Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

The fireplace is crackling quietly. Bright red wood burns, emitting a faint light into the small room. On the tiled edge of the fireplace is a lighter, a small blue gem embedded into the handle.

The room is large but somehow feels very intimate. The desk is overflowing with letters, most unopened and forgotten lying around.

Some have been read and a couple of frail attempts at a reply have been made, though the handwriting is so shaky it can’t be deciphered.

You offered to write in Mister Ackerman’s stead, but he declined.

“Letters are personal, Dee,” he said with a warm, fatherly smile. “If you can’t see the other person’s touch, what’s the point?”

Now, Mister Ackerman is at a stage where as much as holding a pencil is past the scope of possibility. He’s lying in his bed, gaze faraway and delirious.

You sit quietly by him. Wooden chair uncushioned and hard underneath you, you diligently wet a rag and wipe off his sweat.

No other servants are in the room. Mister Ackerman only permits you in nowadays. You are the only one he trusts.

His white shirt is drenched and glued to his chest. He’s breathing heavily.

When you move to his face from his neck , he grabs your wrist. His fingertips trail over the purple gem, embedded into your skin.

“Dee,” he whispers. “I’m dying.“

You feel something at your chest and frown. A malfunction?

You look at his dark hair and wrinkled face. How many decades have you served him? His eyes, still just as deep and filled with poetry and wonders of the world, have trouble fixating on your face.

He smiles hazily.

“Of all things, slow and painful succumb to an excruciating illness wasn’t at the top of my list,” he says and for a moment, you can hear the dry edge his humour always carried.

You tilt your head a little. Death. You never understood it, yet all the organics around you seem to fear it.

You press the cool rag on his forehead and clean off some of his sweat.

“I should get a doctor,” you conclude when you notice how much he’s burning up. Mister Ackerman doesn’t let go of your hand. He shakes his head.

“A doctor can’t help me now, Dee. But if you want to make an old man happy, open the window, please.”

You get on your feet. You walk to the large window on the opposite wall and pull the curtains open. The light immediately pours in. White, red and purple emitted by the endless stars and galaxies that litter the night sky.

“Ah,” Mister Ackerman sighs, and he smiles a little. “This is why I built this mansion so far away from the ports, Dee.”

You nod. Mister Ackerman doesn’t like artificial light. He doesn’t like the buzz of ports. The large yard is quiet and dark below you. All the servants, save for a few guardians, have gone to bed.

You adjust the hem of your long dress and reach behind you to re-fasten your white apron. You then walk back to Mister Ackerman and sit down in your chair.

“Any word from Levi?” Mister Ackerman asks. You glance at the mahogany desk where the letters are brought daily.

Mister Ackerman is in too poor a condition to use his study.

“No. He hasn’t written, sir.”

Mister Ackerman’s eyes turn a bit sadder. You see them glisten in the brilliant light. Your mind fills with quiet pity and bitterness.

“I’m sure he’s busy,” Mister Ackerman says with a weary voice. “The front lines are no joke. Maybe he hasn’t gotten the letter.”

You stay quiet and instead, gently finish cleaning the sweat. Mister Ackerman takes a deep, satisfied breath.

“I’m clean and the galaxies are beautiful today. There are worse ways to go, Dee.”

You feel a tug of sadness. When you feel the quiet tears burning behind your eyelids, you take his hand.

“May I cry, sir?” you ask. At that, Mister Ackerman smiles. He reaches a gentle hand to cup your cheek.

“Don’t mourn for an old fool like me, Dee. Save your tears for someone more worthy.”

You swallow the tears back and nod.

“Yes, sir.”

Mister Ackerman sighs gently. He pulls the blanket over his arms and closes his eyes. He hears the hum of the universe and like always, it soothes him.

He spent his entire life writing poems and stories about that universe, imagining what might lurk in its endless depths, and you can see he’s likewise now conjuring a dream to fall into.

Only, this time he will not return.

You watch him pass without a word. You feel a small, sombre jolt in your chest.

-

You awake exactly at dawn, true to your setting. You sit up on your bed and move to the edge of it. You get on your steady feet.

You look around your small room. Most servants don’t get their own room but thanks to being the attendant to the head of the house you’re permitted a small bedroom next to the master one.

You slip out of your nightgown. On your bedside table sits a porcelain basin. Next to it is a jug of water. You pour some and splash your face.

You walk up to your vanity and look in the mirror. You brush your hair and check your gems. One on the back of each wrist and the main one, quietly emitting energy in your chest.

It’s the same place where humans have their heart, and you wonder if it’s a coincidence they chose this spot as the place where to embed the large red gem that powers up the androids.

You pull on your black dress, arrange the white lace on your sleeves and neck to be in order. Then, you tie your white apron around your waist.

You pull on cotton socks and a pair of simple leather shoes.

As you step outside, you immediately collide with someone’s chest and jolt.

You blink and look up. You see a man. He’s dressed in a dark brown uniform. The legs of his neatly ironed pants have been pushed into sturdy-looking laced boots, made of black leather. His white shirt has been pushed into his pants.

His jacket only reaches his waist and it’s been left unfastened. On his back is a heavy-looking metal rifle.

You look at his fair hair, slicked back over his head. The sides of his head are shaved with a razor. His eyes are hard and stern, carrying a slightly muddy green colour.

“Goodness,” you exhale. “Why are you out here, Porco? You could have just knocked.”

He looks as serious as always. Porco was forged in the same batch as you and as such, you always felt a certain sense of camaraderie.

“He’s returning today,” Porco says, ignoring your question. “The whole mansion is getting ready. You should, too.”

“Returning? Who?” you ask, still a bit slow thanks to just being booted.

“The master. We got word that he’s on his way back.”

You’re taken aback. It’s been almost half a year since Mister Ackerman passed and while you have kept the master bedroom and study spotless, you didn’t think the master would return to tend to his manor.

“When will he arrive?” you ask.

“His ship will be at the Mirthport in two hours’ time,” Porco replies. You nod.

“Then I must clean the master bedroom and prepare a bath for him.”

“I hope he’s nothing like the rumours,” Porco says steadily.

You have heard them, too. You never met Levi Ackerman. He grew up with his mother in the next system over. He never as much as visited his estranged father.

Mister Ackerman had a brief yet very intense love affair with Levi’s mother that ended badly. She left the manor, pregnant with Levi, and never returned.

But gossip has made its way all the way here. That Levi is exceptionally foul, that when his mother passed he enlisted in the military and traversed to the front lines of the war waging in the Locuples System.

You don’t know much about it but what little you have paints a very grim and bloody picture.

“Your patrol starts shortly. You should go prepare,” you say to Porco. He gives you a long look and then reaches a hand to shortly pat your shoulder.

“Be careful, Dee. Don’t anger him.”

“I know,” you smile back. Then, you turn to walk off. The master bedroom is situated in the top floor, secluded from the rest of the manor. Your room is situated on the same corridor, along with the library and the study.

You walk out of the narrow corridor to the spiral staircase leading down. The Ackerman manor has four floors. The top floor is reserved entirely for the master’s use. The third floor hosts the guest rooms and master butler’s quarters.

The head butler is an old human with a permanent frown on his face. At first, you were intimidated by him, but when you realised his demeanour only runs skin-deep, you relaxed.

You descend the steep staircase. The second floor is where most of the servant robots live, save for the stable boys and field workers who have their own barracks. You hear chatter come from the long hallways. Some maids are exchanging gossip about the master.

You ignore it. The ground floor has the kitchen, the dance hall and the cigar lounge. They have been empty of gatherings and parties since Mister Ackerman fell ill.

Paintings decorate the wooden walls, depicting mostly galaxies and spaceships. Mister Ackerman was always fond of the stars. A long, blue rug has been rolled over the creaky wooden floors, dusted daily by maids.

As you walk outside, you pause to breathe in the fresh air.

The manor is situated about half an hour’s ride from the nearest port. Its light doesn’t reach here. You look around the yard. It’s early spring.

The garden is in full bloom. The green meadows are mostly left untouched, growing grass and redwood trees. Some horses graze in a large pasture near the stables.

You notice a few are missing. Someone must already have taken the carriage to the port to receive the new master.

A few guardians are patrolling the perimeters, wearing the same uniform Porco was wearing. They give you a small nod as you walk up to the well in front of the barracks.

The field workers are already up, cultivating the large, endless fields for spring vegetables.

You take a large bucket from the edge of the well and lower it into the crystalline water. You take out a bucketful of water and check no leaves or pollen has landed on the surface.

You pass by a few maids who have started preparing brunch for the master’s arrival.

You start carrying the water up to the top floor. As you reach the heavy door leading to the master bedroom, you reach for your pocket.

Not many have the key to this room. You take out the golden key, a small red gem etched into the metal. You push it in the lock and turn.

You hear a whirring sound as the gem presses against the one in the lock. Then, the door clacks open.

The master bedroom is as always. You change the linen weekly. You sweep and dust the room almost daily. The desk has been emptied and the bookshelves are stocked with books.

The bathroom door is on the opposite end of the room. The windows are large and oversee the beautiful, untouched meadows that extend as far as eye can see.

They’re still manor premises but they haven’t been cultivated. Mister Ackerman enjoyed nature undisturbed.

The heavy blue curtains have already been pulled aside and the windows are open, letting in fresh air.

You pause when you see the man standing by the window, looking out to the suns. Days here on Ridawn are relatively brief.

Eight hours of sunlight, sixteen of starlight.

The man turns. He’s dressed in a black suit. The blue bow-tie is meticulously tied. His hands are gloved. You’ve never seen the master butler without his gloves.

“Oh. You’re here,” he says. You curtsey shortly.

“Mister Magath,” you greet him. “Here to inspect everything is in order for master’s arrival?”

He nods. He looks around.

“You’ve kept things tidy. Good. The master is very particular about cleanliness.”

You nod and carry the bucket to the bathroom. Inside, you see the porcelain bathtub, standing on a tiled floor.

