having to take care of her village, meaning she got literally no time to grieve properly, and—

call katara annoying in front of him and you might actually have to meet god for your shallow views of such a deep, complex character.

he will also go on and on about how katara would be the best bender in the show, if it weren’t for toph, who is untouchable. instead, he’ll talk about how katara almost killed pakku for being misogynistic and how she single handedly beat azula during sozin’s comet. you will frequently hear this man say, “katara aang’s master for a reason,” and he’s right.

similar to if you call katara annoying, if you call azula scary in front of satan, he’s bullying you. he’s sorry, but it has to happen. no way you’re scared of a traumatized fourteen year old, what are you, eight? or do you have no understanding of azula’s depth? both are unacceptable.

satan is the average azula enjoyer, times about seven. you simply won’t get away with speaking poorly of azula in front of this man, so if you’re like mammon and don’t like her, you better tread very carefully.

one time mammon tried to be like, “azula is too far gone to deserve redemption anyways,” and satan literally reverted to his demon form as he said: “if i were abandoned with my terrible father as a child, with literally no one to help me, and then my friends betrayed me, and then, as i was about to be crowned ruler of my country, my dumb fucking idiot brother showed up with his dumb peasant friend for backup, which isn’t even allowed, i might be mad forever too, actually—” and then he threw the nearest chair at mammon for his criminally bad take.

another reason why satan loves azula so much is because he’s convinced she’s a lesbian and satan is the most “let’s go lesbians!!!” person you will ever meet. you actually can’t convince him that she isn’t a lesbian. forget chan. nobody gives a fuck about chan.

what’s his favorite line in the entire series?

“trust me, zuko—it’s not going to be much of a match.”

like, come on. katara is just too good.

does he like any other characters (other than the girls of atla)? he’ll never admit it, but he has a lot of respect for sokka and a soft spot for him because he reminds him of mammon. he also has a lot of respect for aang because he reminds him of beel of how well he handled literally everything despite being twelve.

does he hate any—yes. never speak of avatar roku. or iroh. or ozai. for good measure, don’t mention general zhao either.

asmo

what lucifer is to azula, asmo is to ty lee. like do i even have to say anything else. but for what it’s worth, he also love, love, loves azula because she reminds him of lucifer, from her strength and class, all the way down to her descent into madness. and even though she breaks his heart just as much as she does satan’s. he may or may not have cried over azula in satan’s room while they were talking about her. unlike lucifer and satan, he can respect it if you don’t like her, but it’ll make him so sad.

but enough about azula. ty lee is where it’s at for him. her subtle strength and unwavering love is something to die for, and he will defend it against anyone, up to and including lucifer, and he’ll win too. asmo is not to be trifled with and neither is ty lee; he can make a strong argument as to why ty lee is the strongest character in the show, and you will have a very hard time trying to refute his points. (the main point being: it’ll be really hard to win a fight against someone who can paralyze you in a few seconds, bender or not.)

the fact that ty lee ran away from home because she was tired of the fact that nobody ever saw her as her own person is just something that tugs at asmo’s heartstrings. he thinks ty lee’s bravery is just something that can be so personal.

also—he has a massive appreciation for the fact that, even though there’s a war going on and ty lee is in near-constant danger, she still has the sense to maintain her appearance and worry about the skincare of not just herself, but also people she’s close to. that is a detail he will never let anyone forget.

never mentions it in front of lucifer but one of his favorite scenes is when she paralyzes azula to save mai. once again: ty lee’s bravery is just something that can be so personal.

he doesn’t have a favorite line in the series, but his favorite exchange of dialogue is between ty lee and azula, wherein ty lee is trying to teach azula how to flirt. he thinks it’s the cutest thing in the world.

does he like any other characters? of course! he likes everyone ^_^ . you’d actually be hard pressed to find someone he hates. ozai. it’s ozai. he has a real soft spot for mai because she reminds him of belphie. something about their shared aversion to affection is just so cute to him!

beel

aang supremacist, will hold steadfast to the fact that aang is the best character in the show and you will struggle to figure out how to convince him otherwise.

if you ask him why aang is his favorite, the first thing he will do is gesture to a picture of him and say, “look at the material,” like it’s the most obvious thing in the world, before diving into a ten minute in depth character analysis for this boy.

come on. he shouldn’t even have to explain himself. not only is aang one of the strongest, most competent avatars to exist, ever, he also mastered all four elements in a year, when he was twelve—he’s literally a different breed. and he managed to beat ozai in his own way, without killing him, as a means of staying true to a culture that could have literally died with him at any point in the show. aang is just fucking class.

he also admires aang for his near unwavering kindness and lighthearted nature. and for never going berserk and killing everyone he sees, especially after finding out his people were killed while he was in ice.

you have no idea how much pain beel was in when he found out that the air nomads were just gone. seeing a child find out that not only their family is gone, but also the entirety of their people and culture, just absolutely broke his heart. and that guilt aang was feeling? hit way too close to home for him.

he also thinks it’s really nice that aang was so quick to forgive zuko after everything, and the two of them ended up being really good friends. it just puts a smile on his face.

after some reflection with levi, he would’ve liked to see the full scope of an airbender’s power in the series; as in, he would’ve liked to see someone suffocated, but it’s okay, because aang wasn’t like that. and he heard it happens in the next series over.

anyway, beel’s favorite quote in the show...well, it isn’t really a quote, as much as it’s a dialogue between two characters. it’s the scene where toph asks, “do you really think friendships can last more than one lifetime?” and aang says, “i don’t see why not.” it could bring a tears to his eyes just thinking about it; and in the next series over when it’s proven to be true, he absolutely cried.

does he like any other characters? he’s actually really fond of zuko and mai because they both remind him of belphie. he also likes sokka for the same reason lucifer and satan like sokka. he has a deep appreciation for katara because aang would literally be dead without if it weren’t for her.

does he hate any characters? well, he doesn’t really like azula. he feels bad for her, but he doesn’t like her. but as for who he hates? take a wild guess.

belphie

zuko makes him sob is his number one. yes zuko is his favorite because of his redemption arc, yes he sees himself in zuko, no he will not explain any further than that, what’s your point🤨

in actuality, he will never be able to properly articulate how important it is for him to see that redemption is, indeed, attainable, if you put the work in. in a similar vein, he will also never be able to give words to how important it is for him to see that forgiveness is also attainable. it means the world to him. that is why it makes him cry. the feeling is overwhelming. i’m gonna cry if i think about it for too long.

he will cling to the fact that zuko is the best character in the show, and he will cling to it even when zuko embarrasses him by saying stupid shit like, “no lightning today?” and even when zuko is so awkward it causes him physical pain. that’s his number one and he’s not changing on it!

firm zukka supporter. will not argue. that’s all.

what’s his favorite line in the entire series? it’s one of the two you’re thinking of. make that decision for yourself.

does he like any other characters? he positively adores aang and will readily admit that it’s because he reminds him of beel. bonus points for aang because he also loves the dynamic between him and zuko. toph is a distant third, mainly because he just really likes her attitude. he looks at her and thinks, now this is someone who would not hesitate to kick lucifer’s ass.

does he hate any characters? you better believe it. he hates iroh because he reminds him of dia. he can’t really bring himself to like azula because she makes him a different kind of sad. and if you know what’s good for you, you will never mention ozai.

#can you tell i am also an azula enjoyer #doesn't matter because i'm correct but still #worth mentioning i suppose #obey me #obey me!#obey me headcanons #obey me imagines #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me levi #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmo #obey me beel #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphie #obey me belphegor

76 notes · View notes

tundrainafrica · 3 years

Note

All the HCs and side materials aside, who do you think was closer to Levi, Erwin or Hange? While there was this acker host thing with Erwin but it was debunked. Meanwhile he hasn't even acknowledged Hange's sacrifice even once so theres that too.

Oh god, so yes I have wanted to answer this ask for a while, thought of pushing it until night time today but I got locked out of the office though thirty minutes before my shift so let me just cope with the stress by giving my feedback on this because I feel like I have already explained my side to a lot of people but I’d rather have it immortalized in my blog at this point.

Okay first question

Who do you think was closer to Levi, Erwin or Hange?

I find this question thought provoking but I don’t like these types of questions because they tend to start fights? And they tend to cause unnecessary drama both in real life and online. And relationships are so hard to quantify like of course there's a clear line between acquaintance and best friend but the nuances between siblings, lover, best friend and parent are a little more complex because we all have a lot of people we care about deeply but can we easily say who we love more?

(this is still a great question though anon, thank you for asking it.)

It’s literally like the epitome of asking ur parents “who’s your favorite child” or “who do you love more your best friend for so many years or your girl friend of like two years who you met, clicked then realized they were the love of your life.” Who will you save when in a burning building? your wife? Or your parents? Or your siblings? Your best friend?

Such problematic questions which I think a lot of us in our lives would rather never have to answer, especially in front of our loved ones.

I am not making assumptions about what type of relationship Levi had with Erwin or what type of relationship Levi had with Hange in this post because I don’t wanna start shipping wars in this very peaceful website. (But, I ship Levihan and will probably die with this ship close to my heart so you can make assumptions about my opinions on Levi and Hange’s relationship based on that.)

But the point is, Erurihan has always been special. Levi held a lot of people close to his heart over the years but I found that trio to have notably been the closest and Erwin and Hange have changed Levi’s lives the most.

Would Levi have played favorites between them?? NO. Because Erwin and Hange were such different people that putting them side by side and thinking “who did Levi love more” is like comparing apples to oranges, putting them side by side and thinking which fruit tastes better.

Because Hange and Erwin offered different things to Levi. Literally, Erwin became that next purpose for Levi after he lost his two best friends. He saw wonder in Erwin’s eyes, he saw a leader, he saw someone who can guide him to a bigger purpose and he trusted Erwin so deeply and Erwin trusted him back and even as a Levihan fan, I might actually admit that early on in the series, Levi was probably much closer to Erwin than Hange. Fine I admit it he probably was.

But Hange offered something else to Levi. While Erwin offered a path, Hange offered wonder, curiosity. She offered Levi things to think about beyond the survey corps job. I mean Erwin was practically married to his job right. Hange was practically married to her job too but I found Hange more... approachable? Warmer overall? I mean if you actually see Eren’s interactions with the three of them or you watch from Season 1, you would realize that Hange was really the most approachable survey corps veteran from the start (other than petra).

And I think Levi really appreciated that part of her and saw it as something worth entertaining. He completely believed in Erwin, Erwin gave him a purpose in life but Hange was the one who added color to it, she actually added something beyond that purpose. She made him feel things he probably wouldn’t have felt elsewhere.

Annoyance? Anger? Defeat at how someone could be so enthusiastic and dense? Curiosity? Someone who might have made him think that maybe, soldiering and survey corps-ing and almost being eaten by titans everyday wasn’t so bad. And maybe there is joy in the domestic in betweens?

Another thing, here’s what Hange had that Erwin didn’t have, she had the luxury of time, she also had the luxury of circumstances on her side, of having been the only one left out of the veterans for Levi to cling on to. This made it more natural for a deeper friendship and relationship to develop between the two. So if Hange is closer to Levi than Erwin is, then it’s because of the circumstances that it made it so, post season 3.

If Erwin lived, the dynamics of erurihan would have definitely developed differently. But I never considered the possibiliy of Erwin living instead of Hange since Levi picking Armin just felt really in character and right for me. So yeah, it’ll probably stay a shallow speculation until the end haha.

And about this second question...

“Meanwhile he hasn't even acknowledged Hange's sacrifice even once so theres that too.”

Yo. Just a reminder, Hange died like roughly an hour or two ago manga time. Levi is literally internally bleeding, the shit show just never stopped for a second and for some reason people are expecting Levi to give a nod at Hange’s death.

Okay yes, she did mean a lot to him. But lemme give you the explanation which has been sticking to me for a really long time.

Levi is clowning. Like literally, I don’t think he has even acknowledged that Hange is dead yet. We have concrete hints that he is. After ‘dedicate your heart’ he just walked away and didn’t look back. It’s in the fact that he didn’t even look out the window to watch her die and in the fact that his last words were “see you later” like I’m pretty sure he’s thinking to himself “Yeah, like I know she is probably gonna die objectively but… Just, what if… she lives??

Just like all of us Hange stans in the website yo with our beast titan theory, Levi is just the biggest clown of us all (since he is the biggest Hange stan anyway...). He decided (unconsciously or consciously) to ‘pretend’ that Hange’s still alive maybe until the end of the war just so that he could possibly function at least (?).

I mean I’m pretty sure we’ve all done this in our lives. Especially when we’ve lost someone we’ve loved dearly or maybe when we’re saying good bye to someone in the airport where we’re just laughing our heads off with that person all the way until the departure gate when they say good bye and we only break down when we’re home alone. Like I’m pretty sure it’s similar for people who have lost someone, kept themselves busy with funeral preparations and memorial services and only start experiencing the loss when they go back to normal life and realize they have to clean out someone’s bedroom or fix their daily routine to adjust to the loss of that loved one.

Maybe Levi will finally acknowledge it when everything goes back to normal and he finds Hange’s office empty and he realizes he doesn’t have his buddy to have tea with every night. And if Yams decides not to write or insert that, I’ll probably just speculate it myself and keep this theory alive.

I actually wrote a drabble about this a long time ago. You can read it here.

Anyway, thanks for reading!

#levihan #eruri #erurihan #levi ackerman #hange zoe #erwin smith #meta

116 notes · View notes

fanmoose12 · 4 years

Text

Petra was a nice girl. Truth be told, she was very nice. Delicate and petite, soft-spoken and graceful, Levi felt like he could have easily fallen in love with her.

However, she had one small, but very significant flaw – Kenny was the one who had set them up on a date. Even if Levi liked her, even if she definitely seemed like his type, he refused to have a second date. Maybe, she was nice and pretty, but Levi couldn’t shake the feeling that introducing them to one another was one of Kenny’s numerous schemes, that his uncle once again tried to somehow make a fool out of him.

“Why don’t you find yourself someone, Levi?” Kenny would always ask him. “Maybe, some pretty girl will finally make that ugly scowl of yours disappear! And if you find someone rich and influential, it would even elevate your status!”

“Yeah, great advice,” Levi would always sneer back. “From a lifelong bachelor.”

Sitting in a small café next to Petra, listening to her talk about her work, Levi couldn’t stop imagining the moment, when he would return from his date and tell Kenny to just fuck off already and leave him, and more importantly, his personal life alone.

On his way back to the office he thought of dozens different curses and obscenities to yell at his uncle. But the moment he crossed the threshold to his cabinet, the moment he met his mother’s hopeful gaze, Levi’s anger momentarily disappeared.

“How was your date, honey?” she asked with a smile.

Looking at that smile, Levi felt like the biggest asshole in the world. Unlike Kenny, his mother genuinely worried about him. She feared that he was feeling lonely and she wanted for him to find someone, to fall in love and be happy.

And even though, Levi didn’t feel lonely at all, the thought of disappointing his mother, of worrying her, made Levi regret his actions. Maybe, he shouldn’t have rejected Petra? Maybe, he should have agreed to a second date? Maybe, he should at least try to fall in love?

But no, Levi thought. If he started to date Petra, or any of the other girls Kenny had tried to set him up with, he would admit that his uncle was right. There was no way Levi could ever do that. And, besides, he didn’t have time for a relationship. As a vice-president of Kenny’s company, Levi was a very busy man. Especially, since his uncle liked to damp all the work on him. So no, relationship definitely wasn’t for him.

“It was fine, but there wouldn’t be a second date,” Levi finally replied.

Kuchel’s expression immediately changed. Her eyes filled with sadness and the corners of her mouth slid down.

