Ymir's Necklace: The Secret You Hold | Book I | Levi x Reader

Glare

LEVI'S POV

Levi sat there, amidst the familiar faces of Gabi, Falco, and others, spooning up the Tuesday stew that tasted slightly spicier than usual. His attention to detail was acute, noticing changes that others might overlook—the way Gabi's auburn hair seemed longer, the soft shadow of facial hair on Falco's face.

Yet, it was you who caught his gaze that day, entering the dining tent with a light jog that made your skirt swirl around your legs. Levi was struck by the peculiar intensity in your eyes. As you took your seat beside Jelena, opposite him and the children who seemed to dominate every space with their energy, there was a depth to your stillness. You ate quietly, your lips—a focus of your expressions—parting for the spoon, reflecting a mind caught in thought.

Beside you, Jelena's laughter spilled over, her hand on your arm in mid-story, but you offered only a half-smile, your attention tethered to something unseen.

Then, your gaze found Levi.

The connection was startling, an arrow of recognition that seemed to pierce him directly. His breath hitched, a sense of vulnerability washing over him as if you saw him too clearly. To Levi, it felt profoundly disarming, this look that held none of the pity or fear others cast his way, but something else entirely—intense, unflinching.

"Who's that?" Levi whispered, an uncharacteristic curiosity in his voice.

Falco's response was louder than intended, "That's (y/n). She's from here, from Liberio."

An Eldian, then, working at the hospital, caring for those bruised by life's cruelties.

Levi found himself unable to break away from your gaze, noting the delicate veins at your neck, the story each mole and mark upon your skin might tell. His eyes lingered on the pendant you clutched, a silent statement of something precious.

The moment stretched, a silent dialogue in glances and breaths held too long. Then, as your cheeks flushed a telling shade of red, Levi wondered if you understood the weight of this gaze, if you recognized him for who he was.

And in that moment of shared vulnerability, as you looked away, he was left to ponder the inexplicable paths that had led them both here, to this instant of connection. Did you see the blush that crept up his own cheeks, a mirror to your embarrassment?

In this dance of glances and the unspoken, Levi found himself ensnared by the mystery of you, the why and how of never having noticed you before. Amidst the ruins of Liberio, had you always been there, a presence he had somehow missed until now?

It made no sense, and yet, here they were, caught in the gravity of a moment neither could fully understand.