A heat gem is placed underneath the tiles, heating up the floor. The toilet, sink and bathtub are spotless, so much so you can see your reflection on their pearl-white surface.

You open the lid of the water heater and pour in the water.

You keep it full. Once a week, you run water to keep the plumbing odour-free. Now, you’re merely topping off the large water tank sitting in the corner.

Both a heating and a cooling crystal are embedded in the metal of the tank, making it possible to run both warm and cold water.

Initially, only the master bedroom had functional plumbing. It’s expensive to install and maintain. But Mister Ackerman grew tired of dealing with dirty water and thus, he eventually plumbed the whole manor.

You look around the bathroom. You open the small window to let in fresh air.

Everything is in order.

You walk back out. You see Mister Magath is still here, walking around the room, clearly inspecting it.

“As the personal assistant, there are a few things you need to know about the new master,” Mister Magath says. You listen intently.

“He likes things tidy and has requested his room be cleaned thoroughly daily. He only uses honey-scented soap. He requires floral tea four times a day. Do not make sudden moves around him and don’t make sudden, loud sounds.”

You take in the instructions with a slow nod. Mister Ackerman was very lax. He tolerated mistakes, even when you first started out, moved from the fields to be his servant and fumbling your way through your new duties, he always merely smiled patiently when you messed up.

Levi Ackerman, from the sound of it, doesn’t take after his father.

You double-check the room is free of dust. You put in new sheets on the bed and when you hear the carriage pull up in front of the manor, you can’t help yourself.

You peek out of the window.

Mister Magath has already walked to the front yard, ready to receive the new master.

He opens the carriage door and when you see the short man step out, you feel a bit surprised.

You can’t see him too well from the fourth floor. He’s dressed in a military outfit. Shiny boots, black pants and a white shirt. A snug, black jacket buttoned at the front. His hair is black, cropped above his ears.

He doesn’t as much as pause to look around. He strides inside, ignoring Mister Magath’s outstretched hand.

What a little-

You feel a buzz in your head and frown. A glitch?

You get taken over by a brief dizzy spell. You feel your gem let out a small, wailing hum in your chest. On instinct, you grab the bedside table to steady yourself as you double over.

That’s where Levi finds you when he marches in, eyes narrowed and bubbling with deep annoyance.

He pauses. He looks at you, your simple black dress and apron, the way you’re panting a bit.

“Who are you and why are you in my quarters?” he asks immediately. He must have dismissed Mister Magath on his way because the head butler doesn’t follow him in.

The dizzy spell passes after a few seconds. You straighten your back. It’s not the first time you’ve glitched, but it’s the first time it’s been this intense.

Nonetheless, you have more important things to worry about right now.

You look at the new master. Your eyes trail over the details of his uniform. There are a few badges on his chest. His belt buckle is in the shape of a moon.

You take the hem of your dress and curtsey.

“I’m your attendant, master.”

His sharp eyebrows immediately pull into a frown.

“My job is to look after you, whether it’s tidying your quarters or bringing you food and refreshments. Anything you need, you may call me, master.”

“Don’t call me that,” he snaps immediately. You blink. Mister Ackerman didn’t fancy the term master, either, but he was much gentler about it.

“Alright, sir.”

He doesn’t look happy still, but he can do with sir. He walks up to you. He looks up and down your body and he looks suspicious.

Then, he takes your wrist out of nowhere. You let out a small sound. His grip is much harder than you thought him capable of.

He takes your sleeve and unceremoniously pushes it up. His eyes fixate on the small purple gem on the back of your wrist.

“Knew it,” he says. “Android.”

You watch him quietly. You try to gauge his mood. He leans in to inspect the gem.

“High-grade life gem, too. My old man sure didn’t spare any expenses.”

“Mister Ackerman has always been exceptionally generous-“

“Quiet. I don’t want that old fool’s name uttered in my presence.”

At that, your temper flares a little. Mister Ackerman was always very kind to you, and the new master didn’t as much as write when his father slowly withered to death.

“He always thought very highly of you, sir,” you reply, with just a touch of defiance. His eyes flash with cold annoyance.

“I didn’t ask, woman.”

He shoves your hand away. You immediately shimmy your sleeve back down.

“What’s your name?” he then asks. He starts walking around the room, trailing his finger along the surfaces to check for dust.

“My serial number is DHL-7934. Most call me Dahlia.”

“Dahlia. That’ll do,” Levi replies. He thoroughly inspects the room and you watch quietly.

“Is everything in order, sir?” you ask.

“I didn’t address you. Don’t talk to me unless I do,” Levi grunts back. Your jaw clenches. What a stuck-up little man.

“Are all the servants here androids?” he asks as he pauses by his bed. He tests the sheets to see if they’re clean and crispy.

“Aside from the master butler, yes, sir.”

He snorts, clearly bothered. He turns to you and crosses his arms.

“Did you clean this room?” he asks.

“Yes, sir.”

“It’s satisfactory,” he says. “But clean between the mattress and the bed frame next time.”

You want to give him some attitude but know your place. Thus, you merely nod and curtsey.

“Yes, sir.”

“Bring me tea.”

“Sir, the maids have prepared a brunch-”

“Did I ask?”

You meet his dark, cold eyes. He looks discontent.

“No, sir, but I thought-”

“Then what made you think I would care? Get me my tea.”

With that, he walks to the bathroom and slams the door shut after himself. You release a long breath and walk to the door.

You have to resist the urge to slam it shut after yourself.

While you prepare the tea, Levi’s belongings are brought in the master bedroom. When you return, a steaming pot of tea on a tray, you almost trip over the luggage.

You set the tea on the bedside table. You then glance at the heavy wooden suitcases piled in front of the door.

You’re not sure if Levi wants you to put them away or unpack for him.

You have a feeling he’ll get cranky if you touch his things without permission so you merely stand back and wait.

A moment later, Levi emerges from the bathroom. He’s wrapped a towel around his hips and immediately, you notice the scars on his chest.

You count them quietly. Four thin and long scars and a single round one, splayed over his shoulder.

He’s very toned. The moment his sharp eyes land on you, you look away.

“My clothes are in that suitcase,” Levi says and points at one in the middle of the pile. “Find me leisure clothes.”

“Yes, sir.”

You walk to the suitcases and kneel down. You pull out the one in the middle and open it. It’s filled to the brim with different kinds of clothes. You start sorting through them.

All the while, Levi sits on the edge of his bed and pours himself a cup of tea. He takes a sip.

“You left the leaves in for too long. Exactly ninety seconds,” he says, and he sounds discontent. You purse your lips together in quiet annoyance.

“My apologies, sir.”

You take out a pair of grey pants, underwear, some cotton socks and a simple, brown shirt. You place them on the bed next to him and curtsey.

He looks at you, as if expecting something. He’s placed the cup back on the tray.

A moment of silence passes.

“What are you waiting for? Go make me new tea.”

“You want me to re-do it, sir?”

He frowns.

“Obviously.”

“Alright, sir.”

You curtsey and take the tray. You walk out of the room, fuming to yourself quietly. You don’t appreciate his obvious fussiness.

The maids give you looks when you return with the barely touched tea. You dump the old tea, wash the pot and cup and then slam a kettle on the stovetop to boil new water.

“Was something wrong with the tea?” one of the maids asks. You make a small, irritated noise.

On the table in the middle of the kitchen, Levi’s brunch sits untouched. You glance at the fried eggs, freshly baked bread and fresh grapes.

You don’t need to eat, but even you can tell it looks good. You feel distaste for the fact Levi ignored the work put into this meal.

Mister Ackerman always at least ate a few forkfuls, no matter what.

As the water boils, you add in the flowers. You start counting, making sure it’s exactly ninety seconds before you take them out.

You won’t give Levi the satisfaction of making you redo it a second time.

When you return, he’s already gotten dressed. He’s standing by the window, quietly looking out. His arms are crossed.

He has pulled on a black jacket over his shirt.

You still with the tea.

“Put it on the desk.”

You nod and do as you’re told. Levi pulls himself away from the window and walks up to you. You stand aside with a curtsey.

He sits down and pours himself a cup. He takes a sip and pauses.

“Leave.”

You take it that’s his way of telling you the tea is satisfactory. You curtsey and walk to the door, giving the luggage on the floor a small glance.

You want to ask whether he wants you to unpack for him but hold yourself back.

He didn’t ask, after all.

Chapter Text

You twitch awake. It takes a moment to understand the concept of blinking, but when your eyes slowly open, you notice you’re in a room of some sort.

You’d later come to regret not taking a moment to analyse what it feels like to gain consciousness. It would come to haunt you, how you could not exist for billions of years only to one day do.

You look around. Cogs, wheels and crystals decorate the large, smudged desk off to the side. The room is dim, lit with only a handful of oil lamps on the walls.

Somewhere further away you can hear the steady sound of steam and machinery. Cogs moving, hot air puffing through pipes. The windows are covered with thick curtains.

Next to you on the wooden bench sits a man. Your eyes lock briefly. You look at his fair hair and green eyes. He seems just as confused as you.

“Good day,” you say, for a lack of anything better. The man frowns, then slowly nods.

“Speech function seems to be working properly,” you hear a voice behind you. You turn, just to see a person, wearing a wide grin.

Their brown hair is pulled in a ponytail and there is an eye patch covering one of their eyes. They’re wearing a leather apron, tools of all sorts poking out from the pockets.

Underneath the apron is a white, somewhat crinkly cotton shirt and a pair of brown trousers. You notice they haven’t tucked in their shirt. This person must be more occupied with whatever they do in this room than outward appearances.

It doesn’t occur you to even question how you know this, given you haven’t existed up until now.

In their hands, they have a file, on which they’re writing observations.

“DHL-7934… Satisfactory speech and auditory responses…” they mutter to themselves. You look at them quietly, waiting to be addressed.

“What about you? Can you speak?” they ask the man beside you. He frowns even deeper, eyes scanning the unfamiliar room.

“Yes,” he finally replies.

