Longing to Be Known | Levi Ackerman x OC

59

[A/N]: 50K READS?! OVER 2K VOTES?! WHAT THE HELL?! I LOVE YOU ALL!!! extra chapter this week ;) enjoy~

-Kaisa-

"Are you actually going to sleep tonight?" I ask.

"Do you truly believe I know the answer to that question?" He responds.

I shrug, "It was worth asking."

"I'm going to try to get some sleep, though. I'll see you tomorrow, partner."

The moment the words come out of my mouth, I feel gross.

"Ew, no. Okay, we're going to have to come up with another name besides partner because we sound like those weird country people in the forbidden section of the library." I shake my head.

"What's wrong with being country?" Levi teases.

"Don't even get me started." I threaten.

Standing up, I tuck in my chair before giving him a small smile. "Goodnight, Levi."

He tilts his head down slightly as if to say goodnight. Walking off, I head towards the girls bedroom where Historia, Kiyoko, and Sasha are sleeping. I go to turn the knob when suddenly, it won't budge. Twisting it quietly, the lock jingles in place, forbidding me to open the door. I sigh in frustration, taking a walk of shame back to the open-concept living-room-kitchen area.

The moment my head pops out from over the wall, I find Levi with his head hanging between his shoulders over the kitchen counter. He's set another kettle to boil for his late-night tea, but his demeanor is different than usual.

The floor creaks slightly beneath me as I walk towards him with caution. This is the second time I've seen Levi like this in the past 24 hours—something has to be bothering him.

Wow, great deduction, Kaisa. Who could've guessed such a thing? It's not like he expressed the death of some of his other siblings earlier tonight.

My own inner voice annoys me, but that bitch never shuts up anyway.

He stays in the same position, allowing me to approach him in this state. Unsure of what to do, I stand behind him for a little bit. I can hear the blood pumping throughout my body. I feel its rhythm edging me on to take my next action. With a soft inhale, my body relaxes as much as it can in this situation.

Slowly, I lean into his back, slowly wrapping my arms around his torso before gently resting the side of my head against him. We stand in this position for a while, neither of us moving. After being still for so long, his weight shifts slightly as he brings a hand up to hold one of mine. His hands are cold, trembling almost unnoticeably against my own.

His soft tone surprises me, "Kaisa?"

I hum quietly in response.

"How do you sleep at night?"

His question isn't too surprising, but it wasn't what I thought he was going to say.

"I ask myself that question everyday." I sigh. "I wish I had an answer, but I don't. Sometimes I can't sleep even if I'm exhausted from the day... I wonder what it would feel like to be ignorant of what happens outside the walls." I trail off.

I lift one of my hands from underneath my own before placing it on his cold one, "But, sometimes when I feel overwhelmed, I try to focus on my breathing and it usually helps me calm down."

He doesn't reply.

"Do you know why you can't sleep?" I wonder aloud.

His words come out as mumbles, "I can't sleep."