(HAHA, HERE IS ME TRYING TO KEEP THIS RATED "T" AND I REALISE A UNIVERSAL UNDERSTANDING WAS T-RATED AND CONTAINED A LOT MORE THAN "MINOR COARSE LANGUAGE" XD)

Hai y'all! So if you have just stumbled across this story, I am gonna tell you one thing. It is actually a sequel to another story I wrote: A Universal Understanding. I STRONGLY recommend you read that one first to get to grips with my OC and their relationship with Levi. I am going to pretty much introduce their feelings for one another straight away, since if you have read the original story, you will know that they have been "just friends" for 51 chapters!

I have never really written romance, especially between two unromantic virgins that have never been in a relationship! :/ BUT, I will do my very best for you, and I am going to aim to do three things:

- Not shy away from the sexual side of romance (I am not going to include lemons, it will be more about the feelings, I am keeping it as T rated as possible)

- Make it realistic, which in these two's case, would be quite awkward XD

- Stay as true to the characters as possible

I apologise for this massive monologue of mine btw, but I need to put this out there.

Here is a few things Isayama has said about Levi and romance:

- If he had a crush on someone, he would be a stuttering mess around them

- He is a virgin

- He is the most sexually frustrated character in SnK

- Having a relationship with Levi wouldn't be much different to not having one with him since he'd kinda just leave you alone XD (NOT WITH ME AROUND FELLA)

Sooo, with that, ENJOY. (ALSO, I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I AM DOING, I HAVE NO EXPERIENCE WITH THIS OR WRITING THIS, BEAR WITH ME. CRITICISM WELCOMED!)

PROLOGUE:

NOVALIE

I stared at my reflection. It had changed a lot. My scar still ran deep on my cheek, and my figure was still slim and curve-less – I doubt that would change. My face was slightly older, but less weary, and my ash blonde hair now almost ran down to my elbows when it was down.

I had gotten fitter over these two years, since I had more time on my hands, and still trained when I could for the heck of it. I guess the rhythmic mindlessness of exercise, the burning pain, the release of heavy breaths and sweat and serotonin, it was almost addictive. Mesmerising.

The right sleeve of my jacket hung limp and shapeless over my shoulder. People seemed constantly in awe of how I did things with one arm. It was a bit of an art, I must say.

When I first came back to the Scouts after losing it, I got a lot of attention. I got more than my fair share of glares in the corridors, and "how did you escape the gallows?!". I didn't blame anyone who resented me, they had all attended my trial, they knew what monstrous things I had done. Those who didn't hate me, however, either pitied me because I couldn't go on expeditions, asked me why I was even still IN the Scouts, or, the most covert but popular question, "what is it with you and the Captain?". I was patient with most people, although I noticed a lot less people approached me when I was with Levi, which was most of the time. Can't imagine why…

LEVI

I stared at my reflection, into the scowl that I always wore. It was not as intense as it used to be. My posture was less rigid. I was less… Pent up, I think. I had one person that I could open up to. That fact alone relaxed me somewhat. Erwin told me I had "softened", which pissed me off. It made me sound WEAK. He assured me it was a compliment, because apparently I was way too uptight before.

Although, according to everyone else, I am still uptight.

Whatever.

Chapter 1 – Four Years and Running

TWO YEARS LATER

LEVI

I traced the rim of my cup with my forefinger, absent-mindedly listening to Armin and Eren's dull conversation. Novalie came into my head like a light being switched on, and I pushed the thought away. Can't you think about ANYTHING ELSE? You see her all day every day.

As if on cue, the bolt on the door lifted, and she came in. I trained my gaze on her, and she scanned the room, locking eyes with me. She fell into the chair beside me, resting her elbow on the table.

'Hello Levi,' she said courteously.

'Hi...' I mumbled. I realised I was staring, and cut it out.

'You OK?' Her analytical gaze swept over my face.

I nodded.

Her resting face was so composed, her mouth in a thin line, her eyes piercing as if she could see right into your soul. (To be honest, she can). She rarely smiled. It took a lot to evoke any kind of emotion from her. It took even more to break her spirit, but once it was gone, it got scary.