“Excellent,” the person says. They hook the file under their arm and clap their hands together. Then, they take out a light.

Without a word, they grab your eyelids and pull them open. They shine a light into them.

“Eyes responsive,” they mutter. Then, they take out a small needle and suddenly jab it into your hand. You jolt and pull your hand away. “Pain response normal.”

They conduct all sorts of tests, both on you and the man beside you, before pulling back with a satisfied nod .

“Everything seems normal. This is why I love working on the Ackerman androids, old geezer spares no expenses.”

“Where are we?” the man beside you speaks up.

“Where? Oh. I got ahead of myself again. I’m Hange Zoë. You can call me Hange. I’m the best mechanic in Ridawn.”

“Ridawn?”

“The planet you’re currently on. More specifically, you’re in Mirthport. Soon, you will be shipped to the Ackerman manor.”

“Ackerman?” the man next to you asks.

“The man who commissioned me to forge you.”

“Forge?” It only now occurs to you to question what you even are.

“You’re an android,” Hange explains, though with a fair bit of impatience. “Don’t worry, you’ll understand much more once you’re shipped out.”

“What will we be doing at the manor?” you ask.

“You, DHL-7934, are assigned to the gardens to cultivate grapes for Mister Ackerman’s winery. PRC-7933, on the other hand, is assigned to guardian duty.”

“We’re servants?” the man beside you asks. Hange nods.

“Servant androids. You have been pre-programmed with all the knowledge you need to survive. Keep your gems clean and you’ll be fine.”

“What are gems?” you ask. They grab your hand and show you the purple gem decorating the back of your wrist.

“You have two on your wrists and a third one in your chest. Take good care of them. Replacing them would essentially mean replacing you. An android with a replaced gem is never the same again,” Hange warns you.

Immediately, you feel a pang of fear. You’ve just come to exist yet you already fear the day of your demise.

Hange reads the fear on your face and laughs. They pat your shoulder.

“Don’t worry. As far as we know, gems never run out of energy. So long as you don’t dislodge it, you’ll be fine.”

You’re escorted out of the room with the man by a couple of uniformed soldiers. You step into a humid corridor. The sound of the machinery gets louder.

You walk past countless doors, encountering no one as you do. You hear the clinking of hammers, the sound of steam and water running through the pipes in the ceiling.

You walk until finally, you come to a small door. The soldiers open it.

As you step out, you have to pause.

The town is quiet around you. The rooftops of houses take up most of the night sky but when your eyes land on the thousands of stars twinkling as a part of an endless galaxy, extending beyond your field of vision, you can’t help the gasp.

The man you woke up with doesn’t seem to care. He climbs right into the carriage waiting for you.

You stare at the galaxy and wonder what’s beyond it. You haven’t really grasped what it means to even exist, as you didn’t just an hour prior, but already you’re drawn to the universe around you.

“We need to get going. Get in,” one of the soldiers grunts. You snap out of it and hurry to obey.

You board the carriage. The two black horses at the front start pulling you away. You stare out of the window.

The tiled streets are mostly empty. Every now and then, you see a soldier in a black uniform on patrol or a drunkard merrily staggering by the sidewalk. The houses look decently sized.

You try to see the stars but you can’t from here.

“Hey.”

You turn to look at the man, sitting across from you. His arms are crossed and he looks a bit sullen.

“What was your name again?”

“DHL-7934,” you repeat what Hange told you.

“Dee- I already forgot the rest. I’ll call you Dee,” he says and waves his hand impatiently. At that, you smile a bit.

“What about you?” you ask.

“PRC-7933…” he trails off, deep in thought. “Call me Porco. Porco will do.”

“Alright.”

Just like that you had a name, and a friend. You didn’t exist and then you did.

-

“He made me redo his tea four times yesterday,” you grumble tiredly. You’re lying on Porco’s bed, staring at the ceiling in deep annoyance.

Your feet are sore from running up and down the stairs so many times.

Your relationship with Levi Ackerman has had a rocky start. He’s not satisfied with much of what you do. Not once since his arrival a week ago has he inspected his room after clean-up and found nothing to complain about.

Porco is sitting by the bed, his back resting against it. He’s leisurely cleaning his rifle. The barracks he lives in are much noisier than your room.

You hear cheers, without a doubt thanks to a night of cards being in session the next room over. You hear faint moans and the slamming of the bedpost against the wall.

Some guardian must have brought back one of the garden girls. As there’s no risk of sexually transmitted diseases or pregnancy, androids engage in sexual affairs quite loosely.

It does little to reduce the stigma around androids. You’re already perceived as toys for rich folks and abandoned androids quite often end up either thieving for a living or selling their bodies.

You never understood how Porco can sleep in this noise.

“Can’t you resign?” Porco asks. He pulls his head back to give you a small look. You sigh.

“I could, but truth be told, I don’t miss the fields.” Grape cultivation and wine brewing, now the sole source of income for the manor after Mister Ackerman’s passing, is hard work. Before this, the manor got the bulk of its income from Mister Ackerman’s stories and poetry, and wine was just a side business.

You’d rather put up with Levi’s sassy mouth.

You adjust the hem of your black dress. You sigh. There’s still a couple of hours before daytime ends and you’re programmed for downtime.

You were hoping to spend them complaining to Porco about Levi’s arrogance and rudeness, but when you hear the sound of a familiar bell you groan.

Of course, Mister Magath would be calling for you when all you want to do it rest.

You sit up and swing yourself off the bed. You give Porco a long-suffering wince.

“Duty calls,” you say. He nods.

“Be careful. Mister Ackerman was patient and kind but I don’t trust this new one. He seems the kind to smash your gems if you get on his nerves enough.”

“Thank you for the kind encouragement,” you tell him with a prickly smile.

“Get out of here, Dee,” he snorts, but his voice is playful. You walk out and make sure your apron is in place.

Then, you make your way across the yard. The suns are setting, giving the manor an orange halo. Some servants are still out, making sure the horses and cattle are good for the night.

Mister Magath is waiting for you in the entrance hall. You pause before him. The hall itself is empty save for two guardians standing on each side of the main doors. The floor is squeaky clean. Even the handrails of the steep spiral stairway are wiped daily nowadays.

Levi really has made the maids busier.

You curtsey for Mister Magath. He’s holding a very specific bell, meant to summon the master’s assistant and no one else.

Your ears are trained to pick up on it and recognise it.

“Master is in his study. He requested you.”

You keep your discontent off your face and merely curtsey.

“Sir.”

You start ascending the steep stairs. They’re so narrow only one person can ascend or descend at a time. You always wondered why Mister Ackerman didn’t replace these with a more lavish grand staircase.

You walk your way up to the top floor. Levi’s quarters take a lion’s share of it, only leaving room for your small bedroom.

You walk to the study door and knock.

“In.”

Levi’s short command annoys you already. You take a deep breath and open the door.

Levi’s sitting by the large desk in the middle of the room. He’s hunched over something, a lone oil lamp shining by a tall stack of papers.

There’s a fireplace on one of the walls, now cold and not in use. Next to it is a basket full of crimson-coloured firewood.

A large bookcase is on the wall by the fireplace. Even though the top floor has a well-stocked library, Mister Ackerman always had a few books he wanted to keep within reach in his study.

The floor is covered with a silk carpet.

“Sir, you called for me,” you say.

“I called for you ten minutes ago. What took you so long?” Levi asks without turning.

“I had nothing scheduled for the rest of the night so I assumed I was off duty, sir,” you reply, a touch apprehensive.

“I say when you’re excused for the day,” Levi replies curtly. “Tea.”

You resist the temptation to let out a long-suffering sigh. You curtsey at his back and excuse yourself.

You’re hoping Hitch is not at work still. She loves being a pain in your behind every time you come back with a rejected batch of tea.

The kitchen has mostly quieted down. Levi has strict regulations for what he accepts for breakfast, lunch and dinner and aside from him Mister Magath is the only person who eats.

Androids don’t need to.

You release a relieved exhale when you realise no one is on duty anymore. Levi ate dinner a couple of hours back and the maids have already taken care of the dishes.

You set the kettle over the stove and sprinkle some tea leaves into the pot.

After you pour the water in, you count to ninety as Levi has instructed before removing the leaves. It’s hard to tell whether it’s exactly ninety seconds, but the colour and scent seem fine to you.

You take the pot upstairs on a tray. Levi is where you last saw him when you re-enter the room. You set the tea down on the desk.

“Here’s your tea, sir.”

Levi gives the pot a look. You pour him a cup. He takes it, visibly suspicious, and takes a single sip.

He puts it down immediately.

“Redo.”

You clench your teeth. You stare at his unhappy back and hesitate for a moment.

“I said redo, Dahlia.”

“Sir. With all due respect,” which is none, “I have redone your tea twenty-one times this week.”

“Twenty-two. If you’re going to count, at least get it right,” he grunts. He doesn’t turn.

“I don’t know what I keep doing wrong.”

“The water is a touch too hot which shortened the brewing time by ten seconds, you failed to account for that,” Levi replies.

“Have you considered asking one of the chefs to make it for you? I’m sure they’re better equipped-”

“If I wanted the chefs to make it for me, I would have asked them to. Did I?”

“...No, sir,” you reply tensely.

“Which would indicate that I want you to make it for me.”

“But why, sir?” you can’t help but ask.

“You’re my personal servant, are you not?”

“I am, sir, but-”

“And preparing my tea is a part of your duties. Now get to it.”

You want to take that pot of tea and pour it right over his perfectly cropped hair. Your hands shake with anger as you take the tray.

What a cocky, infuriating man. He’s nothing like Mister Ackerman.

You walk to the door. You balance the tray on one hand as you reach for the doorknob with the other. You’re still shaking with barely contained fury.

You don’t realise the tray has tipped until it’s too late. It falls. Your eyes widen, you futilely reach for it but it’s too late.

The pot and cup crash on the floor with a loud sound. The tea inside splatters everywhere, burning your ankles as it does.