“Why?” she asked quietly. “You didn’t like that girl?”

There wasn’t nothing wrong with her, relationships just aren’t my thing, Levi almost said. But he knew that those words would upset his mother even more. Suddenly, an idea popped up in his mind. It was stupid, completely ridiculous, but. It could work. And it certainly would make his mother happy. So before he could stop himself, Levi said:

“There wasn’t nothing wrong with that girl, mom. I’m just already dating someone else.”

“Oh?” Kuchel was definitely surprised by this revelation, but she quickly overcame her shock. A big, happy smile appeared on her lips and she clasped her hands in delight. “Levi, really? You found someone? Why didn’t you tell us before?”

“I didn’t want to jinx it,” he lowered his head, trying to avoid his mother’s gaze. He felt like a jerk for lying to her, but seeing her joy, Levi almost felt like it was worth it.

“Honey, I want to meet them so much! Can you invite them over for dinner? I’m sure uncle Kenny wants to meet your significant other as well!”

Shit, Levi immediately wanted to take his words back. But it was too late. So he nodded, hoping that his mother would mistake his panic for shyness. “I don’t know if she’ll agree, but I’ll try.”

“Great!” Levi didn’t remember the last time when his mother smiled so widely. “Then I’ll start organizing the dinner right away! Oh, I’m so happy, Levi!” she soundly kissed him on a cheek and then, still smiling happily, she left his office.

As soon as the door closed after her, Levi shakily exhaled. What kind of a mess he just got himself into?

He went to his desk and turned on his computer, opening the craiglist. It was possible to find any kind of weird shit there. And weird shit was exactly what Levi needed.

Almost an hour later, when Levi’s eyes started to burn from the amount of stupid ads he had read, he found it. The perfect ad, which was weirdly offering exactly what Levi needed.

Do you have homophobic or otherwise annoying relatives? Are they inviting you to yet another family event, and so you desperately want to piss them off? Then I’m just the person you need ;)

After reading that description, Levi clicked on the ad without hesitation.

Hi, I’m Hange Zoe, and I have an incredible offer for those of you, who are tired of your irritating relatives! Just for a small fee, I can accompany you to any kind of event (weddings, birthdays, various holidays) and make sure to annoy the hell out of your family! If you dislike your parents, aunts, uncles or anyone else and want them to hate you, then don’t hesitate! Call me and I’ll be your ‘plus one’ that they will never forget!

Levi immediately added their number to his phone. However, before he dialed it, he hesitated, rereading the ad one more time. Was he really going to do it, he wondered, as he stared at the screen. Was he going to call some stranger and ask them to pretend to be his girlfriend? Just because he wanted Kenny to leave him alone? Just because he didn’t want to upset his mother?

Yes, Levi decided finally. No matter how ridiculous it sounded, it was a good plan. He’d pretend to be in love with this girl for a month or so, and then he would ‘break up’ with her. He’d feign a heart-break, act sad and depressed, and everyone would leave him alone. Not for long, Levi knew that, but just enough for him to catch a break.

It is a good plan, Levi reminded himself before taking a deep breath and dialing that number.

After long five beeps, his call was answered.

“Hello?” a deep woman’s voice said. It was husky and confused, although its owner had just woken up. Levi glanced up at a clock – it was 4pm. She couldn’t really be sleeping at this time of day, right? “I’m sorry, but do I know you?”

“Um, no, I… I’ve found your ad. O-on the internet,” damn it, Levi had never felt so embarrassed before.

“Oh, right!” the woman laughed. “You need me to pretend to be your girlfriend, huh?”

“Something like that, yes, but could we discuss the details in person?”

“Sure! I’m free this evening, so we can meet,” she said. “Where do you live?”

“Just text me the address of some coffee shop near your house. I’ll be there in an hour.”

“Alright! And how do I recognize you?”

“I’ll be wearing a black shirt and pants.”

“Great!” the woman chuckled again. “Then I’ll see you in an hour!”

And before Levi could say anything else, she ended the call.

He stared at his phone screen for a long moment. Not for the first time he wondered what the fuck he was doing. But then he received a message, containing the address of a coffee shop. Signing, Levi shook his head. It was a stupid idea, but it could work. He just had to remember that.

***

Levi was sitting in that stupid café for almost half an hour. He had finished two cups of tea already. Maybe, he entered the wrong café? He checked his phone for the tenth time, but, no, the address was definitely correct. So where the fuck was that shithead, who had agreed to meet with him?

Another ten minutes passed, and Levi already prepared to just get up and leave, but then somebody joined him at his table. It was a young woman, probably in her mid-twenties. Her brown hair was pulled up in a messy ponytail and her big glasses were almost slipping from her nose. So that was Hange Zoe? Levi would need to pretend to date that for a whole month?

Suddenly, his idea didn’t seem so good anymore.

“Hi!” the woman energetically waved her hand. “You’re the guy, who is looking for a fake girlfriend, right? I’m Hange Zoe,” she outstretched her palm towards him.

“I know your name,” Levi said, staring at her hand with slight disgust. There were black smudges on it. He would rather die than shake it. “You’ve included it in the ad.”

“Oh, right!” she laughed boisterously. Levi felt a headache forming. “And what is your name?”

“Levi Ackerman,” he answered, making no move to shake her hand.

The woman hummed and lowered her hand, seemingly undisturbed by his apparent rudeness. “It’s nice to meet you, Levi!” she smiled widely. Was she always so annoyingly friendly, Levi wondered. “So what kind of event do you need me for? Wedding, birthday or—”

“Nothing of the sort,” he interrupted. “Truth be told, I have a rather unorthodox situation.”

“Oh?” Hange raised an eyebrow. “Do you need me to accompany you to the funeral or—”

“No!” Levi immediately answered. “Fuck, of course, no. I…” he took a deep breath, thinking how to say it. Maybe, he should explain everything first. “My uncle always sets me up with people, and I’m sick of it. I can’t just tell him to fuck off, because it’ll upset my mother, so… I want you to pretend to be my girlfriend for a month. It won’t require a lot of work!” Levi assured her. “Every Friday we have family dinner, and you’ll just have to come there with me.”

“And that’s all?”

“Um, no…” Levi paused. “I also need you… to move in with me…”

“What?!” Hange cried out, obviously shocked.

“I know how it sounds! But I promise I’m not some kind of a weirdo,” although, that was still open for a debate. He was asking a stranger to be his girlfriend, after all. “My uncle is just very nosy. And he won’t believe that my relationship is serious, if I don’t start living with you. We won’t be sharing a room or anything of the sort!” Levi added, seeing hesitation on her face. “And I’ll pay you as much you want!”

“I’m…” Hange trailed off, picking at her fingernails. “I admit your offer does sound a little bit weird. I’m willing to agree to it, but I need to talk with my roommate first. We share the rent, and if I’m not going to pay my part for a whole month…”

“I’ll pay your part!” Levi hastily offered. “And your roommate’s part as well!”

“Wow,” Hange chuckled. “You’re either crazy rich or really desperate.”

“I’m both,” Levi sighed.

“Fine, I agree then,” Levi couldn’t believe how relieved those words made him. “But I do have to warn you – I’m a scientist and tend to work at odd hours.”

“I don’t care about that,” Levi was suffering from insomnia himself, so a little noise at night wouldn’t disturb him.

“Alright…” Hange trailed off with a hesitant look on her face. “But there is another thing. My laboratory exploded a couple of months ago, that’s why I posted that ad – I’m trying to gather some money for a new one. So sometimes I perform experiments at home. Nothing dangerous!” she quickly assured Levi. “There won’t be any explosions, I swear! And no toxic chemicals too! Most days, I’m just watching my two mice, and I won’t be dissecting them in any foreseeable future, but yeah… I still need to study them.”

“It’s fine,” Levi waved his hand. Of course, he would have preferred to pretend to date someone more ordinary, but it wasn’t like he had a lot of choices. “As long as you don’t destroy my apartment, I don’t care what you do.”

“Excellent!” Hange beamed. “And the last thing,” Christ, there was another thing? “My roommate is also my lab partner, so can he sometimes come to visit me? To help with my experiments?”

“Alright,” Levi sighed. “But that’s everything you need, right?”

“Of course! And all I have to do is to live in your apartment and come with you to family dinner each Friday?”

“Pretty much.”

“Then that’s a deal!”

“Great,” Levi wasn’t feeling as happy as his ‘girlfriend’, but he, too, was satisfied with their arrangement. “If we discussed everything, then I must go. I’ll text you my address later. You can bring your things tomorrow.”

“Cool! Then I’ll see you tomorrow!”

***

The next morning, Levi’s breakfast was interrupted by a very loud, and very insisting knocking.

And there goes my hope for a peaceful day, he mentally complained.

He walked up the door and looked in the peephole. At the other side, he saw a large box.

“It’s me, Hange!” the box exclaimed.

Levi sighed. He almost forgot that she agreed to bring her things today. He opened the door, and Hange walked in, a man, who carried an even bigger box, trailing after her.

“Good morning!” she was as cheerful as yesterday. Levi feared it was her constant state. “I hope you don’t mind that I brought my friend Moblit? He’s the roommate I told you about.”

“Nice to meet you,” the man put the box down and smiled at Levi.

He absentmindedly nodded, not sparing that Moblit another glance. He had no interest in meeting Hange’s friends. They weren’t actually dating.

“How much shit did you bring with you?” he asked Hange.

“There are two more boxes in the car,” Moblit answered for her.

“Alright,” Levi nodded. “Then start unpacking all of your stuff, your room is at the end of that hallway,” he pointed in that direction. “I’ll bring the rest with your friend.”

“Great, thank you, baby!” Hange said cheekily. She winked at Levi, before turning around and beginning to inspect his apartment.

Levi stared after her for a moment. His plan was starting to look worse and worse with each passing minute.

***

“So, you’re not some kind of a murderer, right?” Moblit asked, while they were climbing the stairs, each of them carrying a box with Hange’s belongings.

“I’m not, don’t worry.”

“Oh, that’s good!” Moblit chuckled in relief. “Although, I do have to warn you – sometimes Hange gets too… intense.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Levi rolled his eyes. It was hard to miss that part of his ‘girlfriend’s’ personality.

***

“So,” Hange asked after she finished unpacking and said goodbye to Moblit. “What do I do now? Do I just sit around or do you need me for something?”

“Now, you’re going to show me your wardrobe. If you’re going to be my girlfriend, you’ll need something more presentable that this,” Levi’s eyes were filled with disgust, as he looked at Hange’s oversized t-shirt and her dirty, torn jeans.

“Mm, if you’re hoping to find something better,” Hange chuckled. “Then I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed.”

Levi cursed under his breath. His new girlfriend was proving to be much more troublesome than he expected. “Get ready then. We’ll go shopping. I can’t let you walk around, wearing such trash.”

Shopping with Hange was even more difficult than Levi expected. As though trying to annoy him, in each shop Hange picked the ugliest, most outrageous outfits she could find. Levi couldn’t quite understand if she just wanted to irritate him, or did she actually like those clothes. Somehow, he felt like the latter was true.

In the end, after browsing through ten different shops, Levi managed to buy Hange a couple of normal jeans, a few shirts and hoodies. He also picked a few suits for her, because Levi quickly understood that dresses and skirts weren’t Hange’s thing. It didn’t really matter for him, though. He was fine with whatever she decided to wear, as long as it was clean and her outfits didn’t look like a blind person had chosen them.

***

After that first day, however, Levi’s life had almost returned to normal. Sure, Hange was still living with him and occasionally he heard her mutterings or the sounds of her computer, but for the most part, she kept to her word. She was always busy with some work and didn’t bother Levi much.

The only place, where their paths crossed, was the kitchen. Levi would often see Hange, sitting on a countertop with a notebook in her hands, scribbling something down, while she waited for her coffee. Sometimes, they spend their breakfast together. And a couple of nights, when his insomnia acted up, Levi even invited Hange to share a cup of tea with him.

Unexpectedly, Hange wasn’t quite as annoying as Levi first thought. Sure, sometimes she talked a little too much, but Levi quickly learnt that she didn’t really need for him to participate in those conversations. She just liked to talk, especially about her work, and she didn’t expect any kind of an answer. And, truth be told, her blabbering had a strangely soothing effect on Levi.

He was surprised to realize that living with another person wasn’t that terrible.

Maybe, Levi thought fleetingly, he could even get used to it.

The whole week was spent in that manner, as Levi and Hange learnt how to co-exist together, getting to know each other better one day at a time.

But Friday was approaching, and so was the Ackerman family dinner. And neither Kuchel, nor Kenny let Levi forget about that.

His mother called him every day, asking what food Hange preferred and making sure that Levi hadn’t changed his mind about introducing his girlfriend to them.

Kenny smirked every time he saw Levi in the hallways of their company. He patted his shoulder and reminded him that if his girlfriend wasn’t actually real, now was the best time to reveal it.

Naturally, it pissed Levi off. Not that Kenny was that far from truth, but really? Could he have some faith in his nephew?

***

Friday came much faster than Levi expected. Before long, he found himself sitting in a car, dressed in his favorite blue suit. Hange was sitting beside him, wearing a dark green pants and white shirt that Levi had bought for her earlier.

She didn’t seem nervous in the slightest. Levi envied her.

“I think it’s time for us to talk strategies,” she said, as Levi began driving.

“Huh?”

“Well, we have to think of a legend. Our first meeting, our first date, when we realized we’ve fallen in love,” Hange waved her hands around. “That kind of thing.”

“Oh,” Levi didn’t think about it.

And judging by Hange’s mischievous gaze, she saw right through him. “Jeez, you’re lucky to have me. So I’ve been thinking about our first meeting, and we can tell that we’ve met, when my car broke down. I needed help, and you, as true gentlemen, offered to fix it.”

“I don’t think my family would believe this whole ‘true gentlemen’ crap,” Levi grumbled, earning a soft chuckle from Hange. “But alright, what happened next?”

“Well, naturally I decided to invite you to dinner to express my gratitude.”

“But I’ve refused?”

“Yes, you refused!” Hange threw her hands in the air, so scandalized, as though it actually happened. “But, luckily, I’m very stubborn, so I literally followed you, until you agreed to go out with me.”

Levi almost smiled. He could quite clearly picture that. “And then you’ve begged me to give you my phone number.”

“I didn’t beg,” Hange protested. “It was more like I forced you to give it to me.”

“And then you’ve started texting me practically non-stop,” Hange definitely seemed like a person, who would do that. “So I had no choice, but to agree to a second date.” “Mm, yeah. We started going out and on our fourth date, you literally couldn’t resist my dashing looks anymore, so you kissed me, whispering how much you love me right into my lips.”

Levi gave her the most unimpressed of his looks. Hange burst out laughing.

“What?” she asked. “It’s a cute story!”

“Let’s hope my family believes it,” Levi sighed.

Five minutes later, Levi stopped in front of his mother’s house.

“We’re here,” he announced.

He walked out of the car and hurried to Hange’s side, opening the door for her and offering her his hand.

“If you keep acting like this,” she giggled, taking the offered hand. “No one will believe that our relationship is real. Don’t worry,” she said softly. “Just be yourself.”

Levi rolled his eyes. He would never admit it, of course, but, maybe, Hange was right.

“Wait!” Hange widely opened her eyes. “We haven’t discussed one very important detail!”

“What are you talking about?” Levi furrowed his eyebrows.

“Our pet names, of course, silly! How do you want me to call you? Babe? Honey? Little kitten?”

Levi cringed. Then he looked at Hange closer. Her shoulders were shaking, as though she was barely holding in her laugh.

“You are such a jerk,” Levi mumbled. “Let’s go already. I hate to be late.”

