Chapter Text
He was always talking to someone else.
At first it was the Commander, they had to make the plans, the commander gave the order, and he obeyed. That was normal, she guessed. Then it was this Section leader. They were weird as fuck. Excitedly gesturing their hands while speaking about whatever it was that they wanted to talk about. Sometimes it was titans, sometimes it was about the cadets, it could be anything and you would think it was the most fascinating thing in the world by the way that they went on and on. Then there was the other Section leader. He didn’t seem to speak too much, which was a feat in and of itself because the captain didn’t seem to bother with too many words either. They stood around one another in tense silences sometimes seeming to communicate telepathically before they would wander away from one another. That just fueled the fire that she felt. All of this could be acceptable because it appeared that he was only speaking to these people out of obligation. Their position in the Survey Corps made it necessary for them to converse on a regular basis. But this other person, she couldn’t make sense of it.
You were a couple inches shorter than he was. You had finished at number 7 in your class and seemed to scribble in a notebook all day. You somehow were chosen to be on his squad, but she had no idea what could be considered even remotely remarkable about you. However, the truly remarkable thing was, whenever you sat by the fire, he would come to you! You, of all people. The woman that barely spoke and was always writing something. The rest of the squad members thought that you were mute at first because of your lack of speech. But it turned out that you spoke, just very little depending on who was listening. She had never heard your voice at all but apparently, he had. In quiet tones, you handed the Captain your notebook after he had whispered something in your ear. You watched as a small smile pulled over his face.
Then he did something that no one in their current company had ever seen him do...
He laughed... In the weeks and weeks that she had been in the Scouts, the entire time that she had served on Squad Levi, he never laughed ever... People had begun to speculate that he couldn’t laugh. But here he was, sitting near you, close enough that your knees were nearly touching, with his head tossed back and tears running down his cheeks. The rest of the squad looked on intrigued. You were laughing too, a quiet little noise that was almost as startling as the Captain’s laughter. Levi wiped his face while his body shook looking at you with an indescribable look on his face. She couldn’t believe that out of everyone around this fire, you were the one to make him laugh. She had been so nice to you, almost to a fault. So much so that even Petra, one of the kindest people on Squad Levi had said that she was laying it on a little thick. But you never said anything to her. Your only communication with her was mumbled thanks and sometimes sign language. It didn’t make any sense, what kind of person used sign language if they were able to speak? Why was it that you spoke so softly in the first place? Levi leaned over to your shoulder and slapped at your back when he finished laughing. You turned to him and whispered something else in his ear only for him to turn red and slap your thigh. What the hell is this?? She thought to herself. The captain seemed to gather himself and wiped his face. “Go to bed.” he said gruffly. Everyone gathered their bedrolls and made their way to their tents. He instructed you to help put out the fire and take the first watch. You nodded and grabbed some of the water from the bucket near the fire with the ladle. “I can take first watch if she’s too tired.” she said eagerly. Levi looked over to you as you rolled your eyes and signed something to him. “She’s fine but thank you. You can take second watch when we’re done.” Levi signed something back to you and the two of you walked away leaving her looking stunned.
When did Levi even learn sign language?