You release a surprised gasp and, on instinct, jump away.

You turn to look at the desk, just to pause.

Levi has leapt up. His eyes are wide and, in his hand, he’s holding a knife, knuckles white where he’s clutching the handle.

His breathing is erratic and for a second, he just stares.

You didn’t know he had a knife on him. Immediately, your hands fly up to your chest.

You both pause to look at each other. There’s a frightened, unnerved hue in Levi’s eyes. He looks at you. Then, his eyes slowly slide down to the broken tea kettle.

He looks at it for a long while, as if struggling to process what happened. Then, his hunched shoulders finally relax.

He grabs the chair and turns it around. He sits down and slips his knife back in his boot.

He takes a steadying breath and leans his elbows into his knees. He presses his forehead against his clasped hands and for a moment, he looks tired.

“Get out.”

“Sir, I- I’m sorry-”

“Get. Out.”

You’re in shock still. You’ve never seen him like this. Levi looks like he’s going to be sick. You take a hesitant step forward.

“What about the te-”

“GET OUT!”

You jolt. With shaky hands, you take the hem of your skirt and give a hurried curtsey. Then, you practically dash out of the room, closing the door after yourself.

You place your hand on your chest where you can feel your gem, pulsing with the shock.

What was that?

You know Mister Magath told you not to make loud sounds around him, but you never thought he’d react this strongly.

You don’t even realise your skin is burnt where the tea landed until you get back to your room. You remove your shoes and socks and look at the red marks.

You tend to them quietly. You wonder if you should try to go back. The tea made a mess. Then again, he did tell you to leave.

You ponder what to do. You wonder if you’re fired. Will he want you to come back at the usual time come morning?

You decide not to return tonight. You prepare yourself for downtime and settle down on your bed.

When you feel your systems wind down you try to shake the persistent image in your head of Levi’s horrified face.

-

The following morning, you’re stuck behind Levi’s bedroom door. Hand raised to knock, you can’t bring yourself to do it.

You’re nervous. Is he going to yell at you again?

You squeeze your eyes shut. You’re already late. At this point, wouldn’t it be better not to go at all?

Maybe you can get away with not going. Maybe he doesn’t even expect you to come today.

Mister Magath didn’t say anything this morning, about you being fired or demoted, but maybe you were just supposed to know?

You turn away. As quietly as possible, you start walking back to your room.

The door opens behind you.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

You stiffen and wince. You turn, just to see Levi. He’s in his usual noble wear. A pair of shiny black shoes, some tightly fitting beige pants, a neatly buttoned white vest and a waist-length black jacket.

“Sir, I-”

“You’re late.”

“I-”

“You were supposed to be in my room at seven sharp. It’s already five past.”

“Sir-”

He’s clearly still on edge. He steps aside from the doorway and points inside.

“Get in. Right now.”

You bite the inside of your lip. You try to keep your head as high as you can, the irritation bubbling in your gut like a bitter poison. You’re limping a bit thanks to the burn.

You walk inside. He waits until you’ve taken your usual spot by his bed and then marches in after you. He slams the door shut.

“Get on the bed.”

At that, you spin around. Jaw dropped and eyes wide, you merely stare at him.

He seems irritated. He points at the bed and snaps his fingers.

“Excuse me, sir?” you manage to mutter.

“Were my words unclear? Get on the bed.”

You’re not dumb. You know some masters use their androids in that manner. You’ve heard stories of androids who fall recklessly in love with their masters.

Your body is indistinguishable from a human’s in virtually every way. That goes for your privates as well.

Needless to say, Mister Ackerman never did anything of the sort.

“Sir, I-”

“You’re on my last nerve right now, Dahlia. Get on the bed.”

Slowly, trembling head to toe, you obey. You walk to the bed and sit on the edge of it. Your breathing is rapid and light.

Levi walks to you. You wince and close your eyes, waiting for him to shove you down and mount you.

He doesn’t. Instead, he merely kneels down by you and grabs your leg. You feel your face flush, your gem emitting some extra warmth, as he pushes the hem of your dress up to your knee.

He takes your shoe off and peels your sock down just enough to reveal the burns.

“As I thought,” he says. He then puts your foot down. “Wait here.”

You watch as he exits the room. You weren’t expecting him to notice, let alone care. The minutes seem to tick away at a snail’s pace as you wait for Levi to return.

If he had pushed you down and demanded your body, what would you have done?

There’s nothing you could have done, but would you have just given him what he wants? Even as an android, you have your rights, but turning him down may have meant being exiled from the mansion.

You shake the thought. From the looks of it, Levi has no desire to use you in that manner, something you can be grateful for.

Levi returns a moment later, carrying a cold gem and some bandages. He hands them to you.

“Wrap the gem against the burns. It should be better within a day.”

He looks calm and nonchalant. You nod and take the equipment from him. Under his hawk-like gaze, you press the gem in place.

“I’m sorry for yesterday, sir. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Is that why you were late today?”

“I wasn’t sure if I was fired, sir.”

“Did I say you’re fired?” he asks calmly.

“No, sir,” you murmur. He watches you fumble with the bandage and finally, sighs and kneels again. He grabs the bandages from you.

“Stay still. You want to wrap it tight.”

You watch him work.

“Thank you, sir,” you manage to say. You’re surprised he’d get down to his knees for someone like you.

With accustomed hands, he quickly wraps the bandage in place. Then, he gets on his feet. He dusts his pants and then walks to the door.

“Bring me my tea and then clean my room.”

You get up and curtsey.

“Yes, sir.”

As you knock on the door of Levi’s study a dozen minutes later, you feel better. You feel almost neutral towards Levi. After all, he tended to your injury.

Maybe he’s kinder than you took him for.

You notice the mess from last night has been cleaned while you were out. You wonder if Levi did it himself or had one of the night shift maids come by.

You pour him his tea. His eyes are glued to the paper he’s reading. He grabs the cup without a word and takes a sip.

Immediately, he puts it down.

“Redo.”

Right away, the hopeful flutter in your chest dies down. You want to roll your eyes. You grab the tray and turn back to the door.

“I didn’t hear a reply, Dahlia,” Levi calls after you.

Alright, you were a thousand years too early giving Levi the benefit of the doubt. You grit your jaw.

“Yes, sir,” you reply and leave. Clearly you were naïve to think he’d go easier on you now.

Still so insufferable.

Chapter Text

You’ve lost count of how many times you’ve heard the word “redo” during the last weeks.

It’s gotten to the point where even though you can’t dream, you’re not programmed to, you could often swear you wake up to the sound of Levi’s voice right next to your ear telling you to redo your down time.

As another morning dawns and you awake, you’re none the more eager to go serve Levi for the day. At times, you just feel like you should stop trying.

He’ll make you redo everything regardless.

Either way, you put on your dress and fasten your apron. You wash your face and comb your hair up on a bun to keep it out of the way.

Your foot is healed and no longer needs bandages. Levi hasn’t tried to touch you since that, a fact you can be grateful for.

You walk out and descend the spiral staircase to the bottom floor. The servants are mostly already up. The majority are cleaning the manor, as Levi has ordered a thorough cleanse to be done every other day, and a less thorough one daily.

You can hear the unhappy muttering of the working maids. Everyone has more or less been slacking off inside the manor once Mister Ackerman passed. Since there was no one to serve.

The people outside the manor have been working non-stop, especially the people in the fields as the grape season is reaching its peak.

You glance outside. The grape fields are full of androids, tending to the plants. The stables are busy too as the androids working there take horses out for the day and give them their feed.

Guardians are patrolling around the manor perimeter, heavy rifles on their backs.

As you step in the kitchen, Hitch is already at work. She’s standing by the stovetop, frying onions and carrots.

Levi is very particular about his meals. He wants fried vegetables with a side of carrot bread in the morning. He wants soup for lunch and a light dinner of meat and roots.

In addition, he wants tea five times a day.

You’ve been extra careful not to make any loud sounds around him since the incident. You feel tempted to ask Mister Magath about why Levi’s so jumpy but you haven’t gotten the chance to.

Mister Magath is extremely busy.

You grab the teapot and sandwich yourself between Hitch and her partner by the stovetop. Hitch’s partner is a quiet and short android by the name of Annie.

You don’t ever recall seeing her talk.

You give the food sizzling on the heavy iron pan a small look. Androids don’t eat but even you can tell the food looks good.

You’re a little bitter Levi never complains about the food but you, almost without a fail, need to redo his tea two or three times to get it right.

“Good morning, Dahlia,” Hitch chirps. She gives you a small look and a grin.

She finds your struggle of tea-making delightfully amusing.

“Morning,” you mutter back. You slam the pot on the stovetop and start waiting for the water to boil.

Annie’s standing by the side table, sprinkling sesame seeds on the freshly baked bread. She’s the baker, Hitch is the cook. In addition to them, there are a couple of assistants who clean the kitchen and help with making lunch and dinner.

“You know, we’re having a bet,” Hitch says.

“Delightful,” you grunt.

“Annie says you’ll get the tea right on the first try today. I’m banking on two redoes.”

“Happy to help you with your gambling activities,” you murmur. As the water boils, you sprinkle in the flower buds.

You start counting, making sure you don’t get distracted. The barely sprouted yellow buds bounce on the surface, slowly oozing colour into the hot water.

You glance outside the window. The suns have risen, making the purples and blues of the galaxies fade out.

Your eyes soften a little at the sight.

“Hey.”

You jolt. Annie’s pointing at the tea.

“It’ll get too strong.”

“Curses!” you hiss and hurry to take out the flowers. You give the tea an apprehensive look.

It looks too strong. You could redo it now, then again Levi will probably reject the first batch no matter what. You might as well serve it.

You put the tea on the tray along with the rest of the breakfast. Hitch gives the food a visual inspection and then nods.

It’s good enough.

You start climbing to the top floor. When you knock on Levi’s door, it takes him no time to respond.

“In.”