“Mm, as you say, kitten,” Hange giggled, as Levi sent her his scariest glare. She didn’t even flinch. Instead, she wrapped her arm around his waist, making it look so casual, as though she was doing it all the time. Meanwhile, it took every part of Levi’s willpower to relax and put his own hand around her shoulders.

Walking up to his mother’s house, Levi knocked. In less than a second, she answered, wearing a bright, happy smile.

“You came!” she exclaimed, her eyes immediately locking onto Hange. “I’m so happy to meet you! I can’t believe Levi was hiding you from us for so long!”

“I’m pleased to meet you, as well, Mrs. Ackerman,” Hange tucked a lose lock of her hair, blushing slightly. Levi wondered if it was genuine or just an act.

“Oh, please, just call me Kuchel!” she squeezed Hange in a tight hug. “We’re almost family, after all!”

“Mom, please,” even if all of it was a lie, Levi’s embarrassment was quite real. “If you continue to act like this, Hange will never agree to visit us again.”

“Ah, don’t listen to that shorty,” Hange chuckled. “You’re so nice!”

“Shorty?” Levi cursed, as he heard that particular voice, followed by a hearty laugh. “I already like you, my dear!”

“She’s not your dear,” Levi glared at his uncle.

Kenny’s smile grew wider. “Uh-oh, someone is jealous. Don’t worry, kid, I won’t steal your girlfriend. If you promise to treat her nicely.”

“Shut up, old man,” Levi growled.

“Boys, stop it!” Kuchel gave them both a disapproving look. “Levi, show Hange the dining room, and, you, Kenny, go and help me in the kitchen.”

“Maybe, I can help you with something, too?” Hange offered.

“Oh, honey, absolutely not,” Kuchel shook her head. “You’re our guest tonight, so just relax and let us handle everything.”

“Well, if you insist,” Hange said with a soft smile.

“She’s not only pretty, but polite, as well!” his mother whispered to him, before Levi walked away. “I’m so happy you’ve found yourself someone so nice!”

Levi quickly nodded and turned away, feeling the guilt eat at him again.

***

“So, Hange,” Kenny began, taking a sip from his glass. “Tell us what you do.”

“I’m a scientist,” Hange said. “I study the regeneration process and ways of enhancing it.”

“You’re not just looks, but brains too, huh?” Kenny winked at her. “So what did you find in my nephew?”

“Well, I couldn’t resist his charmingly grumpy attitude,” Hange shrugged.

Kenny and Kuchel burst out laughing.

“Levi, I really don’t envy you,” Kenny said. “With tongue as sharp as hers, you surely can’t catch a break.”

“Tell me about it,” Levi rolled his eyes.

The conversation continued after that, and, as he watched Hange discuss politics with Kenny or talk about books with his mother, Levi couldn’t quite shake the feeling that Hange belonged here. She surprisingly easy got on with his family, and both Kenny and Kuchel already seemed to adore her.

His family kept talking about something, but Levi didn’t exactly pay attention. Instead, he was focused on Hange, as his eyes followed her every movement. Suddenly, their gazes met, and Levi hastily looked away, taking a large sip of wine from his glass. Trying not to act like he was caught staring at his ‘girlfriend’ like some kind of a creep. Reminding himself that all of it was just an act.

***

In the end, he drank a little too much wine. He wasn’t exactly drunk, but he couldn’t drive either, so his mother persuaded Levi to stay the night at her house.

“We have a guestroom,” she said. “And it’s pretty late already. I will feel much better, if you sleep here tonight.”

“I…” Levi never really could say no to his mother. “If Hange’s okay with it, then so am I.”

“Well, I don’t need to go to work tomorrow,” Hange replied. “So yeah, let’s stay.”

“Great!” Kuchel smiled. “Then you should go and relax in the living room, while I prepare the bedding for you.”

“Please, let me help,” Hange said.

“No, no,” Kuched refused again. “I’ve seen the way Levi was staring at you the whole evening,” she winked. “I’m sure he can’t wait to spend some time alone with you!”

“Mom!” Levi exclaimed, scandalized.

“Oh, honey, there is no need to be ashamed,” Kuchel ruffled his hair. “You’re a big boy already.”

“Big, but not tall,” Hange joked.

“Shut the fuck up,” Levi growled, grabbing her hand and dragging her to the living room.

Once there, away from the prying eyes of his family, Levi finally let himself relax. In the meanwhile, Hange took out two glasses and filled them with wine.

She held one glass out for Levi. “To the success of our little act,” she smiled.

“We’ve really managed to fool them,” Levi agreed, drinking from his glass.

“Yes,” Hange drew out, smiling lazily.

Levi suddenly realized how close they were sitting. Their thighs were pressed together, and when Levi turned his face to look at Hange, he was almost nose to nose with her. She seemed to realize that as well, but, unlike Levi, their proximity didn’t seem to freak her out.

On the contrary, she leaned in closer, until their lips were almost touching. “Your mother is watching,” she whispered, before kissing him.

It wasn’t a long kiss, it lasted for no more than five seconds, but those five seconds seemed like an eternity to Levi. He was shocked by Hange’s actions, but for some reason, probably because he was drunker than he thought, Levi didn’t even think about pushing her away.

He didn’t think about their lie, about his mother or Kenny. No, he thought only of Hange and the feeling of her surprisingly soft lips against his.

As soon as Hange moved away, Levi pretended to look behind her shoulder. “My mother is still here,” he lied, kissing her again.

His mother wasn’t there, of course. If Hange had strained her ears, she would quickly realize that Levi’s mother was in the kitchen, talking with Kenny. Maybe, she wasn’t actually watching them, when Hange had kissed him too, but Levi couldn’t care less. He was slowly losing himself in that kiss, and he wanted nothing more than to continue.

“So what about that promised guestroom?” Hange asked when they broke apart.

Levi nodded, his mind too blank to think of proper words. He got to his feet and Hange followed his suit. He led her to the bedroom and then closed the door, hoping that neither his mother, nor especially Kenny would disturb them.

“Are you sure?” he looked closely at Hange, taking pleasure in watching the rapid rise and fall of her chest and the way blush painted her face. This sight was making him drunker than the wine.

“Yes,” Hange breathed out, her voice husky and so, so sexy.

This was all Levi needed. He swiftly closed the distance between them, connecting his lips with hers. Hange put her hands into his hair, and when Levi moved from her lips to her neck, sucking at the delicate skin there, her fingers started to play with his strands, pulling at them and moaning softly.

They were just drunk, Levi kept telling himself, when he took off her glasses and began unbuttoning her shirt.

They couldn’t think straight, he reminded himself, as he pushed Hange down onto the bed.

It didn’t mean anything, he tried to persuade himself after they’ve finished and he slowly drifted to sleep, hugging Hange close to his chest.

***

Levi woke up with a groan. The fucking sun was shining right in his eyes, and he turned away from it, covering his face with a blanket.

He was ready to go back to sleep, when suddenly it hit him.

The sun, it was already high enough to shine through the window. He shot up and looked at the clock.

10:39.

What the fuck?

He had never, ever slept for so long. Usually Levi slept for no more than four hours. What the fuck happened?

And then, oh, the memories of last night began to resurface. He remembered his mother’s smiling face, as he introduced her to Hange, he remembered Kenny’s annoying smirk, as he continuously teased him, he remembered Hange, acting shy, but pleased, as she talked with his family. He remembered the kiss and everything that followed.

Levi sat up on the bed, hands in his hair. Shit, what did he do last night? Why did he decide it was a good idea to sleep with Hange? Why didn’t she stop him? Why didn’t he stop himself?

And as Levi glanced around the room, another important question appeared in his mind – where was Hange now?

Was she disgusted by him? Did she regret last night so much that she ran away? Was it the end of their arrangement?

Levi hurriedly got up from the bed. Putting his clothes on, he rushed downstairs, all the while thinking of how he would explain all of it to his mother.

He also needed to find Hange. Maybe, he should apologize to her? Explain that he was drunk and couldn’t think clearly?

Levi practically burst into the kitchen.

And then he promptly stopped, looking at the scene in front of him with wide, confused eyes.

Hange was sitting there. She held a cup of coffee in her hands and there was a small smile on her lips, as she listened to whatever his mother was talking about.

Hange. Was. There.

She didn’t run away, didn’t abandon him. She was there, so relaxed and joyful as though last night didn’t happen.

“Good morning, honey!” his mother was the first one to notice him. “Did you have a good night? You’ve been sleeping for much longer than usual.”

Yes, he did. He slept for almost ten hours. The last time he slept for so long was when… No, Levi couldn’t even remember when he had such a good night sleep. He couldn’t explain it to himself. Of course, he had some faint idea, but no. Even the notion of it was ridiculous. He probably slept for so long, because he was drunk (although, he didn’t have the smallest sign of hungover, but Levi promptly ignored this fact).

He had drunk too much, and that’s why he was sleeping for so long. Hange, sleeping in the bed beside him, had nothing to do with it.

“Hey, sit down,” Hange pointed to a chair next to her, “and have this.”

Levi skeptically looked at the mug that Hange put next to him. It looked like tea and smelled like it, too. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

“Oh, c’mon!” Hange rolled her eyes. “It’s tea, I didn’t poison it or anything.”

“It doesn’t hurt to be careful with you, four-eyes,” Levi grumbled. He did as she asked, though, and took a sit next to her. He lifted the mug and gave it another critical look. “It’s not another experiment of yours, right? I won’t grow a second head after drinking it?”

“Have some faith in me,” Hange playfully punched his shoulder. “Besides, your mother was there, when I made it. I couldn’t have poisoned you in front of her.”

“I guarantee that this tea is completely harmless,” Kuchel said with a smile.

“Alright,” Levi gave in and then took a small, tentative sip.

It was tea, just as Hange said. Strong and bitter with a heavy herbal scent. Exactly as he liked it.

Levi looked up in surprise. He glanced at Hange, and then his eyes focused on his mother.

“Don’t look at me like that, honey,” Kuchel chuckled. “It wasn’t me who told her how to prepare it. Hange knew it herself.”

Levi turned back to Hange, an intense look in his eyes.

“I watched you prepare tea the other day,” she explained with an almost shy smile. “Is it good?” if Levi didn’t know better, if he didn’t know that it was just an act, he’d say that Hange was nervous.

But. It all was just an act. Even if he started to wish that it wasn’t.

“That’s exactly how I drink it,” for some weird reason, he felt tense. Hange’s eyes on him made him uncomfortable. But not in a bad way. “Thank you,” he whispered more softly than he intended to.

“Ah, a good cup of tea is a sure way to our Levi’s heart,” Kenny chuckled, coming from behind to ruffle Levi’s hair. Levi didn’t even notice him entering the kitchen.

“Are you going somewhere?” he asked, noticing that Kenny was already dressed.

“Got some business in the office,” Kenny put his hat on, grinning at Levi. “You can take a day-off, by the way. Rest and relax, spend time with your lovely lady,” he winked at Hange. “Don’t think about the work.”

“B-but—”

“No buts!” Kenny chided. “I’m not doing this for you, kid. I’m sure Hange will get lonely, if you continue to work like a madman.”

Levi gritted his teeth, knowing perfectly well that it was pointless to argue with Kenny. Well, his apartment needed cleaning anyway.

“Oh, and by the way,” Kenny said, before walking out. “You didn’t forget about the Gathering this weekend?”

Levi barely stopped himself from groaning out loud. He did forget about that stupid shit.

Hange kicked his leg under the table, a silent question in her eyes.

“I’ll tell you later,” Levi whispered to her, before turning back to his uncle.

“Do I really have to go?” he asked him. “You know I hate it.”

“As do I, kid,” Kenny smirked. “Bring Hange with you, you won’t feel so miserable then. Well,” Kenny tipped his hat. “I’m off to work now! Adios!”

***

“So what was Kenny talking about?” Hange asked, as soon as they said goodbye to Kuchel and got inside the car.

Levi sighed. “It’s an annual event. Gathering, as they call it. Basically, it’s a banquet for the richest, snobbiest shits in this city.”

“Oh,” Hange smirked. “It’s for the people like you!”

“I’m rich,” Levi glared at her. “And sometimes I can be quite shitty, but I’m not a snob.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” Hange chuckled. “So, you need me to accompany you there?”

“I know it wasn’t a part of our deal—”

“No, I’m fine with that,” Hange carelessly waved her hand. “I can’t abandon you in the time of need, right?”

“Thanks,” Levi said, feeling more relieved that he probably should be.

***

The following week Levi spent drowning in his work. Even though, Kenny became strangely productive, there were still a shit ton of things that needed his attention. And, of course, the Gathering was approaching, so Levi had to help with organizing it, as well.

As a result, he was coming home close to midnight or even later, and almost didn’t see Hange. Sometimes she texted him, asking what groceries she should buy, and sometimes she left a dinner for him with a little note on the fridge.

But their communication was kept to a minimum, and Levi was glad that it was.

During the day, his mind was occupied with financial reports, income statements and other paperwork. There were a thousand of workers he needed to keep in check, dozens of problems he needed to solve. There was no time for him to think of anything else.

However, once he came back home, once he lay in his bed, having nothing to distract himself with, his treacherous mind began to fill with unwanted images.

He saw Hange’s flushed face, as she asked him where the bedroom was. He felt her needy and passionate kisses, he heard her quiet moans and gasps. He remembered how good it felt to hold her in his arms, how sweet his dreams were, as Hange slept beside him.

It was hard for Levi to admit, but he desperately wanted to repeat that night, wanted to feel the warmth of Hange’s body once more.

But he knew that he couldn’t.

Hange acted as though nothing happened between them. In front of Levi’s family, she pretended to be his girlfriend. When they were alone, she acted like they were friends. Not even once did she speak of that night.

Maybe, she was drunker than she seemed and didn’t remember it. Or, maybe, it wasn’t such a big deal for her. Either way, she didn’t seem uncomfortable.

And Levi would really, really like to follow her suit. To forget about it and continue with his life. But maybe, he was spending too much time working and not enough sleeping. Maybe, the guilt from lying to his mother was making him crazy.

His life would probably return to normal, once the month was over.

But as for now, Levi could only hope.

***

“Wow,” Hange breathed out, as she and Levi moved through the crowd of extremely rich-looking people. “That is one hell of a fancy party.”

Levi didn’t answer, too busy glaring at the disgusting pigs, surrounding him. Their fake smiles and overly polite words made him sick. However, he had to admit – Hange’s presence somewhat managed to lift his sour mood.

“What should we do?” she continued, undisturbed by his silence or scowling face. “Do we come up to say hi or—”

“Absolutely not,” Levi protested. “We find the emptiest corner we can and hope no one notices us.”

Hange’s chuckled, the sound filled with relief. “Yeah, works for me. I don’t think I’ll be well received by this particular crowd.”

“And neither will I,” Levi replied, dragging her to the most secluded part of the room.

They stood there for almost half an hour, with Hange providing hilarious commentary on every guest and Levi barely resisting from laughing out loud.

“Oh, no,” Hange suddenly said, her voice urged and tinted with panic. She grabbed Levi by the hand, squeezing it almost painfully. “He is here.”

“Who?” Levi asked, trying to see who the fuck managed to worry Hange so much.

“No, no,” she whispered. “Don’t look at him. Maybe, he won’t notice us then.”

“Who did you—”

And oh, now Levi saw him too. Zeke fucking Yeager.

“You know him?” he asked.

“Yes,” it wasn’t hard to notice the distain in her tone. “We’ve attended the same university. He was the second most successful student. After me, of course. We were rivals, of sorts. Wait,” Hange looked at Levi with wide eyes. “You know him too?”

“Yes,” Levi sighed. “His company rivals my uncle’s.”

“Shit,” Hange said. Levi couldn’t agree more.

