You knocked on the door, listening carefully for the monotonous reply.

"Come in."

The door of the office that had once belonged to you creaked as you opened it slowly. The room itself remained unchanged, all the furniture unmoved and the windows slightly drawn to let in the natural sunlight. However, in seeing the person at the desk bent over his paperwork, you hesitated. For reasons unknown to you, you felt it would be a terrible idea to open the door any further, in the event that you lost your composure upon the sight of him. 

"What are you doing, brat?" Levi asked without looking up from his work, his voice displaying an air of annoyance. "Either come in or leave."

"Y-you seem busy," you said, ignoring his comment in favor of opening the door a little wider.

"That's because you resigned and dropped your responsibilities on me," Levi said, finally looking up at you.

The moment your eyes met his, you found you couldn't look away. Your dream from the night before was still vivid in your mind, causing you to blush and shake your head.

Don't be an idiot. Like that would ever happen...he didn't even react to your kiss back then! 

Your eyes drifted down towards his hand, loosely holding his pen, suddenly causing you to recall the touch of his fingers on your hand as his eyes burned intensely into yours. 

Stay. Don't leave.

Hearing his words echo in your mind, heat rose to your face and you backed away out of the office, slamming the door shut. You leaned against the door, breathing heavily. What was this feeling? Why wouldn't you speak coherently in his presence or look him directly in the eye? Why did your fingertips tingle whenever he was near, as if they craved his touch? Why did your heart beat so fast? It was almost as if...

Your thoughts were cut off as the door swung open abruptly. You leapt back at the last second to avoid falling into the room. One hand holding the door open to prevent you from closing it again, Levi looked at you, seeming irked.

"If you were going to disturb my work, you should have come with a good reason," he said.

"I..." You found that you couldn't find the words to formulate an excuse in your mind spinning with thoughts and instead, shut your eyes. "My heart's beating so fast."

There was no point in hiding anything from Levi anyway.

Levi frowned. "What—"

"I can't stop thinking about you," you interrupted, still unable to look at him, "but when I'm near you, I can't look at you and I can't find the words I want to say. It's so strange. I've never felt this way before. Levi...just what are you to me?"

There was a momentary pause and you waited anxiously for his response. What would he think about what you had just admitted to him? Finally, Levi made to close the door, causing your heart to drop in an instant. 

Is this...rejection?

Then, in a swift, unexpected movement, Levi grabbed your wrist, dragging you back into the room before slamming the door shut behind you.

There were a few moments of silence before Levi's voice drifted towards you. "I know how it feels."

"Y-you do?" you stammered, unable to believe your ears. 

Levi cleared his throat, averting his gaze before answering, "...I do." 

At his words of affirmation, your mind became a chaotic mess and you couldn't form a single rational thought. You were completely lost in your confusing feelings, in a maze that you couldn't escape. And yet, you knew deep in your heart, that this feeling was a completely different one from what you felt towards Erwin or anyone else.

Your fingertips tingled again. You wanted to touch him. You wanted desperately to touch him. Just the brush of his fingertips. No. Rather...you wanted him to touch you.

"C-can you hold me?" you asked softly.

"Hold you?" Levi repeated, raising an eyebrow.

You nodded, shutting your eyes again. It was humiliating to act this way in front of Levi, especially because it was Levi. But somehow, you couldn't act cold to him anymore. You were completely losing your composure. It was different from when you first met, when he had saved you from the titan, and even when you had met again in the underground city many years later. Completely different. Something big had changed. And it was quite clear what it was. But you struggled to accept it.

You just couldn't accept the fact that you had fallen in love with him, who you had once been determined to hate.

You opened your eyes as you felt a strong pair of arms carefully wrap around you and pull you close. You were now staring up into his steel gray eyes, which were just inches away from yours. You raised your hands slowly so that they rested on his chest.

"...Levi?"

"What."

"I think I'm in love with you."

Levi's hard expression softened as he asked, "can hatred turn so simply into love?"

"Don't be ridiculous. From the beginning, we were never meant to hate each other. From our first meeting in the underground city many years ago to working together in the Survey Corps..." you murmured, burying your face in his shoulder so that he wouldn't see the red blush dusting your face. "It just took me far too long to realize that I should have been looking for you all along."

"I see." 

Upon hearing the simple response, you asked, "are you in love with me?"

Levi hesitated for a moment before his hold on you tightened. "That day I met you on the surface infested with titans, the day I saw you being chased by the debt collectors, and the day you disappeared without a trace from the underground city. The reason I kept saving you, it must have because I've been in love with you since the very start. As for the reason I despised you in coming here, it was the resemblance I sensed between you and her that spurred my dislike. 'Why couldn't she have survived like this as well?' is probably what I must have thought. But my mind didn't allow me to hate you completely. Realizing it was you all along, seeing that you had changed from that frail young girl into a capable soldier, I was reminded of these emotions from the past all over again." 

He's in love with me. 

The thought of such a thing made your mind giddy with joy. You felt like a child, so elated by the thought of being held in the arms of the man you loved, his confession like a harmonious melody in your ears. 

But in a world full of titans, a world that had taken everyone you had loved before, were you allowed to be so happy? 

With that heavy thought in mind, you asked, "...what do we do from here on out?"

When there was no response, you made to pull away, trying to look at his facial expression. Suddenly, a strong force shoved you against the wall of your—no...Levi's office.

Your back was pressed against the wall and your arms held back by his. Your heart beat faster. This should have brought back unpleasant memories, but they seemed to fade into nothingness as Levi's eyes burned into yours. You clenched your fists, barely able to catch your breath. He was too close. But you didn't mind at all. Your feelings of uncertainty had dissipated instantaneously at his movement. 

I don't care if the world won't allow me to have him. I won't allow anything to take him from me again.

With that resolve resonating in your mind, you leaned forward unconsciously and Levi tilted his head to press his lips to yours, closing his eyes. One of his hands made its way to your hair, the other tightening around your waist. At the same time, you wrapped your arms around his neck, your eyes fluttering closed. His lips were soft, just as you remembered them from your last kiss under the light of the stars. 

I'll fight the world, if it means I can have him. 

You kissed him more desperately now, more passionately than ever before. His touch was still ever so gentle, but in it, you could sense his strong feelings of desire, protectiveness, and love. And with the warmth in your heart that he ignited, you felt the ice covering your heart finally begin to thaw.

Only by a little, but you could feel it, finally, after all these years.

Gradually, slowly, with Levi, it would continue to thaw until you could fully express yourself again, to the entire world.

Levi pulled away first, placing his hand on one of your hands, still wrapped around his neck. Levi exhaled softly and gave you the slightest hint of a smile. Your heart began to pound faster. It was the first time that he had given you such a smile.

"There's no 'I think' in my answer, (Name). I'm in love with you. And that's irrefutable."

It was the second time your name had ever been uttered by Levi. Stars seemed to light your vision, even brighter than the ones that had lit the clearing as you had told him everything about you, every last detail. Now, a fire burned within you. It was one of burning passion, a powerful, undeniable flame of love.

"Then I'll retract what I said before," you said, bringing him close to your lips once more. 

"I'm in love with you...irrefutably." 

~•~✾~•~

My Ice Heart is Yours

Revised, originally published on Deviantart

https://www.deviantart.com/wishbloom-hearts

~•~✾~•~

To be continued...