You open the door with your elbow and walk in. Levi’s sitting by the table in the middle of his quarters. He had it carried in a week back so he can eat properly without having to leave his room to go to the dining hall.

He’s gotten dressed. He has a napkin placed on his lap. He’s very punctual and he knows exactly when his meal is bound to arrive.

“Good morning, sir. Breakfast,” you say and curtsey. Levi glances at you and then leans back in his seat, waiting for you to serve him.

You place the tray down. You pour him a cup of tea and then stand aside with a curtsey.

Levi takes his fork and knife and starts eating. He says nothing about the food. It always irks you how he seems to have no qualms with it.

Just the tea. Just you.

You watch him eat half of his meal. He then, as usual, reaches for the tea.

He takes a sip and you can see his eyebrows furrow.

Accustomed to the reaction, you hold out your hand expectantly and wait for the command to redo it.

Only, it doesn’t come.

Levi gives your outstretched hand a look and then takes another sip.

“What are you giving me your hand for, Dahlia?”

“The tea, sir.”

“Why?”

“Aren’t you going to tell me to remake it, sir?”

“Did I say that?”

“...no, sir.”

“Then you have no reason to assume anything. Get back.”

You frown at Levi.

“Sir, is the tea… Alright?”

“I’d say this is the closest you’ve gotten to making it right,” Levi replies. He sips on the tea again. “Maybe you did the counting right this time around.”

“I didn’t.”

Levi pauses. There is no sir at the end of your sentence and your eyes are fiery and annoyed as you look at your master. But somehow, this has pushed you over an edge of some sort.

“You told me to keep the flower buds in the water for ninety seconds exact, correct?”

“...yes,” Levi replies. He’s looking at you and you can’t read his expression. You know you’re stepping over the line but he’s managed to make your temper flare.

“That tea had the flowers in for closer to a hundred and ten seconds. I have been getting it wrong over and over because your instructions weren’t accurate. Sir,” you add.

Levi looks at you quietly. The way you’re quite openly glaring at him, the way you’re clutching your hands into fists.

He’s managed to get under your skin, supremely so, by making you feel inept at your job. And then, it turns out he never gave you the correct instructions, to begin with.

“I see,” Levi finally replies. That’s all he says before he goes back to drinking his tea. You don’t know if it’s the last of it or if Levi’s merely finishing his meal before having you punished.

As you watch him eat his breakfast, you quietly get more and more nervous. Porco always tells you that you need to get a hold of your temper. You’re bound to suffering in silence before finally erupting under pressure.

Mister Ackerman never pushed you to that point, but Levi has been pressing your buttons from the get-go.

You wait tensely. Levi finishes his meal and pushes the tray away.

“Take them out.”

“Yes, sir,” you murmur. You take the tray and walk out of the door. Your thoughts are racing as you quietly wonder what the repercussions to your disrespect will be.

Will he put you back in the fields? Maybe drag you outside to publicly reprimand you?

“First go? Damn it,” Hitch sighs when you appear with the tea. Annie gives you a long look but says nothing.

“I’m as baffled as you are,” you reply tensely. You put the dishes down and start making your way back upstairs.

Levi has left the room by the time you return. You assume he’s retreated to his study, as he always does. You get started on cleaning the bedroom.

You go through the motions but your body is tense and your mind is wandering. You wonder if this is strike two for you, after dropping the tea and causing him to freak out.

As you pass by the window, you pause. You look outside, at the field androids. They’re hard at work watering grapes and cultivating the land.

In the distance, you can hear the faint echoes of space ships from the port. Even though the manor is quite far from the nearest one, you still sometimes hear the booms as ships surge in and out of light speed.

Porco is somewhere in the yard, probably doing his daily rounds.

“Enjoying the view?”

You turn. Levi is standing by the doorway, arms crossed and his delicate fingers tapping on his biceps in quiet irritation.

You look at him warily.

His eyes trail around the room. You know what he’s doing. He’s inspecting, trying to find something to complain about.

“If you have time to slack off, I suggest you use that time more productively.”

His dark eyes meet yours. His lips are pursed in quiet discontent. You reluctantly wrench your body into a curtsey.

“Such as, sir?”

“Follow me.”

You’re already anticipating a headache. Levi’s expression promises nothing good. You aren’t expecting him to just ignore your earlier bout of disrespect but you don’t know what to expect.

Levi leads you to the yard. Some maids tending to the cattle pause to look at you as you walk past them, the stern-looking Levi leading the way.

He walks you to the well standing in the middle of the yard. Next to it is the tiniest bucket you’ve ever seen.

Levi pauses by the well. He crosses his arms, his delicate hands resting over the fine fabric of his suit.

“You,” he starts, eyes shining with discontent, “need to learn some humility.”

You need to learn some humility? You want to laugh at the notion. After all, it is Levi who’s been the insufferable and stuck-up person ever since he got here.

He gestures towards the well.

“Empty it. With that bucket.”

You get the strong urge to tackle Levi’s small frame to the ground and pummel his face in. Your cheeks burn with quiet anger.

“Carry the water to the house and fill up every container you can find. If you run out, fill the barracks.”

“And how long do you want me to do this, sir?”

“Until the well is empty.”

“It’s a well, sir.”

Levi doesn’t answer. He turns and strides off. You glare at his back. That annoying, grumpy, vindictive little…

You let out a loud groan. Levi hears it. He pauses where he’s halfway back inside.

“I didn’t hear your reply, Dahlia,” he says. You pause for just a tad too long. He turns.

“...yes, sir,” you finally mutter. He cocks his chin up, looking a bit smug. Irritated, but smug.

“Good girl,” he says, voice laced with condescension. You want to throttle him.

You don’t dare make another sound until he’s securely back inside the manor, fearing you’ll just make it worse for yourself.

Once he’s out of sight, you ignore the way some maids and stable boys are looking at you, clearly dying to know what you did to deserve such a ridiculous task.

You don’t humour them. Instead, you grab the rope hanging from the roof of the well and tie the insultingly small bucket to it.

Face burning with rage and humiliation, you fill it up and start carrying it inside. You start with the kitchen. You ignore Hitch and Annie’s long looks as you walk to the warm water container and pour the tiny bucketful into it.

You walk back and fill the bucket again. As you fall into a routine of sorts, walking back and forth between the manor and the well, mindlessly throwing a few cups worth of water to the water container each time, your mind starts whirring.

And it’s ugly. You call Levi every name in the book under your breath. Stuck-up. Snobby. Shorty. Less than flatteringly endowed.

The more time passes, the uglier the names get. The sky slowly turns orange, then purple as the suns set and the night sky comes out.

“I heard a funny rumour,” you hear a sudden voice from behind you. You turn, just to see Porco standing a few feet away. “That you managed to piss off the master so much he decided to get childish.”

He glances at the bucket and holds back a laugh.

You glare at him where you’re standing by the well, an empty bucket in hand. Seeing an outlet for your anger, you drop the bucket and launch at him.

“Do not laugh at me Porco, I’m ready to kill you,” you hiss as you grab his shoulders and attempt to push him down.

A futile attempt, given how Porco was forged to be a guardian and he routinely trains.

He doesn’t as much as sway and shoos you off like you’re a titterbug.

“Don’t take it out on me, Dee. You got yourself in this situation.”

“Don’t rub salt in my wounds,” you mutter as you give up on brawling with Porco and instead, turn your attention back to the bucket. You march to the well and fill up the bucket.

“So, what did you do?” Porco asks as you haul the bucket back inside.

“Told him off for giving me incorrect instructions for his tea,” you grumble. He sighs. He’s seen your temper before. He’s been warning you non-stop to hold your tongue.

“Dee,” he starts but you lift your finger to silence him.

“Don’t even start. I know I made a mistake.”

“But even then, this is excessive,” Porco admits.

“Do you think so?” you ask dryly as you empty the bucket and march out of the kitchen. Porco follows you, seemingly adamant to keep you company while you suffer through your punishment.

“So, how long will you need to do this?” he asks.

“Until the well is empty.”

“It’s a well, Dee. They rarely empty.”

“I know that,” you mutter. “But that’s what he said.”

Porco shakes his head with a sigh. Nonetheless, he follows you and keeps you company while you work, allowing you to rant at him to your heart’s content.

When it’s time for Porco’s evening rounds, he gives you a pat on the shoulder.

“Hang in there,” he says, sounding sympathetic. He walks off.

Both of you miss how Levi’s standing by his window, watching quietly as you’re left to your own devices again.

He observes you for a moment, then turns away, going back to his desk to resume his work.

You keep completing your futile task until everyone else has retreated to their chambers. Save for a few guardians doing their evening rounds, you’re alone in the yard, walking back and forth between the manor and the well, only the faraway light of the galaxies illuminating your path.

You pause and look up. Purples and blues.

You used to spend so much time in Mister Ackerman’s study, lovingly tending to his ageing body, sometimes writing his stories for him as he spoke them to you when his hands were too shaky to hold a quill.

You dearly miss those times. The wonder that filled your mind when he told tales of faraway galaxies, voice quiet and gentle like he was reading a bedtime story.

But that’s all gone now. What remains is the manor with all its memories and that starlight that fills you with both dread and wonder.

You don’t realise your downtime is up until you’re taken over by an intense bout of grogginess. Your eyes lid where you’re standing, a full bucket in your hand, face turned upwards to the skies.

The hum of the universe lulls you to sleep and before you can do anything to stop it, the gems on your wrists dim and you fall down.

You distantly hear the bucket hit the ground with a loud sound, only it’s muffled to your ears.

Your eyes close and you shut down for the night.

That’s where Porco finds you. He’s walking back to his barracks, ready to call it a night, when he sees your collapsed form in the dark yard.

He crouches down and looks over your peaceful face.

“Oh, Dee,” he sighs. “You’re too stubborn for your own good.”

He picks you up easily and carries you back inside. The manor is quiet, all servants having already retreated to their beds on the second floor.

He barely breaks a sweat as he takes you to the fourth floor. He climbs the last few steps, only to pause.