“Shit,” she repeated, more urgently this time. “He saw us. And he’s heading our way.”

If Levi wanted to escape, it was too late now. In a matter of seconds, Zeke was standing right in front of them.

“Who do I see? The brightest mind of our generation,” with a sweet smile on his face, Zeke grabbed Hange’s palm and planted a kiss on it. “Miss Hange Zoe, it’s been awhile.”

“It’s Doctor Hange Zoe,” she corrected. “And I’m sure you know it.”

“Ah, as fierce as ever,” he chuckled. “I’ve missed your passion.”

“And haven’t you missed me, Zeke?” Levi interrupted, glaring at him.

Zeke chuckled again. “Levi, I didn’t notice you. I think you’ve become even shorter.”

Levi had to summon all of his willpower to stop himself from punching that arrogant asshole. Hange’s hand, which was squeezing his almost painfully, did a great job of keeping him grounded.

“And I think you’ve become an even bigger piece of a shit than you were,” he gritted through his teeth.

“As vulgar as always,” Zeke rolled his eyes. “What else could I expect from an Ackerman?”

Zeke continued to show his overly sweet smile, but his eyes filled with some confusion, as he saw Hange and Levi’s joined hands.

“Don’t tell you’ve come here with him, Miss Zoe,” he said, pointedly ignoring Levi.

“I haven’t come with him,” Hange replied, her smile so big, she almost bared her teeth at Zeke. “I am with him.”

“You’re dating?” Zeke’s eyebrows went so high, they’ve reached his hairline. “So you didn’t take pity on that pathetic friend of yours? The one, who was always following you like a faithful dog?”

“I don’t know who you’re talking about,” Hange said, her voice cold and her gaze sharp.

“Oh, so you don’t even remember him? That foolish guy… what was his name? Mob— Mobit?”

“Moblit,” Hange corrected him through gritted teeth. “And there is nothing pathetic or foolish about him. He’s ten times better person than you are.”

“Really? He’s so good? And yet you’ve chosen Levi Ackerman over him?”

“I don’t have to explain myself to you,” Hange sneered. “But if you haven’t noticed how amazing Levi is, then I don’t think I can persuade you.”

Unfortunately, before Levi could relish in the sight of Zeke’s dumfounded face or process what Hange had just said about him, he was quite rudely dragged away.

“What a fucking asshole, what a jerk,” Hange muttered, as she led Levi through the crowd of guests. “How dare he talk about Moblit like this, and how dare he shit on you as well, I just—”

Levi stopped so abruptly, Hange had no other choice than to come to a stop alongside him.

“What?” she asked. “Do you see another annoying asshole?”

“No,” Levi shook his head, wondering if he actually understood Hange clearly. Was she pissed off at Zeke not just for offending her friend? Did she try to defend him as well? “Everything’s fine, let’s go to the balcony. I need to get some air.”

“Yeah, good idea,” Hange nodded.

As they stood at the balcony, each lost in their own thoughts, Levi couldn’t help but stare at Hange. Illuminated by stars and city lights, she looked different than usual. Almost surreal.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” she suddenly cursed, breaking Levi out of his reverie. “That fucker is still staring at us.”

Levi looked back and saw it too. Zeke was standing in the main room, looking right at them and smirking arrogantly.

An idea popped up in Levi’s head.

“Hey,” he said before he could stop himself. “Do you want to piss him off?”

“Of course,” Hange agreed without hesitation.

Levi smirked, laying his hands on Hange’s waist and bringing her closer. The voice inside his head cursed and protested, begging Levi to stop. He didn’t listen.

Instead, he leaned in even closer, until mere centimeters were everything that separated Hange and him. He gave her last careful look, searching for the smallest signs of discomfort. There wasn’t any.

So Levi connected his lips with hers, instantly losing himself in the kiss. His hands gripped her waist tighter, as he deepened the kiss.

Zeke probably wasn’t watching them anymore, but Levi continued to kiss her. Just to be sure.

And he would have continued to kiss her for much longer, but suddenly Hange pushed him away.

“Not that I’m not enjoying it,” she chuckled, her voice husky. She was enjoying it? Levi wondered if she meant the kiss or the act of pissing Zeke off. “But I think we should stop. Otherwise we’ll get kicked out of this fancy party.”

I don’t care, Levi almost argued. If he looked around, he’d see dozen of people staring at him. He’d see Zeke and his friends, watching them with disgust (and with poorly hidden envy), Kenny, smirking proudly, and all the other guests, giving him confused looks, not actually believing that Levi Ackerman, a known bachelor just as his uncle, was kissing some unknown, nerdy-looking woman.

And still, he didn’t care. None of it mattered, not really. Not as much as Hange did.

But he couldn’t tell that to her, couldn’t reveal what exactly she made him feel.

So he took a step back, letting go of her, and nodded, still looking a little bit dazed. “Let’s go home, then. I’m sick of this stupid shit.”

As soon as they got home, Hange headed to her bedroom, claiming that she was exhausted.

Levi couldn’t decide if he should feel relieved or disappointed.

***

The next Friday, it was Levi’s turn to host Ackerman family dinner. He spent the whole day in the kitchen, preparing the food and slapping Hange’s hands away, whenever she tried to help him.

He had witnessed her once, cooking an omelet. He swore to never let her come close to oven ever again.

Amazingly, but that dinner was even more successful than the first one. Levi’s mother and uncle seemed to like Hange even more, as her bright smile and warm eyes managed to charm them even further.

As he watched the three of them talk, Levi remembered that he planned on ‘breaking up’ with Hange soon. Initially, Hange agreed to be his girlfriend for a month. Levi didn’t believe that he’d endure her for so long. But now it felt like it wasn’t even nearly enough.

He liked living with Hange. Even though, all of it was an act, just Hange doing, what he had paid her for, Levi started to wish that all of it was real. That Hange was actually his girlfriend, that all of her signs of affection were genuine, that she actually liked him.

He started to wish that he could stop pretending that it was all just an act for him.

***

Levi just returned back to his apartment after walking his mother and Kenny to their car, when he heard a strange sound. It sounded like four-eyes didn’t fucking listen to him and decided to wash the dishes.

“What the fuck are doing?” he asked, walking into the kitchen and scowling at Hange.

“Well, what does it look like?” Hange shrugged, undisturbed by Levi’s hard gaze. “I’m doing the dishes.”

“I told you I’m going to do it myself.”

A smirk appeared on Hange’s lips. A very mischievous and evil smirk. “Then come here and stop me, shorty.”

Levi growled and started moving. That was his mistake. As soon as he was close enough, Hange took the faucet in her hands and directed the flaw directly at him.

He cursed, as he realized that his favorite shirt was ruined, but didn’t stop. He reached Hange and put his hands on hers, trying to push her away. She redirected the flaw from his shirt to his face.

Spurting and gritting his teeth, Levi used all of his force to press her to the countertop. Without looking away from her face, he turned off the faucet.

“So?” he said right into her lips. “What are you going to do now?”

“Oh, Levi,” Hange rolled her eyes, looking relaxed and quite content. “You should know that I always have an ace up my sleeve.”

Before Levi could really process her words, Hange surged forward, claiming his lips in a passionate kiss. Instantly, Levi’s mind was turned off, just like that faucet moments ago. He forgot about his wet shirt, about his annoyance and anger. All that was left was Hange and the feeling of her body in his arms.

“A-ah, Levi!” Hange moaned, as Levi moved away from her lips to bite at her earlobe. That sound was like music to him. “W-wait, wait!”

She put her hands on his chest, pushing away. Confused, Levi instantly took a step back.

“Are we really going to do it?” Levi became even more confused. They’ve done it before, two weeks ago. And they’ve kissed again at the Gathering. Why was Hange against it now? “I mean,” she trailed off, her gaze constantly darting to his lips. “Wouldn’t it be better to move to the bedroom?”

Oh, Levi couldn’t believe, how relieved he felt.

Without wasting any second, he kissed Hange again.

“It’s the smartest thing you’ve said to me,” he whispered, before taking her hand and hurriedly leading her to his bedroom.

***

And so… they’ve fucked again. And as Levi woke up (again, much later than usual), again his bed was empty.

So it was just sex after all. Levi knew he shouldn’t be surprised. But his heart still squeezed painfully, as that realization hit him.

***

After taking a shower and putting his clothes on, Levi walked out of the bedroom, searching for Hange. He knew that he should leave it and her alone, try to forget about last night, but he felt almost physical need to see her. Just to make sure that she was still there, that she didn’t leave him.

But as Levi walked up to her room, he saw that Hange wasn’t alone.

Her friend Moblit was sitting in a chair, as Hange stood close to him, her right hand pointing at something on the computer screen. Her left hand was at the back of Moblit’s head, as her fingers absentmindedly played with his hair.

As he watched that overly sweet scene, Levi’s jaw tightened. Anger began flowing through him like hot lava.

Without saying anything, he shut the door closed and turned around, walking out of his apartment.

So for Hange it really was just sex? She really didn’t feel anything for him? Levi knew, he knew that he shouldn’t have expected anything else. It was just a job for Hange, and who could blame her for deciding to have some fun, while at it?

It was Levi, who was a fool. He made a mistake, he got attached. He should have known better.

But he didn’t.

Levi spent almost three hours, wondering the streets. Trying to get those annoying thoughts about Hange out of his head.

Thankfully, he knew just the right remedy for that.

So he headed to his office, determined to throw himself head-first into the work.

***

And threw himself he did. He was pushing himself to the point of exhaustion, sitting in his office till early hours of morning. He slept for less than two hours and he came home only to shower and change clothes. He avoided Hange completely, ignoring all of her texts and calls.

It was just one more week, he kept telling himself. One more week and this whole idiotic charade would be over. His life would return to normal and he would forget about that stupid woman.

Hange would disappear from his life. And maybe then, his heart would stop aching.

***

Levi kept that crazy schedule for four days straight. And, unfortunately, but naturally, it had quite negative effects on his productivity.

He cursed, as he was getting ready to a meeting with investors, and realized that he had forgotten important documents at home. He had two hours until the meeting started, but it was the middle of the day. If he came home now, it would be impossible to avoid Hange.

Levi cursed again, thinking, if he had any alternatives. Of course, he could ask someone else to pick the documents for him. One of his assistants, for example. Or he could just suck it up and do it himself.

After all, it was his apartment. And, maybe, Hange wasn’t even awake right now, or, maybe, she was too absorbed in another one of her experiments. She probably wouldn’t even notice his arrival. And even if she did, Levi would be gone, before she could start a conversation.

And with that in mind, Levi headed out of his office.

***

As he entered his apartment, Levi found it to be blessedly quiet. So, his guess was right – Hange was sleeping. It wouldn’t be so peaceful, if she wasn’t.

Satisfied that he wouldn’t run into her, Levi decided to brew himself a cup of tea. The one he was drinking at the office wasn’t as good as the one he had at home. Levi missed its exquisite taste.

However, as he walked into the kitchen, he found out that he wasn’t alone at his apartment. No, that fucker, Moblit, was sitting there.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” he said, putting down the book he was reading. “Hange said you wouldn’t return until evening. She went out to grab us a lunch,” he hurriedly explained.

“Whatever,” Levi grumbled, taking out his favorite cup. Just the sight of Moblit’s face made his anger resurface, but Levi decided to ignore it. He wouldn’t lose his cool because of some idiot Hange was evidently in love with.

“You’re breaking her heart, you know,” Moblit quietly said. Levi froze. “You’ve been avoiding her and Hange noticed it,” Moblit continued, staring into his cup. “It makes her sad.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Levi looked away from him, determined to finish brewing his tea. Deciding to ignore those stupid words and how they made him feel.

“You really don’t?” Moblit asked. The earnest tone of his voice made Levi clench his jaw. He didn’t know what he was talking about. And he didn’t want to. “Do you really not care about Hange?”

“I don’t,” Levi said, hating how untrue he sounded even to his own ears. “And besides,” he took a step closer, glaring furiously at Moblit. “Why are you so worked up about this? Even if it’s true and I’m breaking Hange’s heart, why are you so upset? It could be your chance, you know. If she’s sad, you can be the one to soothe her pain. Be her shoulder to cry on. Maybe, then she will finally see you.”

Moblit shot to his feet, his hands clenched into fists and trembling with barely conceived anger. “If it weren’t for Hange,” he gritted through his teeth. “I would have punched you. God knows, you deserve it. You’re lucky she cares about you.”

He pushed past Levi, heading to the entrance door. “Tell Hange I’ve got some urgent business.” He said before walking out.

Levi watched him go, his shoulders shaking from anger. He wanted to smash something, to take something in his hands and fucking break it. Maybe, Moblit really should have punched him, Levi would have punched him back. It would be a great outlet for his frustration.

But as the moments went by, Levi’s anger at Moblit, and at Hange, disappeared. Instead, as his mind began to clear out, Levi understood what he had done, what he had said.

Moblit didn’t deserve such cruel words. Clearly, he was a good man, who cared about his friend. It wasn’t his fault that Hange cared about him too. It wasn’t his, or hers, fault that Levi wanted her to care about him instead.

Levi sighed, slowly lowering himself onto the chair. He was going crazy, that’s for sure.

One week, he reminded himself. He needs to survive one week, and then it would be over.

***

He was still sitting there, trying to regain his composure, when the front door of his apartment opened. Hange walked in, carrying a box of pizza in her hands.

“Levi!” the surprise was evident in her voice. Levi looked up at her and instantly regretted his decision. His treacherous heart skipped a beat at the sight of her face. He didn’t realize that he missed her so much.

“I didn’t expect you to come home so early. Something happened?” she asked, staring at him worriedly.

“Forgot some documents at home,” he murmured absentmindedly, unable to take his eyes away from her.

“Oh, did you have lunch already?” she put the pizza down. “Want to join Moblit and me?”

“Moblit went home,” as he said those words, he was once again filled with guilt and shame. “He needed to take care of something.”

Hange’s face fell. “I brought his favorite pizza…” however, a moment later, a smile returned to her lips. “Well, then you definitely have to share it with me! I can’t eat it all by myself.”

Levi wanted to refuse. He even had a reason to – he had to return back to work. But looking at Hange’s hopeful eyes, he felt his resolve slipping.

“Fine,” he said, trying to sound as annoyed as possible. “But don’t you dare to bore me with your scientific rumblings.”

“As you wish!” Hange laughed. “Besides, I want to hear about you too. What have you been up to these days? You work so much, I barely see you anymore.”

Levi hated the genuine worry in Hange’s voice. It tugged at his heart. It made him feel like the biggest jerk in the world. It filled him with remorse and regret.

“I… I just had a lot of work.”

She shook her head. “You should take it easy. Your mother worries, you know.”

“You talked with her?” Levi raised his eyebrows. It was news to him.

“She visited me yesterday,” Hange shrugged. “She probably wanted to see you, as well.”

“Oh.”

“Your mother is very nice,” Hange chuckled. “I’ll miss her after our break-up.”

Of course, they were going to ‘break up’ this weekend. Their arrangement was coming to an end.

Levi knew he should feel relieved. But he didn’t.

“You should probably get her ready for our break-up,” Hange took a bite of the pizza, oblivious to the effect this particular conversation had on Levi. “So it wouldn’t seem like it happened out of blue.”

Levi nodded, looking away from Hange. He knew that all of it was a lie, that their relationship weren’t real. But for some reason, his heart still ached and just the thought of saying goodbye to Hange made him sick.

“I need to go,” he suddenly rose to his feet, hastily finishing his slice of pizza. “I have an important meeting.”

“Will you come home this evening?” Hange asked, her eyes boring into his. “Or will you spend the night in your office again?”

“You’ve been avoiding her and Hange noticed it,” Moblit’s words rang inside his head. “It makes her sad.”

