Rags and Riches ~ Levi x OC

22. Sun and Moon

 "Pardon?" Nile faced Levi, who stood in a perfectly tailored black suit which showed off his broad shoulders and had that ridiculous cravat tucked neatly in place.

"You got worms in your ears?" Levi grabbed Enyo's wrist and tugged her away from Commander Dawk.

Nile looked Levi up and down before his eyes widened. "You're the street rat that Erwin keeps talking about."

Levi's eyes were dark as he stared at Nile. He tugged Enyo toward the large room and didn't look back when he said, "she gave me this dance. And the night."

Nile narrowed his gaze and stalked after them, getting in their way. "Get your filthy ratty hands off of her. Enyo, here."

Enyo finally looked at Nile. Her blood was ice and her feet were sludging monsters that refused to move. She didn't know what to do. Could Nile even do anything? Was he that powerful in the military? Enyo's slender fingers dug against Levi's skin like she were trying to dig free of a buried casket. 

Nile continued, "Think of your family. The Aetos name will be ruined if word of a disgusting Underground bastard is seen with you. Come. Now."

"I-I'm sorry, Commander Dawk," Enyo breathed and clutched onto Levi for dear life, "But I am a scout enjoying the Military Ball with another scout. Don't make a scene."

"Enyo," Nile's voice followed the duo. "Come back here!"

Levi tugged Enyo through the dance room and out a different hallway and Enyo let out a breath she hadn't noticed she held back. "Thank you, Levi."

He hummed and leaned against the wall as they stood in the deserted hall together. He looked great. His gray eyes were as cool as the walls behind him and he gazed that far off gaze of his. A gaze that made Enyo wonder if he dreamed of new things or if he stuck himself in memories. He crossed his arms. "The stars are hidden."

"Huh?" Enyo furrowed her brows and looked outside.

"It's just like the Underground," he said. "Walls around us and darkness above."

Enyo laughed and looked out the window, leaning over the side. "It's kind of ironic, actually."

"What is?"

"Why we can't see the stars." Enyo glanced at Levi, who was waiting for an explanation. "When we're at HQ in Trost, we can somewhat see the stars."

"And?"

"Here in Stohess, the population is much more dense. Which means we have more lights. The irony, Levi, is that more lights means it's more difficult to see the stars. In order to see them as they really are, we can't have any light around us."

"Lights make it harder to see the stars?" Levi pondered and joined Enyo by the window. "I didn't know that."

"I don't think that's something important to know in the Underground."

Levi let out a breathy grunt and stared at the sky. The world around them danced on. People ran across the streets under them and birds chirped in a nearby nest. They stood together in silence for a while, before Levi cleared his throat. "You think there's a place without any other humans where we could see the stars as they are?"

"I know there's a place like that," Enyo confessed. "Beyond the Walls."

"How can you know that?"

Enyo rolled her eyes and grabbed Levi's hand. "I can feel it in my bones. Can't you? The Walls can't be all there is to life, ya' know?"

Levi turned and they locked eyes. His steel, warmthless eyes peered into her golden ones and the gravity between them blossomed. They both fought it. The pressure pushing them together was dangerous in the world they lived in. 

Still, the sun and moon are destined to chase each other. If you were to remove the planet in between, they might touch. In fact, they might burst at the seams and explode for centuries. And the stars would cheer on such a collision.

There was more to life and he hadn't taken to anyone this fast before, Levi realized. But for a seasoned soldier like Enyo, her life didn't belong to her. It belonged to humanity.

Levi's breath was like a cool morning against Enyo's lips. It woke her up and she rocked backward, dropping his hand and gaze. Her cheeks were warm and her ears rang and she shook her head slightly. 

The sun and moon might belong together, but rags and riches sure didn't. Strange that Enyo was both a soldier and a woman of prestige while Levi was a survivor from the dirt. Yet her golden eyes illuminated the night sky. She might be the sun, and Levi might be the moon—or it might be the other way around in their strange universe—but they still had a planet between them.

A nude planet with disgusting teeth and a will to eat humankind. 

Levi chuckled bitterly and turned his attention back to the sky. His jaw clenched and his perfect hair fell over his face.

Enyo was the one to break the silence. "Should we dance, Levi?"

"I don't dance."

Enyo pursed her lips and examined the man next to her. Veiny hands clutched the window sill and he breathed so deeply, Enyo thought he might be trying to break the wall with his breath. There was so much she didn't know about him. Heck, he'd never even told her his last name.

"We'll uh..." Enyo gulped. She knew what she had to do. So, she buried the pressure growing between them in the moonlight. Enyo took a deep breath and grabbed Levi's hand again. She grabbed it with the promise that one day, she would excavate that pressure. "We'll work together and kill all the titans, alright? Then we can find a place where it's just the two of us and the stars."

If that planet didn't exist between them, their collision would be grand. 

Levi entwined their fingers and stared at the starless sky. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

So close I made myself angry with this one! 

That's a wrap for section 1! It's been such a fun adventure, and I'm working on the next section currently. I really enjoy being able to do daily updates but I also have graduation in 3 weeks, so it might be at least a month or two before the next section of the story is updated!! Ah!! I'll be the first in my family to have a degree, and not to brag, but it's a degree in creative writing too!

I wrote section 1 about three years ago and have pieced it together slowly, but this next section is both pieced together and brand new writing...dun...dun...dun...let's find out together if that degree was worth it 😂

Writing tip! I've found a true love for writing fanfics,  and have done it for as long as I can remember. So I want to give a writer's tip that works for me (find what works for you, but if you think this might work for you, I'm glad I shared it!)

I I always work on 2 stories at once. Because of ADHD, I hyper fixate on things until I am absolutely worn out of it. So, I choose to hyper fixate on a story and once I've burnt myself out of that story, I immediately switch to the other story. And then when I burn out, I switch back to the original, and keep switching between the two until the one or both of the stories are done! 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Keep your eyes out for section 2, Sun and Moon! Who knows...Levi might get a promotion....

As always, leave a vote and comment!