Levi’s standing in the hallway. There are a few oil lamps lined up by the walls, giving a little bit of light.

Porco’s eyes turn a bit colder. He gives a short bow and adjusts you in his arms. Your head is lolled back, revealing your neck and you’re completely limp and lifeless in his hold.

“What happened?” Levi asks shortly.

“Her downtime, sir,” Porco replies. He makes no move to divert his gaze as Levi meets his eyes. “I’ll take her to bed now, if you don’t mind.”

Levi contemplates for a moment. Then, he reaches out both of his arms.

“Give her here. I’ll do it.”

Porco looks taken aback. He looks at Levi with obvious distrust. After all, he’s heard nothing but horror stories about this man.

“It’s quite alright, sir. I’ve got her,” he tries to dodge, but Levi doesn’t budge.

“It’s an order,” Levi says. Porco looks reluctant but he doesn’t have the nerve to go against his master. So, he hands you over.

Levi takes you. Your head rolls to rest on his shoulder and his eyes shift a little at the sensation. He then looks up, at Porco.

“Name?”

“PRC-7933. Guardian.”

“Get back to your duties,” Levi orders. He turns to carry you off to your bedroom. Porco hesitates for a moment. Then, he speaks up.

“Sir,” he calls after Levi. Levi glances over his shoulder.

“What?”

“She may be an android, but she’s not your plaything. If you overwork her, she’ll start to malfunction. Please be careful, sir.”

Levi’s eyes turn harder.

“Get back to your duties,” he answers. Porco doesn’t dare to overstep any more, so he merely bows at Levi’s back and leaves, eyes uneasily flickering to you one last time.

Levi carries you to your room. He supports your whole weight with one arm, opening the door with the other. He looks around your room.

It’s smaller than he anticipated.

He places you down on your bed and turns on the oil lamp on the bedside table.

He looks at you for a moment and there’s a hue of something resembling guilt in his eyes.

Maybe he went too far.

Somehow, everything about you manages to infuriate him.

He looks at your fastened dress and apron. They look uncomfortable.

He hesitates for a moment. Then, he stars undoing your dress, stripping you down to your undershirt and pants.

He takes your hands and checks your gems.

He noticed it when he bandaged your ankle but your skin is soft and warm, indistinguishable from human skin.

It startles him a little.

Your gems are unharmed, shining their purple light, albeit dimmed thanks to your downtime.

He watches you for a moment. You’re breathing peacefully, chest raising and falling.

Androids didn’t used to have a breathing function, it’s unnecessary, but manufacturers started adding them along with blinking functions, just to make them more lifelike.

Levi’s not sure he likes it.

He sighs and pulls the covers over you. He has a fleeting thought where he wishes he could just shut down like this as well.

He wouldn’t have to close his eyes and hear all those unnerving sounds etched into his memories.

Levi gets up. He looks out of the small window next to your bed. The view is far less stellar than from his room.

He walks to the door. He gives you one more unreadable glance and leaves.

Chapter Text

You hear the familiar buzz as your gems power up. The comfortable unconsciousness slowly mends into a state of wakefulness.

The sound of cattle making noise in the yard, maids and guardians moving around under your window. The suns are up, shining bright light into your room. Behind it all, you hear the constant humming of the universe.

When you were forged, that sound took the longest to get used to. It’s always there, as if reminding you that you’re a tiny part of a huge whole, a whole you can’t even comprehend.

You push your covers aside. Your mind is still a bit slow thanks to just booting up. You get dressed and wash your face.

You get ready for the day and step outside the door. You need to get Levi his tea-

Now, wait a moment.

All of a sudden, you recall everything. Levi’s task, the way you slaved away all day in the yard with that minuscule bucket.

You don’t remember shutting down but you assume you did so in the yard and Porco brought you back. It’s not the first time that has happened.

You glance at Levi’s door. He’s probably awake and waiting for his tea.

You huff and turn. You march downstairs and to the yard. You scan the ground until you see the bucket, left halfway in the path to the well.

You take the bucket and walk back to the well. In your mind, you’re practically boiling with bitterness. You know it’s immature of you, but you get started on filling the bucket back up.

Inside his bedroom, Levi’s sitting by the table. He’s waiting for his breakfast, rough fingertips drumming into the table impatiently.

When it’s much past breakfast time, he shoots to his feet and walks to the hallway. He strides to your room and hammers on the door.

“Dahlia!”

There’s no reply. He knocks again and when you don’t reply, he gets a bit worried. You did pass out after all.

He opens the door, just to see your bed made and your clothes gone.

He frowns. He walks downstairs to the kitchen where Hitch and Annie have assembled his breakfast.

“Where’s my servant?” he barks at Hitch. She pauses where she’s doing the dishes and frowns.

“Dahlia? I haven’t seen her today, sir. In fact, I haven’t seen her since yesterday morning.”

Levi sighs. For a moment, he wonders if you up and ran away, but that thought is interrupted by the kitchen door opening.

You walk in with the bucket. You give him a single look, curtsey shortly and walk to the water boiler in the corner to pour the water in.

Levi stares for a moment, lost for words. You don’t spare him another glance as you walk out to fill the bucket up again.

He groans.

“Get that in my room,” he orders Hitch and walks out after you. Hitch and Annie stare after you two.

“A quarrel? What are they, lovebirds?” Hitch asks. Annie shrugs, having long since decided she wants nothing to do with it.

Levi catches up to you as you’re walking across the yard to the well.

“What are you doing?” he barks.

“Your task, sir.”

“You didn’t bring me my breakfast nor my tea.”

You pause at the well and turn to look at Levi. Your eyes burn with determination. It’s bitter and fuelled by your stubbornness, plain for him to see.

“You said to keep going until the well is empty, sir,“ you then reply and turn to lower the bucket back into the well.

Levi is irritated. His eyebrow quirks in annoyance.

“Just apologise and you can return to your normal duties.”

You see red. You haul the filled bucket over the edge of the well.

“Apologise for what, sir?”

“For talking back,” Levi says and crosses his arms.

“I was just stating a fact, sir. Your instructions were not accurate.”

Levi’s eyes harden. You walk right past him with the bucket in hand, seemingly hellbent on fulfilling your impossible mission.

“Why are you being so stubborn? Do you want to stay here emptying the well?” he asks.

“No, sir. But I take my duties very seriously. You said until it’s empty, I’ll keep going until it’s empty.”

“That’s a lie. You’re just aching to prove me wrong.”

He’s absolutely right but you’re not about to reveal that to him. Instead, you turn for the kitchen. He stares at your back.

“Fine,” he finally barks. “Do as you wish.”

He storms back upstairs and on his way snaps at Mister Magath to appoint him another maid for the time being.

If you insist on being difficult, Levi will allow you to wear yourself down until you’re ready to swallow your pride and come back.

-

“Dee, just give it up,” Porco sighs as he follows you through the yard. During the last four days, he’s come to keep you company as often as he can.

Your stubbornness both exhausts and amuses him.

“Never,” you grunt as you march inside the barracks. You already filled all the containers in the main house so now, you’ve moved on to stocking the barracks instead.

You ignore the sound of sex coming from the room opposite to Porco’s. You’re very used to it. Androids bear no risk of disease or pregnancy, so there’s no stigma around sex.

Not that the organics see it that way.

“Surely you’re tired of this already,” he tries, but you block him out. He’s right of course, you’re sick of this, but giving up now would make you even more miserable.

This is about principle.

Porco watches as you toss the pitiful bucketful of water into the water tank in the bathroom of the barracks and stride back outside.

He follows you out and takes your wrist, quite out of nowhere.

“Dee. Be careful. Don’t overexert yourself. You don’t want a gem malfunction now.”

“Since when have you been so worried about me?” you chuckle. You tug your wrist in his hold. “Unhand me, worrywart.”

Porco sighs. He pulls you in by your wrist and gives you a brief hug.

“I’m serious, Dee. Don’t overdo it. He’s not worth it.”

You relax into the hug. Porco’s been there since day one. You were forged together, it’s only natural you’re close. You trust him.

You pat his back.

“I know, I know. I’ll be fine.”

-

Levi is sitting on the windowsill again. He looks over the dimming yard. The suns are setting and the stars and planets are coming out in all their vibrancy.

Levi doesn’t like the dark. It holds too many memories for him. It’s hard to relax when he’s waiting for something to come at him at any time.

His cold eyes scan over the yard. He’s been glancing out of the window every now and then, more often than not seeing you marching either to the well or away from it.

There’s an untouched cup of tea on his desk. He got tired of ordering your substitute servant to get it right.

He doesn’t understand why you’re being so stubborn. All you need to do is apologise, and he’ll take you back in your duties.

Are all androids that stubborn?

He doesn’t know. He never met too many androids growing up, his mother absolutely refused to rely on synthetic help.

The only touch he’s had with androids was in-

He shrugs the thought immediately. He watches the darkening yard for a moment longer and then gets up.

He walks to his study and resumes work. He keeps half an ear out for your return. Despite the way you irritate him, you’re still his servant.

Ultimately, you are his responsibility.

When you don’t return at your usual downtime, Levi places down his quill and looks up from his desk. He gets on his feet and walks to the window. The yard is completely dark and quiet.

He looks around but he doesn’t see you. He groans and debates with himself.

A night out won’t kill you.

Maybe it’s the small spec of guilt he feels about this whole ordeal that makes him slowly curse under his breath and march out of his study.

He checks your room but as expected, it’s empty. He walks down the wooden stairs. They creak a little under his weight. The mansion is dead silent, all androids having already started their downtime.

He grabs an oil lamp from the wall as he marches down the main hallway to the head entrance.

The gravel crunches under his feet as he walks in the dark, the lamp illuminating his immediate path and the galaxies above shining a dim light as far as his eye can see.

He finds you near the entrance to the barracks. You’re passed out, your downtime having already started. There’s an empty bucket next to your unconscious body.

Levi looks over your peaceful features. Your gems are shining their dim purple light and you look completely relaxed.