“I have a lot of work,” he answered helplessly. Then, before he could stop himself, he added. “But I’ll try to finish earlier.”

“Yay!” the obviously happy smile on Hange’s face made Levi’s mouth go dry. “Then I’m cooking dinner tonight!”

“Don’t you dare,” Levi hissed. “I’ll order take-out on my way home.”

“Still don’t trust my cooking skills, shorty?”

“I just want to keep my apartment,” he retorted before leaving the kitchen.

As he was heading to the office, a small smile was on his lips.

He didn’t even notice.

***

“Honey?” Kuchel softly knocked on the side his office’s door. “Are you busy?”

“No,” Levi shook his head, putting his papers away. There was no work more important than his mother. “Is everything alright?”

“Of course. Just brought you some sandwiches,” Kuchel laid them down on his desk, taking a seat across from Levi. “You’ve been working a lot these past few days.”

“Yeah,” Levi ran a hand through his hair. “There are a lot of things that need my attention.”

“So responsible,” Kuchel smiled. “You look exhausted. And stressed,” she looked at Levi, her usually soft grey eyes turning sharp. “Is the work the only thing that worries you?”

“N-no…” Levi looked away, feigning distress. “We’ve been fighting with Hange…”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, I think…” he sighed, lowering his head. He couldn’t lie while looking his mother in the eyes. “I think we’re going to break up, mom.”

Levi carefully looked at his mother beneath his hair. He expected her to be shocked, or, maybe, saddened. Her shoulders indeed were shaking, and Levi was ready to get up and comfort her, but then he gave her another look. She covered her mouth with a hand, but there were no tears in her eyes. No, instead, his mother seemed to be trying to keep herself from laughing.

Levi stared at her, utterly confused. “Mom?”

“I’m sorry, sorry,” a small laugh escaped her lips. “I just didn’t know that you can break up with someone, if you’ve never actually dated.”

“What?” Levi’s eyes widened. “You… you knew?”

“Of course, I did, honey,” Kuchel covered his hand with hers. “I knew it from the moment you’ve told me about this mysterious girl of yours.”

“Then why… why didn’t you tell me?”

Kuchel shrugged, a look of mischief in her eyes. “I wanted to see what you were going to do. Truth be told, I thought you’d just confess that it was a lie. But I guess I should have known that you wouldn’t give up so easily. And then you brought this girl,” her grin turned into a fond smile. “I watched you two together, bickering and teasing each other, and I saw… potential.”

“Potential?”

“You were comfortable with her. And she didn’t seem to care about your insults and constant scowls. You were good together, you seemed happy. And then I saw you kissing on the sofa in our living room. You were quite passionate, that’s for sure,” she winked. “So I decided to keep quiet. To see where it can lead to.”

“Shit,” Levi covered his eyes. “So you knew all this time…” he couldn’t wrap his head around it. “Kenny knows too?”

Kuchel chuckled. “Of course, no. Your uncle is a smart man, but he’s not quite as sharp as I am.”

“Thank fucking god he isn’t.” If Kenny knew about his idiotic plan, Levi wasn’t sure that he’d be able to survive the humiliation.

“Levi?” Kuchel looked him in the eyes. “You like Hange, don’t you?”

“Yeah… but it doesn’t matter.”

“Why not?”

“Because she doesn’t like me back.”

Kuchel smiled, getting to her feet and coming to stand in front of Levi. She put her hand on his cheek, gently caressing it. “Are you so sure about it, dear?”

“Of course I am,” Levi turned away from his mother’s eyes. “She already has someone.”

“She does?” Kuchel’s asked, her voice soft as silk.

“I… I think so.”

“Honey, why don’t you go and talk to her?” his mother proposed. “You won’t know how she feels about you, until you ask her.”

“But what if she doesn’t feel the same as I do?” Levi whispered.

Kuchel shrugged, ruffling his hair. “You accept it. You try to move on. You’d feel a lot worse if you don’t use this chance. Believe me, you’ll be regretting it for the rest of your life.”

“I… yeah, you’re right,” Levi nodded, feeling much better now. His mother was right, it was better to get rejected than tormenting yourself with ‘what ifs’. “I’ll go and see her now. Thank you,” he tightly embraced his mother.

“I’m always there for you, honey,” Kuchel smiled, squeezing Levi once before letting him go. “Now go. And call me afterwards! I’ll be waiting!”

“Of course,” Levi said and then left his office.

No matter the result, he was determined to tell Hange how he felt about her.

***

When Levi arrived at his apartment, Hange was in the middle of packing her things. Moblit was helping her with that, and when Levi showed up, he narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw, glaring at him.

Well, Levi wasn’t blaming him. After their last conversation, the guy had every reason to hate him. Levi needed to apologize to him.

But that could wait, he had to talk to Hange first. While he still had his resolve.

“Hange? Can we talk?” he asked her quietly. “In private,” he added, glancing at Moblit.

“I… of course,” Hange smiled. She turned to Moblit and they looked at each other, having a silent conversation. Hange smiled and squeezed his elbow. Moblit sighed, but evidently agreed to leave them alone. Before he walked out, he gave Levi another disapproving look.

“So? Did you tell your mother about our break-up?”

Levi shook his head. “I didn’t really need to.”

“Huh?” Hange frowned.

“She knew that all of it was a lie.”

“Ouch,” Hange winced. “What gave us away?”

“Nothing,” Levi said. “She knew it from the very beginning. Even before she met you.”

Hange chuckled awkwardly, scratching her neck. “You must be embarrassed.”

“Yeah, it sucks,” Levi agreed.

“So?” Hange put her hands in the pockets of her pants, looking as relaxed as ever. But Levi knew it wasn’t true. Her shoulders were tense and she was biting her lip, her eyes darting from one corner of the room to another. Never stopping at Levi. “This is a goodbye?”

“If you want it to be.”

“Huh?” Hange finally looked at him, confusion swirling in her gaze. “What do you mean, Levi?”

Levi clenched his fists. It was now or never.

He was going to do it, he was going to confess to Hange. Right fucking now.

However, as he looked into her eyes, he began to lose some of his courage. He turned away, coming to stand by a window.

“Before I met you…” he began, his voice quiet, but steady. “My life was quite miserable. I was so lonely and I couldn’t even admit it. But when you showed up, when you moved in with me, I started to realize that maybe I was wrong. That maybe I didn’t want to be alone. And when I was with you, I realized that I don’t have to be alone. I finally understood how good it felt to be with someone. And I know it was a lie, I know we’ve just pretended, but I’ve spent the whole month, desperately wishing for it to be true. I know that this is inappropriate and I know that you probably don’t feel the same, but I—”

“Levi,” Hange came up to him, grabbing his elbow and turning him around to look at him. “I have feelings for you too.”

“What? What kind of feelings? Do you m—”

“Levi,” Hange pressed a hand to his mouth, silencing him. “I have never thought I’d tell you that, but you’re talking too much,” she smiled, as she saw his glare. Now that was the Levi she knew. “And to answer your question – romantic ones. I like you, Levi.”

“Oh,” Levi was so surprised that he forgot to be annoyed by the fact that Hange pressed her probably dirty hand to his mouth. He could lecture her about it later. Now there was a more pressing matter. “So you like me? Not Moblit— or anyone else, but me?”

“Yes, dumbass,” Hange rolled her eyes. “I like you. Wait,” she looked at him closely, a sly grin on her lips. “You thought I liked Moblit? Were you jealous?”

Levi looked away, a stupid blush appearing on his cheeks. “I may have gotten into a fight with him. I… said things to him that I… that I shouldn’t have.”

“Oh god!” Hange doubled over with laughter, clutching at her sides. “That was why he was so angry with you! I knew something happened between you two, but he refused to tell me about it! I thought he had broken your favorite mug or something, but you were just jealous! Oh, Levi,” she straightened out, cupping his face in her hands. “You’re so adorable!”

“No one had ever called me that,” he replied gloomily. However, he didn’t move away, staring up at her.

“You know,” Hange leaned in. “This is definitely the part, where you kiss me.”

“Really?” Levi wrapped his hands around her waist. He rose to his tiptoes, so he could reach her lips. And then, finally, he kissed her.

It was a slow, languid and gentle kiss, different from the ones they’ve shared before. Those were needy and passionate, Levi liked them, but this one – oh, he could spend an eternity kissing Hange like this.

“Wow,” Hange breathed out, when they broke apart. She gingerly pressed her fingertips to her lips. Levi enjoyed the dazed look on her face. “That was… really good.”

Levi frowned. “You didn’t like our previous kisses?”

“No!” Hange hastily protested. “Those were awesome too! But this one, well, I didn’t know you could be so gentle.”

And, truth be told, neither did Levi. As it turned out, there were a lot of things he didn’t know about himself.

But with Hange by his side, maybe, he could figure it out.

#this one's longer than usually ladies #levihan #levihan fanfiction #levi and hange #levi x hanji #hange zoe #levi ackerman #hanji zoe #levi aot #levi snk #snk #Shingeki no Kyoijin #snk fanfiction #moblit berner

226 notes · View notes

belphegorbillickin · 3 years

Note

Honestly, I love Mammon but I'm sick of his sweetness. I see him EVERYWHERE, and it's like the others don't exist. I like it when characters lose their calm you know? Esp that time when we reject Satan's pact, I really liked how he got worked up over such a thing lmao. And of course, most of the ones who tried killing mc had stupid reasons, except for Lucifer imo, but since when did demons make sense?

Alright, sure, they can still be sweet, but imagine if they ACTUALLY were dark characters. Corrupting human souls, selfish desires, blah blah. I'm not saying they can't love mc, ofc they can be sweet and lovable, but that doesn't mean they'd lose their normal habits and quirks. You cannot differentiate between them and normal humans now. The traits that would portray them as demons isn't there.

And perhaps yes, routes would've been fun. Right/wrong answers? Seems legit lmao. But like you said, the characters could've been done so much better.

I liked them at the start, now that I think of it asmo was never really what he seemed to be at the start, but in the recent events to me, at least, he's all but that. Diavolo, Barbatos, they have potential to be dark characters lmao. Asmo too, esp abt Helene, he sure was manipulative. Seeing Satan just be about cats/books upsets me bcuz he's one of my favs, and like you said, I feel he could've been a MUCH better character, plus idk he seems like he could be dark too. Other than beel & mammon, and I really don't know about belphie since he's become pretty sweet now, I feel everyone else could be written as characters with darker, more fitting demon personalities.

Though I love how we can go on about one topic for ages lmao. Lmk if my rambles become too annoying lol – 🍹

Don't worry about it, I really enjoy talking about it and I'm the queen of rambling lol. It's actually kinda hard for me to be concise when it comes to things like this.

And yes! Satan's reaction to rejection was exactly what I was thinking about when I mentioned that. I don't doubt most of the others would've reacted the same either tbh, but the difference between his reason for wanting to kill MC and his brothers' felt very different imo.

I'm kinda repeating myself, but I think people really overlook how cold Asmo was regarding getting MC killed. In that sense I can see how they get along with each other so well. I think I huge part of that is people coming in knowing that they're all gonna love MC and MC can't die so they don't even think about threats or subtle manipulation, but he's one of the most malicious imo since it was so cool-headed and planned.

Kind of like the theories about Barbatos and/or Diavolo purposefully sending you to a traumatic death because executing Belphie would cause the brothers to revolt. (Which I believe to extent btw.) Those four stand out as a lot more demonic imo because they can't be called crimes of passion. I miss the days where they both just casually admitted to taking part in a torture dungeon.

Personally I love the idea of unavoidable demonic corruption. Like the "tragic lovers suffering from fate" trope but where the demon isn't just an innocent victim that can't control it at all and MC doesn't just take it happily without consequences.

I'm not against MC suffering the consequences of a demon boyfriend, far from it, but even if you don't go the direct route there's so many ways to do it.

Even just slowly losing your morals because all the demons (and old-ass human with some most likely odd moral quirks, if only from being alive so long in horrible times) around you treat horrible things as something as mundane as breathing. Even if they snap back at least acknowledging it is a huge step up.

I'd be terrified and paranoid 24/7 knowing everyone around me wants to literally eat me and has eaten humans before. Even if they hated the taste or something knowing they're capable of it is scary af.

Like a Beelzebub who truly doesn't mean to hurt MC but doesn't think twice about breaking their beloved pet's bones right in front of them. A Beelzebub that finds it just as hard to avoid eating humans as he did in the intro even when he knows he shouldn't harm MC's family.

Or even just a Beelzebub so wracked by guilt and light on morals that can't bring himself to not always enthusiastically take Belphie's side even when he knows it's hurting MC. A kind of parasitic relationship where Beel guilts MC into staying and helps Belphie trap & manipulate them in ways Belphie could never do by himself.

A Leviathan that finds it increasingly hard to keep his jealously inwards now that he has someone to fight for and can't feel secure unless he can feel their envy. A Belphegor that slowly manipulates MC into abandoning all of their responsibilities and friends until their life is ruined and they have to depend on him.

I get that some of them are a bit harder to do without reminding people of irl abuse they may have faced, namely Satan, Levi, Lucifer, and ofc Asmo, but there are ways to make it more supernatural and less mundane. Besides there are way, way worse otomes out there that don't even market themselves as dark like Obey Me did.

I find it interesting that so much of the fanbase absolutely hates those kind of themes when they're so hard to avoid in otome and it was kind marketed towards people who like it. Like I genuinely wonder how they heard about it and got through demons insulting & trying to kill them in the early days of Obey Me before you knew they got better.

In the end though none of that can really happen without routes imo. Those kind of storylines can't be done well in the 10 seconds of individual interaction we get, even a whole lesson is too little time. And again even people who like darker things might freak out when Asmo's the one doing it or get turned off by Levi so they won't risk their money. It's so frustrating seeing the lost potential and knowing it's probably never gonna happen.

Speaking of I always thought Mammon was pretty robbed too. Not only did he never have the same freedom to harm MC as the others, but he was also directly responsible for their safety. Like sure they'd all be punished, but you have a different mindset when an authority figure constantly makes you aware and you have more chances to bond.

I think even cannon Mammon would've been more dangerous and a lot more rude if he wasn't their babysitter. The others, except Satan & Belphie ofc, probably would've been "nicer" and more controlled knowing Lucifer was breathing down their neck too imo.

Like he does seem less violent and hot-headed than the others, but they're not the same circumstances. Even a while after the pact he'd probably sell MC in an instant if he knew he wasn't going to be severely punished.

A lot of his possessiveness feels like a dog guarding a bone rather than true jealously imo, even when they're doing it as endearing thing. People automatically assuming he was lying when he said he'd rather MC die than be saved by someone else, but was he really at that point? Just because someone is tsundere at times doesn't mean they're incapable of being honest or not that into someone.

That's also kinda what I meant by infatuation too. Like sure they could like a human, but that doesn't mean they'll be that upset when they die or will never get bored. It's kind of like those people that immediately get a new pet after theirs dies, or even before so they don't have to be without a dog for a single second. Or the kind of demon that wants to "ruin" you with their sin until you can't go on as the ultimate act of love, even though they know it'll kill you.

#asks #personal

7 notes · View notes

yaboylevi · 4 years

Text

“Let’s talk!”

In this post, I’d like to examine why the words chosen to sway and stop Eren in chapter 133 didn’t resonate with some readers, as well as with Eren.

Disclaimer #1: This isn’t a justification of any kind. I merely tried to look in a critical way at the individual parts, because while reading them, I felt a disconnect with what the 104th thought could get to Eren. As I read, it felt obvious that what they were saying wasn’t gonna work. So I asked myself, Is Isayama such a bad writer that all his characters say is so obviously inappropriate or ineffective, or is this on purpose? (I still don’t know the answer)

Disclaimer #2: I realize that the 104th was suddenly brought in front of “Eren”, so they were surprised, and didn’t have time to sort through their reasonings, but I’d also say they have had plenty of time before. Also, maybe the suddenness of it all was actually a good thing, so we could see how some of the characters really felt.

