Archive of Our Own ^beta

Hange could tell Levi was having a nightmare, she had stayed up late finishing up some more paperwork that needed completing for the next morning when she heard him fidgeting in the bed. He had been running himself ragged since they had come back from Shiganshina, it was a miracle he was even sleeping at all now. On the surface it appeared as though humanities strongest seemed untouched by what they had endured in that final battle but Hange could see through that façade all too well, she could tell by the dark circles around his eyes, his damaged skin from where he had been cleaning to distract himself from the pain he had been trying all to well to hide and by the way he swayed from exhaustion when he stopped for too long which was why she had practically forced him to get some rest, and for once he didn't argue with her just let her carry him to the bed, too weak to put up too much of a fight.

As she tried to work again, the quiet, broken cries of her partner brought her attention back to him, she looked over to him and her heart broke at what she saw. The usual calm mask he had had slipped and as his mind seemed intent on plaguing him with bad dreams he looked scared and in pain, his whole body was so tense and there were some beads of sweat dripping down his forehead, he looked in so much anguish and it hurt her that he had to experience so much heartache.

She sighed as she got up from her desk quietly so she didn't startle him and carefully got into bed next to him, when it was clear he wasn't getting any better after he let out a weak sounding "No" she tenderly squeezed his shoulder before whispering into her ear

"Levi, its alright, your safe wake up" she whispered calmly.

He gasped as he woke up, his eyes scanning the room in a panic before finally settling on her. As soon as his eyes fixed on hers she could tell he still wasn't here with her, probably still shaken up by whatever cruel memories his mind had forced him to playback again. Hange just shushed him patiently waiting for him to come back to her. After a while his hand moved slowly but purposefully towards her, first to her wrist to check for her pulse and travelling upwards to her chest to feel her heartbeat. Hange let him do what he needed knowing he needed to do this to help ground him, after a few minutes he let out a weak, shaky breath before burying his head in her chest

"I'm sorry" he muttered into her shirt Hange smiled softly as she hugged him tightly and started to rock him slowly
"There's no need to apologise" she consoled him, kissing his head sweetly "Want to talk about it?" she asked him rubbing his back in soothing patterns to calm him.

Levi took a deep breath before turning his head to face her

"It was everything...the underground, the expeditions, Shiganshina...just everything" he told her sounding so fragile, his hand was still resting above her heart feeling it beating softly.

"Its okay, your safe now" she murmured next to his ear, stroking his hair in a way that made him moan and lean into the touch "You've been running yourself ragged since we got back" she said not in an accusatory tone but one that made him know he hadn't been as subtle as he thought he had been, not that there was any point in trying to be subtle around Hange, even without him saying anything she always knew when he wasn't doing well.

"I know I just...can't get them out of my head, my mum, Farlan, Isabel, my squad, Erwin.." he told her defeatedly burying his head into the crook of her neck to hide his tears
"I miss them all too, I often think about Moblit and the rest of my squad" she admitted to him quietly still stroking his hair "But I always try to remember better times with them, like remember when we got bored and decided to get our two squads to spar together?" she asked him with a smirk
"Tch you only remember it because you cheated to win when it was down to our match" he grumbled but she could feel his lips tug upwards into a small smile
"What?, me cheating?, I'm offended by the accusation shorty" she feigned offence before chuckling
"Tsk whatever shitty glasses play dumb, I remember what happened" he answered back
"I don't know what you mean Levi...you looked so cute all sprawled out in that puddle by the way" she remarked with a knowing grin
"Ugh, I couldn't get the smell out my cravat for weeks because of that" he shuddered as he remembered before looking up at her, the distant look he had before seemed to have lessened now and he seemed a little bit more relaxed.
"I don't seem to remember you complaining about the evening after that" she smirked smugly making him chuckle
"Yeah you sure made up for it" he admitted leaning down to kiss her softly, she kissed him back happily wrapping her arms around his neck
"How are you feeling now?" she asked him still feeling his hand over her heart
"Better now" he sighed softly, she hummed nuzzling his face, he kept giving her tender kisses his other hand drawing patterns on her skin underneath her shirt
"Thank you shitty glasses" he whispered gratefully
"You don't have to thank me Levi, I know you would do the same thing for me" she said kindly as she kept holding him with a loving expression that made him feel warm inside
"I know but...let me thank you anyway" he purred in her ear making her shiver, knowing what he had in mind, she nodded with a grin bringing him in for another kiss.
"Take what you need Levi, I'm yours" she panted quietly, Levi didn't need to be told twice and attacked her so fast she didn't have time to think.

A while after their very passionate love making session, Levi was asleep, his face was relaxed and he looked a lot more peaceful than he had done earlier, his breathing had evened out and his lips were upturned slightly in a small smile. Hange rubbed his exposed back, fingers tracing scars from his time as a soldier and even older ones from his time in the underground his limbs were completely wrapped around her tightly as he held her, even in his sleep his grip was strong enough she struggled to move, not that she was planning to. She smiled to herself kissing the top of his head.

"What would people think if they knew how much of a hugger you actually are hmm?" she mused not that anyone would ever find out, this was the side of Levi that she knew was only exclusively for her to see and selfishly she thought that she wouldn't want anyone else seeing it. Looking at him now it was hard to imagine the panicked look he had been wearing not too long ago, she sighed softly he had been through so much, they all had and she was determined to at least give Levi a chance at living a normal life away from fighting, if anyone deserved it it was him and maybe she could share that life with him.

That thought makes her smile a little as she kisses his head again as she felt herself starting to feel tired herself, she managed to move around a little more in Levi's vice like grip so she could sleep more comfortably, but didn't stray too far from him knowing her presence was still needed even after the initial shockwaves of an intense nightmare had died down.

The entire time his hand never left its place above her beating heart.