𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐓 | 𝖫. 𝖠𝖼𝗄𝖾𝗋𝗆𝖺𝗇
You had gotten used to it by now.
The hidden glances across headquarters. The way Levi would stand just a little too close when no one was looking, only to step away the second someone entered the room. The brief touches of his hand against your lower back in empty hallways. The quiet way he’d mutter, “Eat,” when he noticed you skipping meals, shoving half of his bread roll onto your plate before anyone could question it.
It had been like this ever since the two of you got married.
Not because Levi was ashamed of you. You knew that much.
He simply hated people knowing things about him.
Levi Ackerman could command an entire room with a single look, could stare down titans without blinking, could make seasoned soldiers crumble under the weight of his words. Yet the second anyone got too close to knowing him, truly knowing him, he shut down.
You were the only exception.
The only one who knew how he took his tea. The only one who knew he hated thunderstorms because they made the old wooden buildings creak too loudly at night. The only one who knew he liked sleeping with one hand tucked beneath your shirt, fingers spread against your stomach like he needed to reassure himself you were still there.
The only one who knew that beneath the coldness and sharp tongue was someone devastatingly soft in the quietest ways.
Still, it did make things difficult sometimes.
Especially with his squad.
“Captain Levi seriously has never liked anyone,” Eren said one afternoon, sprawled lazily across a chair in the mess hall. “I think he might actually hate romance.”
Jean snorted. “He definitely does.”
Mikasa sat nearby, quietly eating. “Not necessarily.”
Connie looked up. “What do you mean?”
She shrugged. “He just seems like the type to keep things private.”
You nearly choked on your drink.
Levi, seated across the room, didn’t react at all. He continued drinking his tea like he hadn’t heard a word.
Later that evening, after everyone had gone to bed, you found him in his office, papers spread across his desk. He looked tired, dark circles beneath his eyes, sleeves rolled to his elbows.
You closed the door behind you.
Levi looked up briefly. “You’re still awake.”
“You let them say you hate romance.”
He leaned back in his chair. “The public kind. Flowers, stupid letters, dramatic confessions. It’s embarrassing.”
His eyes flicked to the ring on your finger.
A simple silver band he kept hidden beneath gloves most days.
“That’s different,” he muttered.
You smiled softly and stepped closer. “You know, one day they’re going to figure it out.”
“You’re very confident for someone who kissed me in a storage closet last week.”
Levi’s expression remained blank, but there was the faintest shift in his eyes. “You started that.”
“Oh, so now you’re blaming me?”
His hand reached for yours under the desk, fingers brushing over your ring. He looked down at it for a moment, thumb rubbing against the metal.
“Let them think whatever they want,” he said.
You softened immediately.
Because that was Levi. He wasn’t good with saying things directly, but sometimes he would hand you his heart in tiny pieces and trust you enough not to drop it.
Let them think whatever they want.
As long as he still had you.
The problem was that Levi had grown too comfortable.
At first, he had been careful.
No touching in public. No lingering looks. No signs.
Then slowly, over the months, he had begun slipping.
He’d pull out your chair without thinking.
He’d bring you tea before meetings without asking if you wanted any.
If you were injured during training, he was suddenly there before anyone else, jaw tight, hands checking over you with thinly veiled irritation.
Then came the worse offenses.
Like the fact that he knew exactly how you took your tea.
Or that he would show up outside your office late at night with blankets when you worked too long.
Or that he had a habit of fixing your cravat without a word whenever it sat crooked around your neck.
But you could feel it sometimes.
The way Hange would grin whenever Levi’s attention drifted toward you for too long.
You should have known it would be Hange.
“Levi,” Hange said one afternoon, walking beside him as you all returned from a mission. “Hypothetically.”
Levi looked irritated already. “No.”
“You don’t even know the question.”
“Hypothetically,” Hange continued anyway, “if someone were secretly in love, what signs would they show?”
Levi’s expression darkened. “What kind of idiotic question is that?”
“Maybe they bring someone tea. Maybe they stare at them too long. Maybe they act weirdly protective.”
“That’s not love. That’s being annoying.”
You looked away, trying not to smile.
His eyes narrowed at you.
You had to bite the inside of your cheek to stop yourself from laughing.
Then, finally, everything fell apart.
It happened on a rainy afternoon.
The kind where everyone was stuck indoors because the training grounds had turned to mud.
You had been in Levi’s office helping sort through paperwork. Or rather, pretending to help while Levi did most of the work because he claimed you organized things “wrong.”
