LEVI PROPOSING OUT OF NOWHERE
summary: when the Captain decides that the best time to propose is in a cramped cargo room in an airship on your way back after a month of being held captive in Liberio. Takes place after the Raid.
warnings: mentions of torture, sexual tension
“Levi, he knew,” you whisper. “Eren fucking knew I was in Liberio, this whole time. Did he know I was being tortured too?”
You sound desperate, and you hate it. You already know that you lost Eren, so why do you bother asking? Why? “I get that we sometimes have to make sacrifices – I get that some things are more important, like our comrades, the war, but–“
“It’s not,” Levi cuts you off, with so much finality that you pause your rant. You close your mouth with a small snap, eyes wide as you look at him.
“It’s not,” he repeats. “Nothing’s worth what you went through. Nothing.” His gaze is intense as he looks back at you, his jaw set.
You’re not sure what to say. The silence stretches between you, and Levi just keeps looking at you. Staring at you, like he did the first time you saw him on that training ground years ago, except now, he’s not looking at you as if he’s trying to figure you out, but as if he knows you.
Just as his burning stare and the silence is about to freak you out, Levi finally speaks.
Your fingers latch onto Levi’s uniform, twisting the fabric in your hands, as if you want to make sure he’s really here, and that you’re not still in that damn cell, dreaming all this up.
No. No – that would be too cruel.
The silence that follows is impossibly even more charged than before as you struggle to comprehend the meaning of those two words. “Levi, I…”
“Obviously, only if you want–”
“Of course I want to!” The panic in your voice would’ve probably been funny under different circumstances.
“Oh.” The intensity of Levi’s gaze mellows into something softer, and colour starts rising to his cheeks.
“Of course I want to, dumbass,” you say, still struggling to get the words out. “I just didn’t think you cared about…stuff like that.”
The admission doesn’t offend you, because you’d expected it. You frown at him. “So, what changed?”
With a sigh, he tips back his head, throat bobbing as he gulps. “Meeting you,” he murmurs. “Falling in love with you. It’s funny, because I don’t remember it happen. It’s as if I just woke up one day and realised that it’d always been like that – me, loving you. And I didn’t know how not to.” He lowers his gaze again to look directly at you. “I love you.”
Tears fill your eyes. And for once, it’s not due to anger or grief or pain, but happiness and love, so much of it that you feel like your heart is about to leap out of your chest. The feeling is disgustingly sweet and sappy, but you wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
He then says your name, softly, almost caressing it as it leaves his lips. “Will you have me?”
You nod, a single tear slipping down your cheek. “Yes, Levi. Yes, of course I will. And you know–” you stumble over the words, “–that you already have me.”
He smiles at you. A smile with no restraint, something so pure and genuine that you want to bottle it and store it in a jar so you could bring it with you wherever you went.
Levi’s eyes don’t stray from yours as he moves his hand from your waist to what looks like a pocket sown into his uniform. Your breath hitches in your throat when he pulls out a small, plain box.
“When did you buy a ring?” you blurt.
He grimaces, fiddling with the box in his hands. You raise your brows at him – Levi doesn’t fiddle.
“When I ordered the dagger,” he finally mumbles, averting his gaze.
“Dagger– wait, you mean…what?”
“The dagger,” he repeats impatiently, his ears growing red. “You know, piece of metal stuck to a handle? Sharp and pointy?”
You scowl at him. “You know that’s not what I meant. I was just surprised is all.”
He gives you a flat look. “Don’t see what for.”
“Come on Levi, that’s got to be what – two, three years ago? Don’t tell me you bought the ring three years ago.” The thought makes your head spin, because that must mean that he’s been carrying around–
that he’s been wanting to–
that during this whole time–
“Just because you didn’t know what you wanted doesn’t mean I hadn’t already made up my mind,” he says stubbornly.
You blink a couple of times, not knowing whether to feel shocked or flattered or annoyed because of his presumptuousness. Or your own predictability. “Wow. Just…wow.”
“Are you done gaping like an idiot?” Levi snaps. “Or do you want to see the damn ring?” His ears have grown bright red, and you’d be lying if you said you didn’t find it incredibly endearing.
You immediately sober up, however, when he closes his fingers around the small box and starts shoving it back into his pocket.
“Wait– wait, okay I’m sorry!” You grab his arm to stop him, reaching for the box. “Sorry, sorry, I was being a jerk!” Letting out a huff of breath, you turn serious again. “Please, show me?”
With a roll of his eyes, Levi slowly opens his fist to flick open the lid of the small box. A rush of excitement courses through you as you lean closer to get a look.
The ring is nothing particularly showy – just a plain silver band, resting on a nest of black fabric. You catch a glimpse of an engraving on the inside. Promise, it reads.
“I know it’s not much,” Levi says, his eyes guarded as he watches your expression. “But I thought you might prefer something like this instead of anything too big or flashy. Of course, if you’d rather–“
But before he can finish his sentence, you catch his mouth in a quick, but firm kiss. His eyes widen and he stops talking, looking almost shocked when you pull away.
“Stop being stupid for a moment, will you? Levi, this is perfect.”
He clears his throat, looking flustered for a couple of seconds before he regains his bearings. Carefully, he picks up the ring and holds out his hand, palm up. “May I?”
Heart fluttering in your chest, you hold out your own hand. Levi slips the ring onto your fourth finger with ease and doesn’t let go of you for a while. He fingers brush lightly over your knuckles before he intertwines them with yours, raising both your hands to his lips to place a light kiss to the tips of your fingers.
It reminds you of the first time he told you that he loved you, and heat rises to your cheeks at the memory. Apparently, you’re not the only one, because Levi suddenly pulls you closer, slotting your hips against his. You let out a small gasp, and Levi closes his eyes, letting out a quiet, breathy sound that sends a jolt straight to your core.
After moment, however, he sighs. “Unfortunately, we can’t spend the rest of the flight in here.”
“Yeah. Fuck, I should’ve waited till we got back.”
snippet from chapter 57 which is up on ao3! this is the last one I'll post before I start revising for my exams, so I won't be updating the fic again for the next weeks:')
masterlists: more excerpts | more of my Levi works
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