Let’s start with Jean:

“We’ll figure out the rest from here” and, after Eren says he won’t stop, “Why not? Are you saying you can’t trust us?!”

First of all, Eren has been feeling like he was partially* pushed to this outcome, because in 4 years they couldn’t figure out what else to do to save the island in the long term. They still cannot come up with anything better than “we will be left alone for a while”, so Jean’s words offer an empty promise. It has been established that Eren won’t settle for “a while”, he wants a “forever”. Never mind that a temporary solution would still require for Historia and her kids to be sacrificed.

*Eren also feels like it was his own fault, due to “his past self wishing for everything to disappear”. We are still not sure what this means exactly, and if it is true (I’m thinking of Paths shenanigans here).

Then, Jean talks about “trust”, particularly in comrades in arms. This is a topic that has been explored repeatedly since the beginning of the story, through Levi’s “make a choice” speeches, and Eren’s harsh experiences. Basically: when Eren decided to trust in his friends and comrades, in the forest of Giant Trees, Levi’s squad got killed, Eren captured, Levi injured. All in all, it resulted in many losses, and Eren has felt a deep guilt for that outcome ever since those events, all the way through Uprising Arc and probably even later on. No matter that it wasn’t his fault, he felt that it was. So the next time he had to decide whether to trust in himself or in his comrades, he decided to trust in himself. The story also calls back to the time he “chose wrong”, as if it wasn’t an obvious parallel already.

Eren is rewarded with his friends safe and sound.

So it is no surprise that, as much as Eren - I believe - would love to trust them, experience told him that he cannot, or the price to pay will be their lives. Eren has been entrusting the SC to find another solution to the Rumbling for 3-4 years, and in the end Marley was close to declare war on Paradis. Eren isn’t averse to trusting his comrades, he just feels like he cannot, not on this one choice. (Albeit I think he’s trusting them to do the choice of stopping him - but there is something he needs to do alone).

When it comes to Connie, I feel like bringing up Sasha’s death wasn’t the best of choices. Eren feels guilty about that. He broke down in such a helpless, desperate way, that I find it hard that Connie’s words would absolve any of that hatred and guilt he must be feeling. “We are the same” - both Eren and Reiner have acknowledged this about each other, and if it has even a bit of credibility, then no amount of apologies for not understanding them, or forgiveness for what they did, is gonna make them feel any better about the death and destruction they have both caused and feel guilty about.

It was when Reiner threw himself to the ground and refused to accept Eren’s understanding and forgiveness that Eren reiterated they are the same, after all.

Hence why Connie’s words couldn’t have had the desired effect. (Also, guys, look, the “let’s band together against a common enemy is RIGHT on this page...lol)

Now, Armin’s words.

To me, it seems like he doesn’t really know what to say. Or rather, he tried every idea that bounced in his head at that moment, without a clear strategy. He didn’t have time to form one, and besides it’s difficult to decide whether to use an objective approach or an emotional one when it comes to your best friends. But even then, I felt like the reasonings, and reasons, he brought up, failed to reach Eren in a significant manner. And by this, I don’t mean that Eren wouldn’t want to just drop everything and hug his friends... we all know he would, under normal circumstances, because there is no doubt he loves them deeply... but it seems to me he has resolved to push his own feelings down and just...move forward - which is in a direction away from his friends.

Armin starts with logic, “Eren has brought so much destruction that nobody will interfere with the Island for centuries”. Except, Armin has no proof. On the other hand, Eren has probably seen that there are still enemy forces advancing in their attack of the Rumbling, so if he were to stop the Rumbling now, they’d attack Paradis. “The island is fine now.” It isn’t. I think Armin is aware that this was a lie on his part.

Armin immediately realizes that’s not good enough, and that he’s wrong, and Eren knows, so he switches to the emotional route.

“We were wrong. We forced you to this point”. It would not resonate with Eren, because Eren is too aware of the fact that what he is doing is not because his friends never understood him. As bad as they acted toward their friend, they aren’t the cause for this war. The Rumbling exists because there are people who were ready to destroy Paradis.

This prompts Jean to bring up another elephant in the room: “Eren is doing this for our sake”…which isn’t wrong, but telling Eren he doesn’t have to do it for them just won’t make Eren stop. Eren has repeatedly stated that he wants them to live, and be free. Armin has just reminded him that if Eren stops, that freedom will be crushed, along with their lives. Eren, of course, cannot accept that.

After Eren refuses to stop, Armin gets in full desperation-mode, saying they will be forever together. This is untrue, and I am not sure Armin fully realizes in the moment (how could he not, though?), because Eren will die in 4 years, Armin in 9. Besides the more pressing matter that the island can be attacked again, if Eren stops.

Lastly, “Don’t go any futher away from us than you already have”.

This is a sentiment that Armin shares with Mikasa, since all the way back to the Clash of the Titans Arc. At the time, they thought back on how Eren was always rushing forward, leaving them behind. Mikasa’s argument, in chapter 133, also touches on this. I said “argument”, but it’s more like a confession. The chapter is called Sinners for a reason, after all.

So yeah, Mikasa.

Amongst all the ineffective argument that were brought up, Mikasa’s words are the ones that took me aback the most, honestly. I am not sure if I am interpreting this right, but she sounds like she’s okay with falling to Eren’s level, as long as she can be with him. Nothing new here, but more specifically, the worst sins Eren has committed, for example killing innocents and children, which is what Mikasa focused her horrified shock on in Liberio, she is willing to do herself. That’s how you share a burden of sins, by taking part in committing them. And that’s what she acknowledges. What she wants. She says it quietly because she seems ashamed of that. Because she wanted to be like Eren, to stay close to Eren, and to share his sins, she killed and enabled Eren. So now that she has “committed the same sins”…? She has conquered a spot next to Eren? So he should stop and come back. This seems to be her line of reasoning. This is horrifying, I understand why she didn’t have the courage to yell it.

We know that Eren’s fear is that he may have enslaved her to his will, and whether he still believes it or he has just a few doubts left, seeing Mikasa admitting to something like this, must have reminded Eren of exactly why he wants Mikasa to be separated from him. ‘Cause this isn’t healthy.

Eren surely can’t feel any better by knowing Mikasa had followed that logic - maybe unconsciously. If he tried to be firm and cruel once to get her to “abandon” him, it can only get worse.

The second part of Mikasa’s little speech isn’t any better, as far as situational context goes.

In the text, Mikasa has embodied the concept of family in regards to Eren, just as much as Armin instead embodied their childhood dream of freedom.

And sure enough, Mikasa repeats what she told Eren in Liberio: “Please come back (home)”. Well, at least the Japanese version is the same, lol.

It is (still) her wish (it seems like nothing has changed in 30 chapters). But other than that, it brings up memories of Liberio, and of Mikasa’s disappointment and pain for Eren’s actions. The fact that Mikasa is willing to forgive (or better, accept) everything just because it’s Eren, may make Eren feel like she’s still not free from his influence. He may be feeling as if he brought her to accept killing innocents as something that can be partially overlooked…And I doubt it is what he wanted.

Besides, it seems that the story wants Mikasa to learn to let go as well. If Mikasa has kept on trying to keep Eren close, and it’s now become even as explicit as saying, literally, “come back home”, that “itterasshai” at the beginning of the manga counters this need and seems to imply Mikasa (who I suppose is the girl saying that) will learn to let Eren free to “go far away from her”.

“Itterasshai”, in Japanese, is a wish for someone to be safe on their journey, whenever they go out, with the expectation that they will come back. Mikasa is soflty smiling, meaning that she is okay with Eren “going out and away”. Meanwhile, the Mikasa who costantly repeats that she wants Eren to come back, to stay close, is a Mikasa who suffers and cries.

And finally, Levi. What a lacklustre moment.

It feels like Levi believes no word can sway Eren (he isn’t wrong, but still…).

Levi has never been averse to “talking it out”. He has always mostly resorted to talking, before anything else, when it counted. With minor characters such as Dimo Reeves, but mostly with regards to Eren: when the first Levi squad was about to attack Eren, Levi tried to talk them down; whenever Eren was in doubt or set on hating himself, Levi reasoned it out with him, with heartfelt little words that hit Eren’s core at the right angle. Even when Eren was out of his mind and high on adrenaline, fear and rage on the rooftop in Shiganshina, Levi opted to try and talk to him first.

The point is, he has always tried to understand Eren so that what he ended up saying, it would help the situation or resonate with Eren, or so he hoped.

This time, he doesn’t say anything of the sort. He merely admitted, in a very roundabout and lacklustre way, if not a bit too parodic for my tastes, what everyone else has said: that he would forgive Eren if he stopped now. Which isn’t bad, per se, but it’s not even close to what Levi used to be, or how he used to approach Eren.

Where Eren’s friends have missed out on what their words could achieve, potentially, due to a mix of not understanding Eren fully, and a concoction of feelings (panic, desperation, frustration) making them spout things that had no significant influence on Eren in that moment, Levi on the other hand didn’t even try this time, even though he has always done so before.

I am not sure if it’s because of Isayama’s total disinterest in Levi’s character as of late, or if it’s due to Levi himself not caring anymore - albeit it doesn’t seem the case, because he has kept on trying to find alternatives to killing Eren, so I don’t understand why he didn’t even try...

...unless he already knew it wouldn’t have worked out how Armin&Co wanted (and here I have conspiracy theories but let’s end it here lol).

Anyway, I hope this wasn’t too boring, I just felt like breaking down the scene a bit. Let me know what you thought of the various things the characters said in Paths, and if you agree with me, or if I am the only one who was disappointed by the scene, lol!

#snk 133 #shingeki no kyojin #snk spoilers #snk meta

62 notes · View notes

shotofire · 3 years

Text

Dream Catcher

•LEVI ACKERMAN x READER

•Overview: In which you own a stand to sell dream catchers, and Levi takes an interest in the concept

•Warning: Cursing, angst, mentions of sex, descriptive gore

•Season: Not specified

It had been going on for weeks now. Levi Ackerman would wake up pretty much every night covered in sweat and breathing so fast as if the air might run out. Nightmares were nothing new to him at this point. They came and went, but it had been a few years since they’d been this bad.

He wasn’t sure what had triggered the dreams. A mission hadn’t occurred in almost two months believe it or not. The reoccurring nightmares were always the same, down to the details. It started with him in a beautiful field filled with flowers, and the sun was warming his skin.

The peace in the beginning was always short lived, and soon he’d hear a terrified scream erupt behind him. The mood of the fresh air would change immediately, and everything around him had changed in the blink of an eye. Instead of a field filled with flowers it was a field scattered with dead bodies. It seemed to go on for miles, bodies covered in their own blood.

Scream after scream filled the air leaving no room for silence. He would watch as titans snatched up his friends and chewed their body parts like candy. He wanted to help them and he was skilled enough to do so, but his feet couldn’t move.

Everyone would be screaming his name and begging him for help. But the ground acted as if it were glue, keeping him in place as he watched everyone die. Every last person in the field would be ripped apart at ease, leaving him the last one alive. Tears would be streaming down his face as he saw the faces of everyone he cared about with fear struck expressions that would stare back at him.

The titans wouldn’t pay any mind to him. He’d be left alone with no one to care about, no one to love. Even though Levi would die before he admitted it, his greatest fear is to be alone. It’s not the fear of dying that leaves him paralyzed, why would he be scared of the inevitable? Being alone is avoidable and a more logical fear in his opinion.

Once a titan looked at him with a gut wrenching smile he’d sit up in his bed at full speed. His shirtless chest would be hot to the touch and sticky with sweat. There had been a few times he’d woken up with dried tears on his cheeks, or still in the middle of crying.

He pushed it aside at first thinking they’d just go away on their own and he’d be fine. None of his nightmares lasted more than a solid week because he’d find someway to get over them. But once it hit almost a month he was beginning to worry. His lack of sleep was catching up to him, and the bags under his eyes were prominent.

Hanji had bugged him about it for about a week now. She constantly pointed out his dark circles and how slow he was starting to move. The women went as far as to call him ‘an old man’ just so he may tell her what’s going on.

“You look older today,” she whispered in his ear, as he drank some coffee, causing him to jump in surprise.

Levi rolled his eyes once he knew who it was. She just never seemed to go a minute without saying something. He’s been in the dining hall for maybe an hour and she’d already insulted him five times.

“Maybe it’s because i’m getting older,” he grumbles in annoyance.

She sits across from him with a loud thud. Her hands immediately reach across the table to grab his wrists which nearly causes him to drop his coffee. The man didn’t even have the energy to ask what the hell she was doing. Her eyes began scanning his face swiftly, taking in every detail.

“When was the last time you had a good nights sleep?” She asks before letting her tight grip on his wrists go.

He scoffs as if what she was talking about was way off. She basically jumps across the table to smack her palms on either side of his face, squishing it a bit. He grabs her wrists to move her grip but it’s no use, he was too tired and she was far too determined.

“I heard you gasp in your room last night when I was going to get a drink,” she says with narrowed eyes, “and I know you aren’t getting laid so it had to have been a nightmare.”

His mouth hands open at the somewhat insulting words that came out of Hanji’s mouth. How would she know he wasn’t getting anything? He pushed his eyebrows together in a knot and wanted to tell her to fuck off, but he kept himself together.

“So what if I did, it’s not a big deal,” he mumbles and she finally lets go of his face.

“It kinda is a big deal if it’s been going on for weeks,” she says while waving her hands in the air, “eye bags like those don’t form over night.”

He looks down at the wooden table so she’ll stop pointing out and looking at his sleepy features. He’s fully aware of how bad he looks but he’s too stubborn to get help. Hanji knows of Levi’s ways and that’s why she’s trying to annoy the hell out of him. She thinks if she bothers him enough he’ll seek help just for her to leave him alone.

“I know a way your nightmares can go away,” she says with her tone laced in excitement, “get a dream catcher!”

The man had never heard of a dream catcher. For a second he thought it was a drug, he wouldn’t put it past Hanji to try something ‘in the name of science.’ His confused features become prominent and she realizes she should probably explain what this dream catcher is.

“About a month ago I was having this awful dream and it kept going on and on. So I went into town to see a doctor for some strong sleeping medicine and then I saw this colorful sign that said,” she stood up to show how big the sign was, “dream catchers for sale!”

Levi was still beyond confused at this point. And his annoyance with how much energy she had this early in the morning was growing. He just wanted to walk away and get some paperwork done, and then hopefully be able to fall asleep without disruptions. Deep down he knew the dream was just going to happen again.

“The girl there will explain it to you, she will do a lot better job than me, but basically they get rid of your bad dreams,” the smile on her face was huge.

That’s when Levi became interested. So all he didn’t to do was get a dream catcher and this would all go away? It seemed easy enough. Hanji noticed the way his shoulder perked up and her smile only grew.

“It’s right next to that little tavern I forced you to go to with me that one morning, and it’s impossible to miss the sign,” she beams, “also the girl is cute, so you may leave with another prize.”

She wiggles her eyebrows and Levi can’t help but roll his eyes at the crazy women. She stands up quickly before strutting out of the room feeling victorious.

“Thank you Hanji,” Levi whispers just enough for her to hear.

“You’re welcome,” she sings back.

He’s left alone with his thoughts. Was he really going to go see whatever the hell Hanji was talking about? When it comes down to it she didn’t explain what it looked like or if it was a damn drug. He really was going into this blind, but his need for sleep was far too high to not atleast check it out.

