#abnormals

Hanji poked at his chest, attempting to rouse him. Levi tried to go back to sleep but the incessant poking was disturbing him. As she continued to poke him, he deftly caught her hand in his own.

“Stop being annoying.” He scolded.

“Then stop sleeping.” Hanji shot back. She leaned forward, placing her hands down on the bed, framing his head between her arms. She began to blow air on his face.

“God, your morning breath stinks.” Levi winced and tried to push her off of him. Hanji didn’t budge, gripping him tighter between her thighs and opening her mouth to breathe much hotter air on him.

“Did you eat a skunk last night, four eyes?” Levi switched tactics, knocking her off balance by pushing her hands away, and pulling her down towards him. Hanji fell forward on top of him, her face landing in the crook of his neck. Levi wrapped his arms around her and squeezed so she couldn’t budge. She attempted to wiggle out of his grasp for a few seconds but resigned herself to the new position when she realized it was futile to fight his grip.

“You promised you’d watch the sunrise with me, Levi.” She murmured into his neck. 

“Can’t we watch the sunset instead? I’ll be much more awake at sunset.” He turned his head and angled so he could place a chaste kiss on her forehead.

“I wanted to watch the sunrise over the lake. When it sets, it goes down over the forest.” Hanji explained.

Levi sighed against her skin, knowing he was fighting a losing battle. When it came to Hanji, he would always go out of his way to make her happy. “Fine.” He relented, “Let’s go.”

Hanji popped up faster than Levi had anticipated, and managed to knock the wind out of him as she climbed over him and kneed him in the stomach. 

He grunted and she seemed not to notice what she had done, as she grabbed both his hands and dragged him out of bed. 

“I already set out an outfit for you.” She pointed giddily to the armchair where Levi spotted a pair of dark blue jeans, a plain grey long sleeve, and a black turtleneck sweater. 

She pushed him towards the chair and Levi dug his feet into the carpet to stop himself. “Let me shower and brush my teeth first.”

“Alright but hurry up, sunrise is in an hour.” Hanji bubbled.

“An hour?” Levi narrowed his eyes at her. “Then why are we up already? I could have slept a bit more.”

“The sunrise happens fast! We have to be sure to be in a good position when it happens! And I want to see all the colors change in the sky.” Hanji began pushing him towards the bathroom. 

“Why did I agree to this?” 

“Because you love me.” Hanji kissed his cheek warmly before shoving him through the bathroom door.

Levi showered and dressed rather quickly, especially for only being half awake.

When he walked out of the bedroom and downstairs to the living room, Hanji was ready and waiting for him by the front door, a picnic basket in hand.

“Is that breakfast?” He reached for the basket.

“It will be.” Hanji grabbed his outstretched hand and began tugging him out the door.

She dragged him out of the house and down to the shore of the lake out front. Levi stumbled a bit as the ground was only partially lit by the very faint rays of dawn. He looked ahead and managed to spot an old red canoe with two oars sitting just by the water.

“Please tell me that’s not for us.” He groaned.

Hanji chuckled and Levi realized his fate. “Who else would it be for?”

“When I promised to watch the sunrise with you, rowing out in a dinky boat on the lake was not included in that promise.”

“It was implied.”

“How was it implied?” 

“Because-” Hanji explained as she gestured towards the boat, “This is how I want to watch the sunrise, out in the middle of the lake in a canoe with you.”

Levi wrinkled his nose, noting the chipped paint, the unstable looking wood, the spider webs that glistened with dew on the inside of the boat. But then he looked at Hanji, eyes wide and bright even at the crack of dawn, smile blinding and taking up almost her entire face, her bouncing slightly in place out of pure unadulterated excitement.

He could suck it up for one morning, for Hanji, Levi said to himself before begrudgingly starting to push the canoe into the water.

Hanji clapped her hands as Levi set the boat up, and turned to offer her a helping hand in stepping inside.

She gratefully accepted, stepping inside the boat, which wobbled only slightly as she made her way to sit at the bow. 

Levi stepped in behind her, pushing one foot off the shore to give them a boost before he stepped fully in the boat and sat down in the oarsman position. 

He took an oar in each hand and began a steady pace, oars dipping in and out of the water, propelling the boat forward.

“How did I get stuck doing all the work?” He huffed as he watched Hanji look out over the still water.

“You sat there, it makes sense.”

“I only sat here because you sat up front.” Levi argued.

“Stop fighting me and row harder, I think I see the sun starting to come up.” Hanji shushed him.

Levi mumbled some choice words under his breath before he put a little more pressure against the oars. He kept himself occupied watching Hanji continue to survey the water and treeline around them, until finally she told him to stop rowing.

“This is perfect.” Hanji whispered. They were directly in the middle of the lake now. Hanji moved so that she was facing the clear horizon. Levi turned and he too could see the first true rays of orange light begin to color the sky.

Hanji was right, the sunrise was quick, lighting up the sky in a blaze of orange, yellow, pink, and red before settling into the normal yellowish-whit light of day.

He watched all the colors dance across Hanji’s face, her brown eyes lit with wonder. She seemed perfectly content, watching the sun rise into the sky. 

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it, Levi?” She murmured as she watched the natural phenomenon.