It was uncomfortably humid in the room, since it was the middle of summer. Novalie wasn't wearing her jacket, and was past her button-up shirt days. She said it was too fiddly with one arm. Instead, she wore a plain white tank top over her harness, which showed the defined ridge of her collarbone along the line of her shoulders. Heat crept up the back of my neck, and I gave in to the summer heat, shrugging off my jacket and slinging it over the back of my chair. Novalie had gone oddly quiet, and my periphery told me she was looking at me. Her expression had changed. She reached for my arm, and I kept very still as she brushed her hand over a long scar that ran across it. It was a whip mark, and a sore subject for the both of us.

'Don't,' was all I said. Don't feel guilty, was what I had wanted to say, but a sudden jolting memory of electric pain across my back and the searing heat pressing me into the floor stopped me from finishing. She drew her hand back and cast her eyes downwards. A frown tinted her brow. If she saw the scars on my chest and back, she would probably hate herself all over again. It had been hard enough to coax her out of her internal nightmare the first time, when her brother had practically forced her to torture me. The last thing either of us wanted was THAT resurfacing.

Quick, change the goddamn subject.

'So, the new cadets are coming today?' I blurted.

She nodded. 'Yeah, there are only ten of them apparently.'

'I'm not surprised…' I grumbled. 'You teaching them today?'

'Yup. The cadets are difficult actually, they have to ignore their cadet training and learn an entirely different way of using ODM.'

The silence fell about us again, the tension rose. God I hate awkward silences.

She lifted her arm and scraped her hair up with her hand. She already had her hairband around her fingertips, and deftly slipped it over her hair, twisting it to tighten it. She claimed not to miss her arm that much, only the expeditions, but I saw her get frustrated with it quite a lot. She denied it, insisting she could manage, but it was clearly a difficulty for her.

'Eren, training,' I raised my head and spoke sharply to the boy. He cut off mid-sentence and saluted.

'Yes sir!' Jumping up, he swiftly left, with Armin scuttling out of the room after him. I stood up myself, rolling my shirt sleeves up to my elbows.

NOVALIE

His shirt was thin, and his muscle definition stood out underneath it.

Wait what? What is so remarkable about that? He is a human being, same as everyone else.

I was relieved when he left, since the tension and the scar disappeared with him, but at the same time, I couldn't bear to look at his empty seat.

Why am I being so clingy? Get a grip.

'That is good Christine,' I called to the new cadet. She was tall and blonde, with a sharp face and a somewhat serious, determined expression. She was pretty fearless, which was good since fear was the one thing that really held people back with my ODM training. There have been several times when I have dived so low I almost hit the ground and broke my neck.

'You are CRAZY!' Jean, one of the 104th, had told me. He was kind - others called me a show-off. Joke's on them though, because now they have to learn it too.

'Ferris,' I said to one of the other boys. He landed in front of me, his cheeks red with effort.

'Yeah?'

'You keep pressing on your gas randomly.'

'I'm sorry, Ma'am, I just…' He fidgeted. He was a young, gentle lad.

'You are scared?' I prompted.

His face went even redder. I continued to stare at him blankly. 'Fear is good, it means you are sensible. This method was developed by a suicidal person, so Erwin is mad to employ me to teach it to you all. Even so, if you get it right, you will be safe. Keep going; your courage will build.' He blinked at me gormlessly, and then stuttered something in agreement and shot back into the air.

I looked at my pocket-watch. 'Lesson over,' I called to them, and nine out of ten of them landed gracefully, the other one was a clumsy, neurotic mess. They all thanked me and wandered back to the castle, chatting animatedly to one another.

My eyes drooped. I usually had the afternoon off, and used that time to sleep before it got dark. I traipsed back up to my room, almost going to use my right arm to open the door and then realising it wasn't going to respond. I still did that sometimes, even after all this time. Falling onto my bed, my thoughts drifted to Levi, and I felt the urge to go and find him.

Leave the guy alone, you will get on his nerves. I knew from how wide my eyes were and how busy my mind was that there would be no chance of me sleeping, and so I jumped up and paced. I had barely any books any more. Erwin had lent me a couple the day before yesterday, but I had already read all three twice over. I wasn't bored as such, just agitated.

'Hello Novalie.'

The voice was clear, and came from behind me. I turned very slowly, the hairs on the back of my neck prickling.

No. Not that voice.

That's. Not. Possible.