You stood near the bookshelf, stretching your arms over your head.
“You missed a page,” you said.
You walked over, picked up the stack, and held up the missing page triumphantly.
Then he sighed through his nose. “Brat.”
Then, without warning, he reached out and tugged you closer by the wrist.
You stumbled slightly, laughing under your breath as he pulled you between his knees.
He went still for half a second.
Just long enough for both of you to realize what had slipped out.
The office door swung open.
Eren froze in the doorway.
Mikasa stopped behind him.
Armin nearly walked into both of them.
For a long moment, nobody moved.
You were still standing between Levi’s legs.
His hand was still around your wrist.
Your wedding ring gleamed brightly against your finger.
Levi slowly let go of your wrist.
“You knock before entering,” he said flatly.
“Captain,” Armin said weakly, “did she just say—”
Mikasa stared at the two of you.
Eren looked like someone had hit him over the head with a brick.
“You’re married?” he repeated.
Levi looked deeply irritated now, mostly because he had been caught.
“How long is ‘a while’?” Jean asked from somewhere in the hallway because of course everyone had gathered outside the door.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Then Connie’s voice rang out.
Suddenly everyone was shoving into the office at once.
Hange looked smug beyond belief.
“I KNEW IT!” Hange shouted, pointing dramatically. “I knew there was something weird happening!”
“No, but I suspected. Levi only glares at everyone else. He stares at her.”
Levi looked like he wanted to throw himself out the window.
“You’re telling me,” Jean said, looking between the two of you, “that humanity’s strongest soldier has a spouse?”
“Unfortunately,” Levi muttered.
Eren still looked completely lost. “But you never said anything.”
Levi crossed his arms. “Wasn’t your business.”
“You wear rings?” Mikasa asked quietly.
Without thinking, Levi tugged off one of his gloves.
The silver band sat there, simple and worn. The room went silent again. Because somehow that made it more real.
Levi Ackerman was married.
Hange walked over and grabbed your hand before you could stop them. “Wait, wait, wait—how did this happen? Who confessed first? Was there a proposal? Did Levi propose?”
Levi looked offended. “Of course I proposed.”
That only made everyone more shocked.
“You proposed?” Connie repeated.
“What did you say?” Sasha asked excitedly.
“He told me,” you began, “‘I’m not asking twice, so decide if you want to spend the rest of your life with me already.’”
“That is the least romantic proposal I’ve ever heard,” Connie wheezed.
“It worked, didn’t it?” Levi snapped.
You could not stop smiling.
That was exactly how Levi loved.
Clumsy in words. Awkward in timing. But painfully sincere.
“I still can’t believe this,” Eren muttered.
Levi looked exhausted already. “Get out.”
“Captain,” Armin said carefully, “why didn’t you tell us?”
Levi went quiet for a moment. The room softened a little. Even Hange stopped grinning.
Levi wasn’t good at explaining himself. Everyone knew that.
He glanced at you briefly.
“Because this is mine,” he said simply. “She’s mine. And I didn’t want people sticking their noses into it.”
The room fell silent again.
Levi’s love always came out in the strangest ways.
You belonged to him the same way he belonged to you. A quiet thing. A private thing. Something precious.
Hange smiled a little again.
Eren looked awkward suddenly.
Jean rubbed the back of his neck.
Mikasa glanced at you, then Levi, and for the first time, there was something almost soft in her expression.
“That makes sense,” she said quietly.
Levi looked uncomfortable with the understanding.
“Still,” Hange said, grinning again, “you can’t stop us from asking questions now.”
“You sleep in the same room?”
Everyone scattered before Levi could physically throw them out himself.
The room emptied quickly, filled with laughter and shouting as everyone ran down the hall.
You could hear Connie yelling, “I can’t believe Captain Levi is married!” from halfway across headquarters.
He sat at his desk looking deeply exhausted.
You leaned against it beside him.
“Well,” you said lightly, “that went well.”
Then, after a moment, he reached up and wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you closer until you stood between his knees again.
You smiled. “You married me.”
His gaze softened in that way only you ever got to see.
“And you love me anyway.”
Levi was quiet for a moment.
Then his forehead rested lightly against your stomach.
It was such a small thing.
So unlike the man everyone else saw.
No sharp edges. No coldness.
“I do,” he muttered quietly.
You felt your chest ache again.
Because no matter how private he was, no matter how much he hid himself away from everyone else, you had always been the exception.
And now everyone knew it.
@bunny4kaiser @camelliablossomss @bloommart