“Stubborn woman,” Levi mutters. He extinguishes the oil lamp and hooks it on the belt loop on his pants before leaning down to pick you up.

He starts carrying you back to the manor.

He almost makes it back inside when someone stops him.

“Who goes there?”

He recognises the voice and turns. He waits until the guardian has caught up to him and raised his lantern.

Porco looks at Levi’s face, then down to your unconscious face.

“Sir,” he says, taken aback. “You’re out late.”

“That’s none of your concern. I own these lands, I can traverse them as I will.”

Porco’s jaw clenches with quiet irritation. He looks at your sleeping face again.

“Did she pass out again?”

“Evidently.”

“Do you want me to carry her inside?” Porco asks, and it doesn’t escape Levi how his hand inches towards you, clearly eager to get you off Levi’s arms.

“No,” Levi replies simply. Porco doesn’t look happy.

“Sir, please be careful. If she keeps collapsing outside like that-”

“How is it any of your concern?” Levi cuts in. “Are you her lover boy or something?”

At Levi’s words, an immediate flush appears on Porco’s face. He clears his throat. Levi watches quietly and thinks to himself that he hates the addition of blushing function to newer androids.

Most androids don’t have it, it’s something rich people add to make them more human-like. Levi has no doubt his old man was so lonely he tried his hardest to pretend he was surrounded by humans.

Thus, he really spared no expenses with any of his androids.

Levi looks at Porco with cold indifference.

“Get back to your duties,” he finally orders. Porco looks like he wants to protest. He watches Levi carry you inside.

“You’re driving me crazy, Dee,” he sighs. Reluctantly, he turns and resumes his rounds.

Levi carries you upstairs. Your head is resting on his shoulder and you’re completely limp in his hold. Thanks to his background in military, it really takes him no effort to carry you to the top floor.

He takes you to your room and sets you down. He takes off your apron and dress and quickly covers your body with the blanket.

He looks over your sleeping face and groans.

“This is irritating me,” he mutters to himself. He glances at you one more time and gets up. He strides out of the room and slams the door shut in his wake.

You don’t as much as stir.

-

The sounds are keeping him awake again.

The ground is hard underneath his pitiful bedroll. Even with his eyes closed, some of the light emitting from a nearby dig site of gems pushes through.

There’s no sign of impending conflict. His comrades are sleeping a bit further away in their own bedrolls. To some, the constant noise is comforting and stabilising. It actually helps them sleep.

Levi is not that lucky, though. The screeching noise is high-pitched. It pulsates and flutters every now and then, just enough to not feel static to Levi. Thanks to the nearest planet being practically next to this one, the sounds of its many artificial rings grinding together can be heard all the way here.

The next planet over is uninhabited, only machinery working on harvesting its impressive natural gas reserves.

During the days, Levi can somewhat block the sound but at night, when there’s no other sounds, it’s maddening.

Levi opens his eyes. The air is misty and cold around him. He stares at the sky. He can see a few specs of stars but the majority of his view is occupied by the neighbouring planet.

It’s so close Levi can almost make out the individual steel rings around it. It’s dark and unnerving against the backdrop of the endless universe.

It’s nothing like the warm moonlight he grew up with.

He ran away from that moonlight. Ran away from everything he knew back home, and he still doesn’t know why.

“Who goes there?”

Levi sits up when he hears the sharp yell. The soldiers keeping watch further away have pulled out their guns. Levi can hardly make out their silhouettes in the thick mist.

Levi grabs his gun. He wipes the gem on its handle clear with his sleeve and gets on his feet.

He walks past the comrades who are sleepily crawling out of their bedrolls.

A small silhouette starts forming in the mist. Levi readies his weapon. The field is still eerily quiet. No one’s supposed to be in these parts. The mine was raided and cleared by them, the androids working there were hauled off.

Levi doesn’t know where. It’s none of his business to know.

The small form doesn’t stop. It keeps walking in their direction. The soldiers next to Levi tense.

“Stop and raise your hands.”

There’s no response. Levi can now hear the footsteps over the screeching sounds.

The soldier closest to Levi takes the shot. He opens fire, emptying a whole magazine at the lone silhouette.

It falls without a word.

Levi tosses his weapon over his back. Ignoring the calls of his comrades, he ventures into the mist. He reaches the silhouette, now slumped on the ground and unmoving.

Levi’s eyes scan over the moth-eaten attire. The smudged cotton shirt and trousers three sizes too large, fastened in place with a frayed leather belt.

He rolls the body over and sees the vacant face of a child. The gems on his wrists are badly damaged, chunks of them having worn off over time.

Levi can immediately tell it’s one of the workers from the gem dig site they cleared earlier. Maybe he hid in one of the tight mine shafts.

Levi looks down. The bullets punched through his skin and underneath, Levi can see the machinery.

The cogs inside him have almost stopped. Levi can see a faint red light shining through the bullet wound on his chest. It pulsates a few times, then dies out.

Levi wonders what he thought when he passed. If he was afraid. If he was capable of fearing in the first place.

The sounds get louder. Levi covers his ears and holds back the urge to vomit.

He shouldn’t have come here.

-

Levi jerks awake with a thundering heart. His ears are ringing with that familiar screeching sound he grew to loathe, yet now that he sits up in his study and looks around the dim room, he also oddly longs for it.

He doesn’t trust how quiet this place is.

He looks down at his shaking hands. He doesn’t need a mirror to tell he’s probably as white as a sheet.

On the desk before him is a half-written letter of inquiry. He’s in the talks of purchasing new kinds of grape seeds to expand the array of wine they can produce.

Next to the paperwork is a now stale pot of tea. Levi could hardly get half a cup down before he gave up.

The servant appointed to him in your absence is hopeless with making tea and after her eleventh attempt, Levi decided to give up.

He stares at the cooled cup and now more than ever, he feels annoyed by the fact he can’t even enjoy his tea anymore.

He glances at the window. He heard you return to your room earlier, before he fell into his restless slumber.

At least he doesn’t have to go out to look for you this time around.

He contemplates, for the nth time this week, whether he should just swallow his pride and order you to return.

It’s such a childish thing to bicker about, too. But he can’t help it. You irk him. Your steadfast eyes, quietly radiating attitude of annoyance, the confident way you carry yourself.

Levi’s irritated by all of it.

But he wants you back. He needs his tea, it’s about the only thing that can actually soothe his nerves in this place.

He never grew up here, he never as much as visited, yet it feels like visiting a house with uncomfortable childhood memories.

“That damned woman,” he mutters to himself. “Why does she have to be this stubborn?”

Levi releases a frustrated exhale. If there only was a way to get you back without having to resort to-

Levi suddenly gets an idea. It’s a petty one and he knows it hinges on technicality alone, but as he mulls it over, the side of him that’s riddled with pride latches onto it.

Yes. It might just work.

Levi gets on his feet. He grabs the oil lamp on his desk and walks out to the corridor. He descends to the third floor where the head butler’s room is located.

He doesn’t knock as he slams the door open. The room is dark and he can hear Mister Magath’s steady snoring halt. Magath snorts, startled, and sits up. His nightcap is wonky on his head and his long nightshirt is a bit wrinkly.

He takes a moment to recognise Levi but when he does, he hurries to push his covers aside and slip his feet into the fluffy slippers next to his bed.

Mister Magath’s room is rather plain. Not because he can’t have things befitting of his status but because he prefers it that way. His bed is small. His desk is empty save for an oil lamp and a book.

By his bed is a bookshelf filled to the brim with novels. The window offers a nice view over the fields and forests behind the manor.

“Sir,” he says and bows, clearly puzzled. “What brings you here at this hour?“

“Interrupt the downtime of our maintenance crew,” Levi tells him. “I have something I want done, without delay.”

-

You don’t sense anything’s amiss when you boot that morning. You sit up on your bed and go through your usual morning routine.

You wash up, fix your hair and get dressed. You walk out of your room and down to the ground floor. It’s been a week of this, and it starts to feel like routine.

Only, when you open the main doors and go to the yard, glimmering orange from the sunrise, you pause.

Lost for words, you hurry over to the well. Or rather, where the well used to be.

You gape at the sight. The stones have been disassembled, two maintenance androids are shovelling dirt into the gaping hole in the ground, effectively drying it up.

Right next to it, a group of them are digging a deep hole, grumbling to themselves.

“What’s happening here?” you ask one of the androids. The man straightens his back and gives you an irritated look.

“We were dragged up in the middle of downtime last night. Master said we need to dry up this well and dig a new one.”

Immediately, you get it. Your temper flares.

That insufferable, arrogant little-

You stomp off. You march inside the main building, slamming the door shut after yourself. You zoom to the fourth floor and practically barge into Levi’s bedroom.

Levi’s sitting by his table, a napkin folded on his lap. He gives you a cool look.

“You are seven minutes late, Dahlia,” he says. He’s infuriatingly calm and he looks like absolutely nothing is out of the ordinary.

It makes you unbelievably angry.

“Why did you fill the well?”

Levi tuts. He takes the napkin and puts it on the table. He gets up and walks closer to you.

“Watch your tone,” he warns you. “I am still your master.”

Reluctantly, you wrench your body into a curtsey.

“Why did you fill the well, sir?”

“I wanted to move its location.”

“By a couple of meters? Why, sir?” you ask pointedly. Levi’s eyes turn cocky.

“Is there any reason that’s your business, Dahlia? I had planned on it all along, which is why I asked you to fill all the containers beforehand,” he states victoriously.

It’s a blatant lie and you both know it. You want to smash your knee into his smug smirk.

“Now, bring me my breakfast,” Levi says.

You glare at him. He went through all this trouble just to avoid the simple task of asking you to come back and admitting he was wrong.

How childish could this man be?

You ignore the voice in your head (that for some reason sounds like Porco) telling you that you’re equally childish yourself for prolonging this charade.

“I will go help the maintenance crew with digging the well, sir. And when it’s completed, I will resume my duties of emptying it,” you reply despite yourself.