Going into town wasn’t his favorite thing to do whatsoever. Most of the time he wouldn’t be seen walking around. Hanji would have to beg for hours, sometimes days, for him to leave base with her. In all the years of knowing him she’d only succeeded a handful of times.

Yet here he was walking through town with his hands stuffed into his pockets. It was rather noisy and crowded, which is what he hated the most. The sun was shining and children were out playing, running in the streets like no one else was around. He had nearly ate shit when a little girl ran infront of him as if he wasn’t there.

“I’m gonna go crazy,” he mumbled to himself.

Right as he turned the corner he saw that sign Hanji had described to him. Swirls of pink, purple, and blue were painted onto it and white block letters spelled out ‘Dream Catchers For Sale!’ His eyes observed the little stand and watches as a women handed the young girl money with a big smile on her face.

Once the women walked away and no one was occupying it he began making his way in that direction. The girl had turned her back before he’d gotten there, he could only guess she was putting away the money. When she turned back around her eyes widened and she jumped at his presence. The girls cheeks heated up as soon as she realized what she did.

“I’m sorry, I just didn’t hear you come up and got a bit startled,” she says nervously.

Levi half smiles at the girl, and he kinda surprised himself with his own actions. He finds her awfully cute which he didn’t see coming. It had been a few years since he admitted to finding someone attractive. He looks behind her to see some sort of art, maybe, hanging on nails imbedded in wood. The girl had gotten a big slab of wood and painted it with the same colors as her sign.

“How can I help you?” She asks with a warm smile that makes his heart skip a beat. What the hell is going on with him right now?

“My uh,” he thought for a second, “my friend told me about this thing called a dream catcher. I wanted to get one possibly.”

She smiles and nods, happy to help someone.

“Well i’m (y/n) and i’d be glad to help you,” she beams.

Levi can’t help but abserve her beauty, and her name had a nice ring to it. She turned around to grab one of the objects hanging on the wall before bringing it back to him. She sets it down on the small table infront of her so he can get a better look.

He observes the object and found it rather interesting. There was a large circle at the top, appearing to be made out of wood, that had red string wrapped around and across it to create abstract patterns. More red string hung off the bottom of it, and at the end of those strings were white and grey feathers.

(y/n) watches as his eyes scan over it in curiosity. She loves the looks on people’s faces when they take in every detail of her hard work. He then looks up at her to see she’s looking at him, and his heart beat increases a bit.

“I’m Levi by the way,” he says, “And i’m guessing this is the so called dream catcher?”

She didn’t expect the stranger to tell her his name but she was glad he did.

“Nice to meet you Levi, and yes it is! Would you like me to explain the dream catcher a bit?” She says excitedly with her same smile that got prettier by the minute.

His answer comes in a nod.

“So, a dream catcher is supposed to prevent you from having nightmares, and it’s the healthy option too. Getting medicine you know little about can be dangerous and have negative effects,” she explains.

Levi can’t help but watch the way her lips move and eyes light up. She was rather endearing and knew how to keep your attention with her sweetness. He could tell she found joy in helping people, and he found that admirable.

“It’s not proven to work so don’t come yelling at me tomorrow if you still struggle to sleep,” she giggles, “it’s more of a positive energy object. If you put faith into it and wish it to work it most likely will, that’s what my grandmother always told me. Plus i’ll be handing it off to you with my positive energy!”

He couldn’t help but smile at how excited her tone was. She was happy to help him, a stranger, with her little creation.

“Basically just keep an open mind and gather up all of your positivity,” she says, “Oh and also you hang it on your wall, preferably near your bed. Even better if it’s above your head.”

She was sorta rambling due to the fact she found Levi extremely attractive. It’d been awhile since a man had found his way to her stand, let alone one who had such perfect features. Sure she’d noticed the bags under his eyes but she knew that was the reason he was here.

“Well uh, i’ll take it. Thank you for explaining to me (y/n),” he smiles softly.

The way her name rolled off his tongue sent a chill up her spine. His voice was so deep and smooth, she wanted to hear it in other ways. She pinched her wrist at the dirty thought that was beginning to creep into her head. This man could be crazy for all she knows.

Before she can tell him the price he’s already digging in his pocket and setting the money on the table. She could quickly tell it was more than what she charged.

“Let me get you your change-“ “No, keep it.”

Her cheeks heat up at his kindness. She was struggling financially right now, not many people found her business appealing.

“Actually,” he grabs more money and puts it with the stack on the table, “I’ll take two more.”

(y/n) can’t help but smile brightly at his actions. She grabs two more for him and puts all the dream catchers in a small basket then sets a note on top that Levi didn’t seem to notice. She hands it off to him and he smiles back at her.

“Thank you so much,” she says with her sweet voice that Levi found comforting.

“Of course,” he says, “I’ll be back tomorrow to tell you if it worked for me, but it’s more of an excuse to see you again.”

Her eyes widen at his words and she’s sure her face reached a shade of red that it never had before. He watches as her features get all flustered at his words and he smirks. This girl truly was adorable and he had to come see her again.

“Have a nice rest of your day (y/n),” he says before turning his back and walking off.

“Y-You too,” she stutters. In that moment she wanted to face palm herself for being such a flustered mess. She’s just met him maybe fifteen minutes ago and he already had an effect of her.

That night Levi hung all three dream catchers on the wall above his headboard. When he went to put the basket on his desk he noticed the small yellow tinted piece of paper laying on the bottom, face down. He picks it up and sees the neat handwriting spread across it.

Thank you for supporting my business!

My positive energy is rooting for you to have a good nights sleep!

Levi smiles at the words, she were awfully kind. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to stop himself from going to see you tomorrow, even if he had things to do. Her sweat voice range through his head as his eye lids became heavy. He laid down and it only took him a few seconds to fall into a deep sleep.

Tonight was the first night in weeks that Levi slept peacefully. There were no bad dreams, and no seeing his friends die. He’d slept so soundly then when he woke up he was kind of confused. That’s when it hit him, he’d just gotten a full night of sleep with no interruptions.

He stretched his body and it felt amazing. His eyes didn’t feel like bricks in his face, his head wasn’t pounding, and his body felt loose instead of stiff. He looked up at the dream catchers with a small smile on his face. The girls little creation had actually worked, but he thought it was her kindness that contributed to the good nights sleep.

Later that day he walked back to (y/n)’s stand and praised her for his good nights sleep. The blush on her face never seemed to leave the whole time they talked. And Levi couldn’t remember that last time he’d laughed this much during a conversation. If anyone who knew him saw him right now they’d think he was filled to the brim with alcohol. That’d be the only thing they could think of to make his personality do a three-sixty.

Levi ended up asking (y/n) to get coffee with him the next morning. It was the start to a beautiful relationship.

265 notes · View notes

mcrninqstar · 3 years

Text

discord: it’s you. it’s always been you.

SUMMARY: Lucifer accidently sends Maze the wrong text leading her to believe her best friend is dead. He goes to her to clarify and they end up revealing more to each other than they anticipated. TRIGGERS: Death Mentions, Daddy Issues, Mommy Issues WRITTEN WITH: @mazikeenofmurders

MAZIKEEN: She'd been in Hell, torturing Will when she got the update from Lucifer. Charlie's dead now. She'd seen a lot of people die in her lifetime. Most of the time it didn't bother her, but Charlie was her best friend. It was heartbreaking. Her chest felt restricted, and her eyes filled with tears. She wiped them away before anyone could see them. If Charlie had ended up in Hell, Maze should've been told, but no one came while she let out her anger on Will, which meant that she'd gone to heaven and that Maze wouldn't be able to see her again. She let Belphegor continue torturing Will on their own while she went back to her own place in Hell. She didn't tell Belphegor the news yet. They'd need to figure out how to break that down to them. They were already upset enough that she'd been hurt. Maze had diverted their sadness to anger, but handling her death would be harder. Maze remained stoic until she got home and saw a picture of Charlie, Lucifer, and herself in a frame on one of the walls. She picked it up and broke down into tears, clutching it to her chest as she laid down on her bed. Now she'd really never get Charlie to sleep with her and Lucifer. That made her cry more.

LUCIFER: "Well, that was bloody awful," Lucifer lamented as he appeared in Maze's home. He needed someone to complain to about this. He'd already tried calling Linda a couple times but she declined the calls on account that it was close to 2am now. "Maze?" he called out to her. She wasn't in the living room, but he could feel her presence about. He figured she must've gone to bed. Surely she wouldn't mind being woken up to some good news. Lucifer helped himself to the bar, pouring two glasses of champagne and placing them on a tray. He carried them into Maze's room like some sort of fancy butler. He expected to find her maybe in some sexy little number or maybe nothing at all. But what he hadn't expected was to find her crying. "Mazikeen..." he lowered the tray onto the nightstand beside her. "Why are you crying? I thought you'd be over the moon, honestly..." Becoming Death was one hell of a promotion, especially for a human reaper. Charlie had essentially ascended to an angelic form of being. It was unheard of for humans to do that. It was historic and spicy and no doubt causing Uriel to panic a little. Lucifer very much liked that idea. But Maze...he'd never seen her like this.

MAZIKEEN: She heard it distantly when someone came into her home. Sometimes the other demons tried to sneak into her place to fight her when she was off guard. She was never really off guard, but she could recognize Lucifer's presence. Archangels like him radiated power that was unmistakable, especially him. She didn't move when he called her name. She didn't want him to see her crying like this, but she couldn't stop. It hurt too much. Charlie had been too important to her. "I'm not crying," she insisted, even as her voice cracked and tears spilled down her face. The picture frame she'd been clutching left imprints on her arms as she sat up. She sniffled as she wiped at her face, but more tears kept coming. She looked at Lucifer with confusion. "Why would I be over the moon about this?" she asked. Why was he? What was good about any of this? "She's gone, Lucifer." She took in a breath trying to push back the tears, but it just distorted her face. Admitting that she was gone was hard. It was possibly one of the hardest things she ever had to do, and she dealt with Cuphegor all the time.

LUCIFER: "Right, of course," he nodded and sat down at her bed side. She was too crying but he wasn't going to call her out on it. He simply pulled out the handkerchief from his pocket square and held it out to her. He had no idea what brought this on. Maze normally loved when he sent people out to be tortured by her specifically. William especially had been a thorn at her side. What he'd done now warranted permanent death so naturally he figured Maze would be happy about that but she wasn't. She was crying about someone being gone. It didn't take long to realize she was talking about Charlie. "She's not gone," he replied, placing his hands on either side of her and rubbing down the length of her arms in a reassuring manner. "I mean, I don't really know where she's at right now specifically. She's kind of hiccupping in and out of afterlives and I'm not allowed entry into some of them because of politics. But she's very much alive...unalive...sort of dead?" he sighed trying to figure out how to explain it. "She's Death now." He didn't see what was so bad about that. Maybe it was because Maze couldn't hug her? "I mean, sure, it would be ill advised to touch her at the moment but you'll be able to give her a hug when she reigns her powers in a bit. Raphael said they'd help."

MAZIKEEN: She took the handkerchief he offered her and wiped the tears off her face, still not admitting that they were tears, not that he was insisting they were or anything. He hadn't argued her lie, and she appreciated it. She leaned against him as he rubbed her arms. She thought he was giving her some spiel about how their afterlives didn't really mean they were gone or something. That wouldn't have made a difference to Mazikeen if she couldn't see Charlie herself, but that wasn't what he was talking about. She wasn't sure what he was talking about actually. "What do you mean she's alive? You texted me and told me she was dead." Her voice was raising angrily. She'd been so upset. "You made me think my best friend died!" She hit him in the chest as she spoke. "I was crying because I thought I lost her!" She spoke with a mixture of shouting and sobbing.

LUCIFER: "What do you mean? No I didn't," he defended as she shouted that he sent her a text saying Charlie was dead. He pulled out his phone to try to get a look at what he said but she started smacking him. He swatted her away briefly to take a peak and sure enough...he grimaced. Bloody autocorrect. "That was meant to say she's Death, not she's dead," he corrected, not that it mattered in hindsight. "I wouldn't break that kind of news to you over a text message, Maze," he tried to assure her calmly. "That's Levi levels of avoidance. I'd send a carrier pigeon at least." Perhaps it wasn't the best time for jokes but that was really the only way he knew how to work through the kind of day he had. It wasn't exactly easy having to run a death scythe into an old friend and hope for the best.

MAZIKEEN: "Yes, you did!" she snapped. She'd read over the text several times just to make sure she'd read it right because that news was so serious. It didn't make a difference to her now that it was a typo. If anything, she was more furious that he hadn't noticed the typo before he'd sent it, or even that he didn't see that it had changed once he had sent it. He could've corrected it immediately and saved her the heartbreak of thinking she'd lost her friend. "A carrier pigeon?!" she repeated angrily, not finding his jokes as funny as he did in the moment when she was still reeling from thinking her friend had died. She started hitting him. "You're so stupid! I can't believe I fell in love with you, you asshole! Who jokes about that?!"

LUCIFER: "In my defense a lot was going on," he lamented, still wanting to complain about the situation. "I wasn't exactly sipping Bacardi with Raphael up there." He might've put too much faith in his phone to get the message across. "I knew you were worried about Charlie's condition and I wanted to get the news to her ASAP. I had a million and one things I needed to do to secure the veil after everything happened and I wouldn't have had time to come down to hell until well...now. I didn't think it was fair for you to wait that long." He was trying to ease her nerves but thanks to his phone he'd done the opposite. He grimaced as soon as the pigeon joke left his lips and braced himself for another round of smacking. It didn't hurt and he let her carry on. It was best to just let Maze air out her frustrations rather than let them fester. He expected her to insult him. That was par for the course. But he hadn't expected her to say the other thing. He sat up a little straighter and held her firmly so that she would stop hitting him and look at him instead. "You don't...you can't...you don't mean that, do you?" he asked her in all seriousness.

MAZIKEEN: Realistically, she couldn't blame him too much for what had happened. All in all, it was a simple mistake, and anger was the main way she knew to release her emotions. She knew Lucifer knew that, and there were ways she could make it up to him later when she wasn't emotional. She sighed. "I guess I do appreciate you trying to tell me as soon as possible, even if you did fuck it up." She really did appreciate that, considering how worried she'd been about Charlie. "So I really can't hug her though?" She was one of the people Maze actually liked to hug. Lucifer was also one of them, but him grabbing her took her by surprise. He probably just was getting annoyed with her constantly hitting him, but most of her anger had gotten out now. She sighed. "You are kinda an asshole sometimes, but I like it most of the time."

LUCIFER: "Well, someone will suffer for the ill conceived attempts of autocorrect," he assured her. It wasn't going to be him, but someone would. Surely there was probably a demon to blame for this. "Probably Sam," he offered, hoping that would lift her spirits some with another soul to torture. "Charlie managed to separate him and his evil twin. She dragged the parasitic one here. Not sure which kingdom but when we find him, he's all yours," he replied, still running his hand up and down her arm in a comforting gesture. "No, I'm afraid you can't hug her for now. She's deadly to everything except the Archangels now." Although Charlie was young by comparison, her ranking was up there with Cupid now that she was Death. Love and Death were fundamental forces in the balance of things. "But I'll give her extra hugs on your behalf," he replied. He didn't mind it one bit. Having to stab Charlie wasn't exactly pleasant and he wanted to ensure she was okay every step of the way. His features softened and his grip lightened when she remarked he was an asshole sometimes, but she enjoyed that about him. "That's not what I meant...I meant the other thing you said. The one about falling in love with me..." he clarified so that neither of them could be mistaken this time. "You don't mean that, do you?"

