𝚂𝚃𝙴𝙰𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝚂𝙴𝙲𝚁𝙴𝚃𝚂

13

Y/N was sitting in her living room surrounded by books and a few lanterns. It was the middle of the night and she couldn't sleep. She couldn't sleep at all. There was too much on her mind right now, so she had to keep herself occupied somehow and the best thing she could think of was by planning how she could get more books.

She didn't need the money, if she was being honest, but she really needed more books. More answers. Since she had started reading the books she had stolen last time, she had way more questions than before. Half of it didn't make sense and Y/N figured that she would need more information to make it all fit together. She felt like she was finally onto something big.

But to really find out what was going on she needed to plan to steal more books. She needed to get to the section of the library that was guarded the best... maybe she could even get into other private libraries. Y/N was almost certain that there were a lot of people that were nobles or even royals that knew way more than everyone else. And they were hiding it.

It was just so difficult to think of a way to actually get in there on her own. She was thinking about asking Levi for help, but Y/N knew that Levi wouldn't like to risk anything. Especially if it was unnecessary, in his opinion. He cared about knowing what the world actually looked like, but not nearly as much as Y/N did. He wouldn't want her to try and break into people's houses to steal books.

So she just had to try and plan it all by herself, which was much harder than she would have initially thought. There was no way to easily create distractions and she'd have to spy out the place she wanted to break into much better. Plus, it was risky to go alone, in case anything went wrong. All it took was a malfunction of the ODM gear at any point and she'd be killed by the military police.

She sighed and leaned back, looking up at the ceiling. She couldn't really see much detail, all there was, was the light of the lanterns dancing against the high ceiling, making the shadows flicker and look kind of surreal. Y/N hadn't realized how tired she had become while she was looking through every map and every little sketch and document she could find. Still, she felt like she wouldn't be able to sleep, no matter how exhausted and tired she felt. She had to do this now.

"Thought I heard something." she suddenly heard a voice from behind her. Y/N startled, almost expecting her uncle to stand right behind her. She still had to get used to the thought that he was actually dead and she was living alone in the house, unless Levi or Isabel or Farlan stayed over.

She turned around and saw Levi leaning against the door frame, mustering the papers surrounding Y/N with a slight frown on his face. She knew he wouldn't like this. She just knew it. She could see it in his face. Still, he didn't say anything yet. He probably knew her well enough to know that it wouldn't make any difference to her. She was ready to take Levi's advice in any regard, except for this one thing.

"What are you doing up this late? You should get back to bed and get some sleep." he finally said to her.

"I couldn't sleep. I tried, but I just kept tossing and turning and then I figured I might as well stay up and work on something. What are you doing up?" Y/N replied. Levi walked up to her and pulled up a chair to sit down and have a look at what she was doing in detail. Y/N was sure that he already had a good idea what this was about.

"The place is really damn cold, you know? It was kind of noticeable when you left." he answered, as his eyes wandered over the papers. He raised an eyebrow and looked back at her.

"Are you saying I'm hot?" Y/N answered with a smug grin, knowing full well that he was just going to disregard the comment and tell her that her plan was not a good idea. She was mentally preparing herself for it.

"You really shouldn't be making such complicated and elaborate plans when you're sleep deprived, Y/N." he just commented.

"Why not? When else would I make them?" she countered.

"During the day when you're well-rested, like a normal person. You're being really stupid when you're sleep-deprived and it's not going to help you with this. I didn't even think much about how this was going to go down and I found some bad flaws in it. And I also know you're doing this in the middle of the night, because you're hoping I won't find out." Levi told her. Y/N sighed.

"Well, it looks like that part didn't work at least. Because here you are, about to tell me not to do it, right?" she said. Levi put down the paper and gave her a long, hard look that made Y/N want to crumble into herself and apologize. It made her wish she was able to go back to not knowing anything. To go back to being blissfully ignorant about the world they all lived in and not even question anything.

"I know this is important to you. And I know I won't be able to stop you, so I'm not even going to waste much energy trying. I just think if you're so set on doing it... you should have a clear head when planning it." he replied.

"Are you saying you're going to help me?" Y/N answered, sounding a little surprised. She hadn't really expected Levi to be so lenient about it, but he was right. She was way too stubborn to just give up on it. He was probably better off not trying to stop her and doing what he could to ensure she'd make it back alive and in one piece, at the very least. Not that that was a given with the military police being on their track almost all the damn time, anyway.

"Not exactly. I'm willing to look over your plans, if you want to. Tell you where you might have some trouble. But I'm not going to help you with any of this. I don't think it's a good idea and I don't want to support it and then feel responsible for you getting butchered by the MP. But I also want you to come back to me alive, if you really have to go." he finally told her. Y/N nodded.

She hadn't really expected any kind of support at all, because she knew what Levi thought about all this. But she was glad that he was willing to help at least a little. Maybe she could still make it that way. Even if she was killed right after learning the truth about the world out there, she'd be happy. She would have achieved her goal - everything else didn't really matter to her much.

"Okay. That sounds good. Thank you, Levi. I'll do my best not to get caught when I'm ready to do this." she answered, a slight smile playing on her lips. Levi nodded heavily. Y/N felt somewhat bad to see just how heavy this was likely weighing on his mind. If Levi made any decision he wasn't taking it lightly, ever.

"Good. And another thing... please don't drag Farlan or Isabel into this. I feel like I need to take care of them and I don't want them in any more danger than is necessary. The same goes for you, but I can't tell you what to do and what not to do, so... I hope you'll just be reasonable about it."

Y/N nodded and put the book she had been holding aside. Levi was right. There was no point in her making plans while she couldn't even think clearly enough. She'd have to continue in the morning. It would be easier, now that she knew how Levi felt about it all. She could plan everything without having to justify herself all the time, which was already a big relief.

"Of course. I promise." she replied.

"Good. Now get back to bed, you're being stupid staying up so late. And I'm cold, too." he muttered. Y/N grinned at him.

"You can just admit when you miss me, you know?"

"Tch. As if."