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It had been bothering me for weeks that I didn't know my way around, but it had taken me quite a few days to work up the nerve to start to explore. I pulled my sweater tighter around my body, hoping to keep away the chill of the early morning away from my skin, but I could already see the way that my breath was clouding in front of my face. I counted the doors to keep track of the place I already knew, quickly working past the kitchen and the dining areas and into the expanse of hallways waiting in front of me.
I could feel fear creeping into me, the anxiety that I could get caught at any moment making my skin tingle and nagging at my brain for me to turn around. I refused to give in to the fear again, though, after three days of making it to the kitchen and turning back to the safety of my bed. I knew that no one else was going to be up this early, as the Sun was just beginning to show its light over the crest of the wall. My footsteps were ringing quietly through the hallways, only serving to make my heart race even more. With every step I took forward my brain was screaming for me to turn around, to go back to bed, to try again tomorrow.
I saw my fingers reach for the doorknob before I could talk myself out of it, and quietly turned it. I peeked in, wanting to know my surroundings. The room was lighter than I had expected, as not even the earliest risers were up yet. I had learned early on in my explorations that if I wanted to be alone, I had to wake up while it was still dark to avoid running into any of those who outranked me and stutter my way through an explanation.
I could hear murmured voices coming from behind the door and instantly wanted to slam it again, but knew that it would draw too much attention to myself. I crouched down, not wanting someone to glance over and see me, but after the events of the last few days, I thought that any information I could get would help me. I cringed away when I realized that it was someone's sleeping quarters that I had walked into, but didn't want to give up a chance to get any new information.
I slid the door open a little further, just enough to clearly see what was going on inside. I wondered who's bedroom it was that I was peeking into, and who they could be talking to so early in the morning, but from my crouched position it was impossible to see.
"Quiet down, you brat. Just because it's early doesn't mean that you aren't my subordinate." Was that Levi? My face flushed at that realization. If he caught me sneaking around this early in the morning, listening in on his conversation nonetheless, there was no telling what he would do. Who would be in his bed, anyway?
I heard a quiet grumble of discontent come from the other side of the bed and saw someone move, but still couldn't make out who it was. I'd never even see Levi being nice to anyone, let alone nice enough to someone to hint at a relationship. Could it be someone who wasn't in the Scout Regiment? No, he'd called whoever it was his subordinate. I'd never heard him talk about anyone, but it wasn't as if he and I were close. The most I heard him talk was when he was hurling insults at Eren, and it wasn't like I was too keen on listening to that.
"Hush." I saw Levi sit up and scooted back, almost closing the door in front of me. I didn't want to be seen, but it was as if I was caught. I couldn't force myself to move, my feet were glued to the ground, and I worried that if I tried to move I was going to make noise. His back met my gaze and he leaned down, his skin barely covered by a thin shirt, my eyes widening as I saw someone's arm wrap around him. Who was that?
Levi leaned back on his pillow, a book grasped firmly in his hand, someone else's arm still resting around his shoulders. I heard someone else sigh and the sound of pages flipping, it was a sight rarely seen those days. No one had the time to lay in bed reading, especially laying in bed with someone else. I marveled at it for a moment, wishing to remember the sight of someone as cold as Levi laying in bed with someone he clearly cared about.
I quietly stepped back, angling to see the other person in the bed before closing the door. I wanted to know who it was, but was petrified that they were going to see me and I was going to get beat up or something worse. My curiosity got the better of me and finally I leaned to the side, and right before I shut the door, I saw an oddly familiar pair of blueish eyes scanning the room. Ducking behind the door as fast as I could it felt like my heart had stopped.
Was that Eren?
I waited for a few moments, hoping for Eren's eyes to sweep past the door and not find me, wishing that I could just close the door and hurry back to bed before anyone found me. I didn't want to close the door while they were looking at it, but I wanted to get away before they saw me. My mind was clouded with confusion. What was Eren doing sitting in bed with Levi? How had he gotten all the way down here without waking anyone up?
After moments of laying in an awkward position on the stone floor I sat up, peeking around the edge of the door as cautiously as I could. I saw Eren's head resting against Levi's shoulder, his eyes closed, and it was the least angry that I had seen him look in months. Levi looked the same as he always did; stoic, cold, and unfeeling. I was worried and my first instinct was to run in and snatch Eren away, hoping to keep him from getting his feelings hurt, but at the last moment before I latched the door I saw Levi's fingers combing through Eren's hair. It was so gentle and slow that I almost missed it, but it was a sight that I knew I would never forget - Levi being outwardly nice.
"You need to go soon, your bunk mates are going to notice that you've been gone for a few hours." Levi's voice didn't sound any different from usual, void of any hint of emotion. His eyes didn't move from the book, but I saw Eren's eyes flash open, completely full of questions as usual. I felt weird watching a moment that was clearly meant to be so secret, but wanted to know what was going on.
"How long are you going to toss me out whenever you want?" His voice sounded angry, but he always sounded angry.
"Until you can handle yourself in combat, brat." Was that a hint of sarcasm in his voice? I swore that I saw the corner of his mouth tilt upward, but it seemed impossible - Levi didn't smile.
I turned back, my fingers numb from fear as they curled around the wood of the door, beginning to push it closed painfully slowly. I wanted to slam it and run, but knew that it would get me caught. I had to be slow, careful.
I saw Levi turn his head and almost missed the moment when he pressed a kiss to Eren's forehead, and the sight felt like an electric shock through me. His actions and his voice were so betraying to one another, it was no mystery why Eren always seemed so angry around Levi, he was always confused. It was nice to see the smile that spread across my friend's face, even if it was from someone so confusing.
"Oh, and Eren." Levi wrapped a hand around Eren's arm as he stepped away, just a graceful as the rest of his movements always seemed. "Take your friend with you, we wouldn't want either of you to get caught stalking around the castle this early in the morning."