MAZIKEEN: "As they should." She nodded in agreement. She smiled brightly when Lucifer suggested that it would probably be Sam. She'd always wanted to torture him. "Is it my birthday again already?" she asked jokingly. She was a little disappointed that it wasn't both Sams that ended up in Hell, but she guessed that it was good for Charlie's happiness or something. "That's pretty hot," she remarked with a smirk. "It makes me want to try it anyway. I'll tell you what it feels like." She grinned. Lucifer couldn't have all the fun in being the only one of them to be able to hug Charlie. Her smile faltered when he clarified what he'd heard her say. "Ah," so she had actually said that then? She'd thought that part was just in her head, but it was hard to keep a cap on her thoughts when she was that upset. Her chest clenched up. She was trying to gauge his reaction to that before she said anything else, but it was hard to tell how he was feeling about it. The most she could tell was that he was uncertain, but she couldn't decipher if that uncertainty came from disgust at the idea, if he wanted it like she did, if his trauma from the curse just had him scared to trust it, or a combination of a few of those. She sat up straighter, holding herself higher to make sure this confession didn't make her look weaker in any way. If he didn't like it then fuck him anyways. "I do. I've been in love with you for a while now." She let out a breath of air. That was a weird thing she never really thought she'd let out, but it was out there now. She watched Lucifer carefully for his reaction, prepared to backtrack or defend herself if she needed to.

LUCIFER: He was glad to see her smile after the particularly awful news she thought he'd delivered. He knew he'd be paying for that for the next few weeks but for now at least the storm had passed and she knew Charlie was safe. "If your birthday occurred anytime that man nearly dies, you'd be aging at twice the rate," he pointed out. He really did feel for the Winchester's Guardian. That angel had to be doing overtime on most days. "Wear protection," he teased. "Safe hugging to prevent untimely death." Maze wore enough latex that it really shouldn't be a problem. Charlie was careful too. Lucifer had instructed her to go to Val in the meantime for pointers and perhaps a pair of sturdier gloves.

He swallowed back a bit of initial panic when she confirmed that he'd heard her correctly. His automatic thoughts and fears were that his curse was back. Why else would anyone love him? He projected outward confidence because he had to. It was expected of him as King of Hell to know what to do, or at least to look like he knew what he was doing. Maze knew better than most Lucifer had no idea what he was doing. He was a mess just trying his best. Truthfully, the curses had set him back quite a bit. He still struggled, wondering if any of the relationships and connections he'd made in his life were real. Chloe had left him long before the curse was broken and he couldn't blame her. But Maze stuck around. She'd been there before he discovered his curse and she was still there afterward. She'd been there through all of his milestone and all the trials life could've thrown his way. He couldn't have imagined doing any of this without her. In fact, he was certain he couldn't have done it without her. The duties of keeping Hell running and keeping his siblings both happy and alive stretched him thin. He needed a partner and Maze was the best one he could've ever asked for.

If she really did love him, then this was a blessing because as much as the feeling scared him, he loved her too. He hadn't realized how much she did for him until she'd disappeared to the other timeline. He'd been a mess then and so had hell. Since then, he tried to show her that he appreciated her more and more. He tried to do what he could to spend time with her because he didn't know how much time they had left. He realized some time ago if the void was going to take over, she'd be the person he'd want to be with in the end. He thought those feelings were just friendship, but he knew deep down it went deeper than that.

"Okay...." he took a deep breath. "Okay..." he ran his hands up and down her arms as a soothing gesture. "Mazikeen, you are one of the most important people to me. You're the first person I check in with in the mornings and the last one I see before I go to bed. You're..." You're the one person I can see myself spending an eternity with. Just say it Lucifer. Come on. "The last time I felt like this about someone, it turned out to not be real. How do we know any of this is real?" he questioned. It was an unfair question to place on her but he wanted to be upfront with his fears. He'd known Chloe for all of 4 years when she left. And her leaving left a hole in his belief in love. He'd known Maze for much longer. If this turned out to be a curse and if she left too...he wasn't sure where that would leave either of them.

MAZIKEEN: She laughed a little at his comment about Sam's deaths. "Even better. Maybe I can catch up to you, old man." It wasn't like they really aged anyways. Birthdays were an arbitrary thing they made up just for an excuse to celebrate. They were all too old to actually keep up with their ages, and even if they did, it just made them look so much better despite their ages. "Don't worry. My strap-on has a condom and everything." She grinned. She'd be careful enough, but the thought that her best friend could kill her with just a single touch was exciting and she wanted to see what it felt like. Hopefully, she wouldn't kill herself completely in the process. She wasn't actually suicidal like some people.

Her chest ached seeing that look on his face. As a demon, she considered it a skill of hers that she could recognize the fear in her victims, but Lucifer wasn't a victim. He was her closest friend and the person she was in love with. She usually knew him better than she knew herself most of the time, but she couldn't tell where that panic came from in the moment. Was he as scared of rejecting her as she was of being rejected? Or was he just as scared of allowing himself to love as she was. She knew that with his curse, he'd been hesitant of his relationships, romantic or otherwise. It was part of the reason she'd been so hesitant herself recently about talking about it (though it was mainly because of her own fear). The way he held onto her arms, rubbing them to reassure her, convinced her that this was a rejection, so she prepared herself for it.

She had to admit, he was setting up the rejection nicely. She imagined that he was going the route of asking if they could still be friends so they could still do all of those things. The last time I felt like this about someone... So he did feel the same way about her then, and his panic was about the curse. Even so, the doubt of whether this was real or not hurt. She knew his curse was broken. Cupid had confirmed that. Maze wasn't particularly great at dealing with her emotions, so the pain she felt at his doubt turned to anger. It wasn't rational anger, considering how valid his doubts were, but she was angry nevertheless. How dare he doubt her love?!

"I'm not Chloe," she snapped. "What, do you think that just because I was with her when Cupid broke your connection that it somehow transferred from her into me? Well, it didn't because I've been in love with you for a lot longer than that. I didn't fall in love with you because of a curse. I fell in love with you because unlike everyone else you were always there with me and for me from the day I met you. It wasn't some immediate infatuation. I don't do the love at first sight thing." She barely considered the love thing until she realized it was actually a possibility. "I don't just have the feeling that I love you. I know I love you because I consider the day you picked me to be your right hand one of the best moments of my life, and maybe kicking Azazel's ass made that day better too, but that's not the important part. You are. I like working for you. I like your dirty jokes because I have the same sense of humor. And your corny jokes are awful, but occasionally I'll find myself making them too." She sounded annoyed as she said all of this, only angry that he didn't see it. She shouldn't have been surprised though considering that seemed to run in his family. "I know a lot of people think it's a little extra the way you will do whole musical numbers. I agree, but I fucking love it!"

He looked like he was about to say something, but she cut him off. "I'm not done yet! You wanted to know how I know that this is real, so you're going to hear it all! When I was younger, and practically everyone was doubting me for being your right hand, you didn't. You never doubted my capability to kick their asses and make them shut the fuck up. I fucking love the fact that even though you're an archangel, you trust me to handle myself and fight my own battles. I'd be pissed if you tried to, but I never had to worry about that with you. I never have to worry about most things with you because I trust you. Hell, even your problems I don't mind dealing with. You self-sabotage constantly, and so do I. You've got the the world's biggest daddy issues, and I've got the world's worst mommy issues. But we know how to deal with each other's issues. The drama in your family is exponential, but I don't ever want to stop dealing with it. It's honestly really entertaining, and don't you dare fucking tell them this, or anyone for that matter, but I started to care for them too. Some of them anyways. Just a tiny barely noticeable amount." She probably shouldn't have said that, but she kept going.

"When we came up here together at first and Chloe made you vulnerable, you have no idea how terrified I was. I am your right hand and your bodyguard. I don't usually have to protect you from much because you're an archangel, but there you were getting injured constantly just because you kept going near the thing that was making you vulnerable. I was honestly glad that it was a curse just because it meant that you could be safe again." Sure there were other things that could hurt him but not many. "I was just glad that I didn't have to worry about losing you."

She continued to list off more and more reasons to prove how she knew her love was her own and not from some curse. It spanned from centuries in the past all the way to the present, including the smallest details like the way he laughed when he was scared or the way his hair looked after sex to more major details and events like the fact that she saw him when she looked at Asmodeus or how jealous she felt when she saw the other universe's Maze seeming to have everything with her Lucifer and how glad she was to come home to her own. It took her hours to get through everything, and it was well into the morning now. "And if that's not enough to convince you that this is real, I don't know what is," she huffed. "Cupid's been trying to get me to tell you for ages now, and she wouldn't do that if she had any doubts about my feelings for you being a curse. She might be a pain in the ass half the time, but I know you at least can count on her being genuine about love."

LUCIFER: "At the rate he dies, you'll likely catch up to Aamon or Michael at this point," he joked although he really hoped Sam would slow down a little for Charlie's sake. He chuckled when she replied that her strap-on had a condom. "A paragon of safe sex. I expect no less. I'm sure Charlie will appreciate the sentiment." If anything, Charlie would at least appreciate the jokes and the company. It had been a rough few hours for her. Those hours spanned days in hell. Days that Maze must've spent feeling anxious about her friend's wellbeing. No wonder she'd reacted so poorly to his faux pas.

He was hoping to make it up to her, but it was clear his hesitation was contributing to her anxiety. Being a demon from Aamon's kingdom, that anxiety naturally expressed itself with rage. He flinched as she snapped at him. He swallowed hard when she replied that she'd been in love with him for a lot longer than he'd been cursed. Maybe they'd looked at the curse all wrong then. Maybe it was there from the beginning. Maybe Chloe wasn't the original victim, but rather Mazikeen. The thought of that ached and hurt more than anything. She was his best advisor and his closest friend. The thought of their closeness potentially being driven by a curse was a hurt that threatened to tear his chest open, but continued to listen. It was best not to interrupt her when she was in one of these passionate rages.

His features softened and his panic started to drop off slightly as she started listing tangible things she liked about him. Love curses couldn't go that deep, could they? Cupid had told him even the strongest curses can only mimic a base and superficial love. What Maze was describing didn't feel superficial. She'd also said that real love felt different. It made you feel complete even when you felt like you were falling apart. Maze made him feel that way. She understood him in ways even those around him didn't seem to get.

She didn't try to change him or insist that he be someone else, someone more mature or someone she felt he needed to be in certain situations. She trusted his judgement even when he didn't trust himself necessarily. Apparently not everyone was the same way though. There were people out there that didn't like his musical numbers? He was about to open his mouth to retort, but she cut him off. He closed his mouth and patiently waited as she continued, a smile growing on his face.

Just as he'd been reminiscing about how she never doubted his abilities, it was clear she felt the same way about him never doubting her. He always knew that she was capable. His siblings might have been more powerful than her, but they always knew that Maze was an extension of Lucifer. She wasn't a subordinate, she was family to them. And it was clear Maze felt that they were her family too. That made Lucifer brighten considerably. He knew Maze didn't have a good relationship with her family and sometimes his own relationship with his family was rocky too. But she found her place among them and that was important to him.

She was as afraid of losing him as he was of losing her which was both terrifying and a relief. When she was off in the other timeline, he'd been a mess just thinking about it. It wasn't just the daunting task of finding another right hand if she never came back. It was the inexplicable pain of losing someone whom you couldn't imagine your life without. There was no one in this world or the next that could replace Maze.

"Mazikeen," he cupped her face as she finished, letting her take a few deep breaths to calm down. She looked like she needed a drink too. "I believe you," his voice was soft and gentle as he spoke. The previous panic that it carried was now gone. He really did believe her. He knew Maze well enough to know cursed or not, love was the last thing she wanted to admit to. It took guts to get this far and now it was time for him to show the same kind of bravery. "And I love you too," he smiled. "You make me a better person without trying to change a single thing about me. You listen to my fears and insecurities and you don't let them be the only voice inside my head. When shit hits the fan you are the only person I know I can count on. It's always been you," he replied as he leaned in and kissed her gently. "It's always going to be you."

MAZIKEEN: "He's really got issues if he's going that far." Maze could see the appeal of getting close to death. She liked pushing things that far all the time. Having sex with archangels who could easily end your existence provided a similar thrill, but Maze didn't actually want to die. "Yeah," Maze agreed. "Hopefully becoming death doesn't autocorrect her sense of humor." She was joking just to pick on Lucifer's mistake, but she was a little worried about how this change would affect Charlie. She didn't know everything about what becoming death entailed. She had always been closer to Charlie than Azrael, and Azrael wasn't very social. She hadn't talked much about what being Death was like either. Maze didn't know how much she could help Charlie, or how much any of them could.

She looked at Lucifer angrily as he cupped her face, waiting for him to make fun of her or say that her explanations weren't enough to prove that this was real even though she knew it was. Her expression softened when he said he believed her. "You do?" She asked, relaxing into him now. He'd gone through so much lately that she really didn't expect him to take her at her word. "You do?" She asked again as he told her he loved her too. She felt warmer, and she was smiling brightly. She didn't think she'd been in love before him, and just getting that confirmation was such a relief. She felt lighter and happier. She looked at him in awe as he explained just what made him love her too. "I don't need to change anything about you," she said in defense of him, but she couldn't counter the rest of it. She deepened the kiss. Her hands moved into his hair, pulling on some of the strands, but this kiss was different than their usual make-out sessions. It wasn't just from lust, though she was feeling hornier now. Adding an emotional extension to kissing someone was . . . Interesting to say the least. She might've loved him before, but loving him and knowing he loved her had the most thrill she'd ever known. Cupid could never be told that. She'd never hear the end of how right Cupid was, but this was something Mazikeen had needed to do on her own anyways. Maze smirked as they pulled out of the kiss. "If it's always going to be me, do we need to discuss anything else, or are you going to get me out of these clothes?"

LUCIFER: "There's minor death kinks and then there's whatever Sam's got," he chuckled. He would pass off Linda's number to Sam and maybe even introduce them. She'd get a kick out of an interdimensional client and Sam could really use the help after all of this. He groaned at the joke Maze made about Charlie's humor getting autocorrected. If course she wasn't going to let him live it down. Despite her ribbing at him, he knew there was some truth hidden in her jokes. She was afraid that this whole transition to becoming Death would change Charlie. "She's a little overwhelmed right now, but still Charlie. It's like the second Frozen movie where Elsa transitions into the fifth natural force," he giggled to himself. "You know, that sort of makes you Anna. I've seen dark before..." he sang through his giggles, ducking away before she could smack him.

"I do," he nodded. "It doesn't mean I'm any less scared about it or that I even know what I'm doing, but I believe you and I love you," he assured her. Admitting it out loud again felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulder. The more times he said it out loud, the more sure of himself he felt. He did love her. This wasn't the curse talking, this was him. He smiled when she replied that she didn't need to change him. He'd gone a good portion of his life thinking there was something wrong with him. He didn't fit the mold his Father intended for him. He never accepted him for who he was and simply wanted to beat him down until he was a perfect soldier like Michael. But Maze never tried to change him. She never made him feel like he was built wrong or that he was too soft, too hard, or too much for the role placed on his shoulders.

As she deepened the kiss, he pressed her against the wall, wanting to feel every inch of her. Having aired out how he felt, and having her accept it and feel the same was exhilarating and quite frankly more of a turn on than anything else he'd ever experienced before. He could hardly focus as she pulled away. "Well," he smirked, trailing kisses down her neck as his hands explored her body. "I do have some making up to do for my previous faux pas." He gripped her tightly and picked her up before plopping her down onto the bed. "You know what they say, no time line the present," he smirked, dipping down to kiss her again.

#╰☆☆ now tell me what is it you truly desire? | replies ☆☆╮#╰☆☆ it's you. it's always been you | mazikeen ☆☆╮#maze: discords #discord chat

2 notes · View notes