You absolutely refuse to give in until Levi admits he was wrong.

You turn to leave. Only, Levi’s not about to let you. His eyes flash and his hand shoots out like a bullet.

He slams it on the wall, right by your head, cutting your path.

You flinch and, on instinct, press your back against the wall. He gives you a steely look.

“My orders were to keep going until the well runs dry. That particular well. Is it not dry?” he asks silkily.

You press your teeth together, mouth pulled to an unhappy line. Your gem makes an odd jolt in your chest but you ignore it.

“It is, but not because I emptied it, sir.”

“That matters not. It’s dry, so you’re to return to me.”

“Sir, you should be grateful that I’m your servant and as such, I’m not at liberty to speak my mind,” you tell him.

The arch of his eyebrow twitches in clear annoyance. You can see it clear as day, he wants to punish you again for daring to say that to him, but he doesn’t want another week of tea drought.

You know there’s no way in your dual-solar sky the servant you were substituted with could get it down. The girl’s a ditz.

“And you should be grateful I’m in a good mood and will let your sassy mouth go for today,” he counters, but his supposedly good mood is in no way reflected on his frowning face and glaring gaze.

He pulls his hand back, freeing your path.

“Breakfast, Dahlia.”

You could just resign and return to the grape fields. Hell, you could resign from the manor and go to the nearest port to look for a new place to work if you really wanted to.

But, you don’t. You curtsey and walk out of the room, closing the door with just a touch of attitude on your way.

Levi sits back down at his table with a deep sigh.

“Insolent woman,” he grunts to himself.

Moments later, you return with Levi’s breakfast. You set it down, still quietly fuming, and pour him a cup of tea as per usual.

You brewed it just as you did the morning the fight between you broke out.

Levi takes the tea. He smells it and his shoulders immediately relax. He takes a sip.

Without realising he’s done it, he lets out a delighted sound. You raise your eyebrows.

Levi gulps down almost half of the tea in record speed. In an instant, his foul mood shifts to something almost resembling contentment.

And maybe it’s because he hasn’t had a decent cup of tea in so long, but he opens his mouth on impulse.

“This is good. Keep making the tea like you did today,” he says.

You stare at him.

“In other words, you agree that the instructions you gave me were inaccurate and resulted in the tea not being up to your standards, sir?” you ask slowly.

Levi frowns. His eyes snap to the side to give you a look. He shifts his posture in the chair, seemingly awkward.

“Yes,” he finally barks, and he sounds a touch embarrassed. “Yes, I was wrong about the instructions. That’s what you wanted to hear, right?”

You want to grin victoriously. To many, it might not be much of a concession but to someone working for his stuck up man, it’s the equivalent of getting a warm handshake and gentle compliment.

“Alright, sir.”

“Get out and go clean my study, Dahlia,” Levi snaps at you. He clearly wants you out of his sight. You curtsey and exit.

It’s a small victory, but you’ll take it.

Chapter Text

As the feud between you and Levi ends, you instead enter an uneasy truce. You still detest him with every fibre of your being, and the deeply dissatisfied eyes he looks at you with leave no room for interpretation.

But you don’t fight. You’re behind his bedroom door every morning at seven sharp and work until he dismisses you for the day.

You make him his tea, and he drinks it without a complaint.

Often when you change his sheets in the morning, they’re drenched in sweat. Every time you go to your room for your downtime, you see light shining from under the door to the study.

Levi seems to work late every day. Despite that, he looks as sharp as ever. His tongue is as venomous as ever when he complains about your sloppy cleaning.

The other androids in the house pick up the habit of avoiding him whenever they can. The deep dissatisfaction in his eyes unnerves them.

You can’t blame them.

You’re just starting to think your routine with Levi has been firmly established when something unexpected happens.

You boot up as usual that morning. You pull on your clothes, refresh by the mirror and walk out.

Levi’s already up when you enter his bedroom. He’s fully dressed and sitting on his bed, arms crossed and impatient fingers tapping his arm.

You pause and curtsey.

“Sir, I’ll get your breakf-”

“No need. Follow me.”

Levi gets on his feet and strides right past you to the hallway. You fall into step behind him, a tad puzzled, but you’ve learned not to question him on whether he wants you to clean his room.

If he doesn’t say so, that means he doesn’t.

He walks downstairs. In front of the manor, Mr Magath is already waiting with a carriage. He bows to Levi.

“Sir, everything is ready. Shall I ask the maids to prepare for your return around lunchtime?”

Levi looks over the carriage. It’s made of polished wood, two horses hoofing at the ground in front of it

“Yes,” he finally says. You look at the carriage curiously. The driver opens the door for Levi. He climbs in.

You remain where you are. You’re not sure if he wants you on board or just to see him off.

He sits down and gives you an impatient look.

“I said ‘follow me’,” he tells you, a touch of snappiness to his voice. You slowly curtsey and climb in. Mr Ackerman didn’t use to take you anywhere. He didn’t enjoy leaving his manor and had servants do his bidding outside.

You sit down across from Levi. The door is slammed shut after you, and you hear the driver walk to the front. The carriage pulls to motion.

“Where are we going, sir?” you ask as you leave the gates and start traversing through the unassuming countryside.

Aside from endless fields of grapes, there’s nothing worth of note outside.

“Mirthport.”

“Why, sir?”

“I need to take care of business.” Levi’s not looking at you, he’s staring out of the window. His arms are crossed, his fingers tapping his biceps impatiently. He’s dressed in a white shirt, black pants and shiny leather shoes.

He looks like a proper aristocrat.

“Why did you bring me along, sir?” you ask, just a tad confused. Levi gives you an irritated look.

“In case I need an extra pair of hands. Stop asking dumb questions, Dahlia.”

You give him an unimpressed look but keep your mouth shut. You’ve more or less decided to keep things on the low with Levi. You don’t need another huge conflict to give you a headache.

Mister Ackerman never sent you to Mirthport and thus, you haven’t returned since you were forged. You feel a small jolt of excitement.

As the carriage rolls into the city, you try not to make it obvious how eagerly you’re looking outside. When you were transported to the Ackerman manor after forging, it was night.

The roads are tiled with cobble. On each side of the road meant for carriages, there’s a row of gems, shining a red light to help vehicles stay on track even at night time.

You see people walk along the streets in the sidewalks. Most dressed in simple dresses, pants and shirts. Most who inhabit Mirthport are peasants.

Mirthport is the biggest port in the east side of Ridawn, the planet you’re currently on but despite that it’s far from the busiest one.

Westend, the capital of Ridawn and western port, is by far busier.

You see couples strolling along, mothers with their children, holding on to a basket full of fresh produce. The streets are lined with small stores, cursive signs hanging from the outer walls.

Gem stores, barbers, clothes stores, novelty stores, you can’t keep count of everything you see.

Levi seems hardly interested. He’s leaning back in his seat and stares out expressionlessly.

The carriage rolls to a more remote area and halts. Levi opens the door and jumps out.

“Pick us up at lunchtime,” he tells the driver. You stumble out of the carriage after Levi.

The suns are already high beyond the horizon and a pleasant breeze hits your skin as you follow Levi to the streets.

You allow your eyes to wander freely. You look at the people passing by and hanging out by the streets.

A few kids are tossing marbles in the sidewalk. Levi gives them a small frown and dodges whereas you pause for a moment to pick up a marble that has rolled onto the road to give back to the kids.

You pass by a bakery and inhale the scent of freshly made gingerroot bread. You look curiously at every shop window. Frilly dresses, shiny gems for various purposes, pottery, woodworks.

For a port on a smaller scale, Mirthport has a thriving economy.

Levi’s walking briskly, with clear purpose. He doesn’t acknowledge your gawking in any way but instead seems adamant to get where he’s planning to go as fast as possible.

The loud sound catches you entirely off guard at first. You release a startled squeak and hunch your shoulders on instinct when a huge shadow is suddenly cast over you.

You look up. A giant wooden ship sails over your head. The mast and bottom are fortified with sturdy iron. The sails are shining bright turquoise with the hundreds of small gems sown to the canvas, giving the whole ship a gentle aura.

The ship is larger than the Ackerman manor. On the deck, you can see travellers with their belongings, waiting for docking so they can deboard.

A skysailer. You’ve read about them, you’ve seen illustrations of them and sometimes you see some fly over, though as distant glowing spots in the sky.

You have never seen one this close and the sight is equal parts intimidating and mesmerising.

You’ve stopped walking, your intrigued eyed glued to the slowly gliding vessel. It emits a low hum as it goes and every now and then you can hear a few clicks as the complicated machinery inside prepares for landing.

Levi’s realised you’re no longer behind him. He turns to snap at you, but when he sees the way your eyes sparkle with genuine wonder, he closes his mouth and settles for quietly staring at you.

When you finally snap out of it, you look at Levi. He’s raised a questioning eyebrow, silently asking what the hold-up is.

“Sir, have you ever ridden one of those?” you ask.

“A few times. Those are passenger vessels, though. The ones I usually ride are faster.”

Military skysailers are fast, agile and much more uncomfortable to ride.

“It’s beautiful,” you admit. Levi looks a bit confused.

“Beautiful? It’s wood, iron and fabric.” You give him a small look. Somehow it doesn’t surprise you Levi doesn’t have an eye for aesthetics.

“Done gawking? Let’s go,” Levi ushers, a bit impatient. You fall back into step behind him, but you can’t help turning your head a few times to look at the massive vessel.

“I’ll probably never ride one of those,” you muse out loud, tone a bit wistful. Such a shame. You’re acutely aware of just how many things you’ll probably never get to see. How many sights will you be unaware even exist. Your world is small and insular. It’s safe and cosy, but it’s void of excitement.

If Levi hears your words, he doesn’t acknowledge them in any way.

Levi takes you to what seems like a main road. You pass by a female android. She’s sitting on her knees on the sidewalk. The gems on her wrists are smudgy and worn out. In front of her she has a small sheet of paper.

Experienced household worker. Will accept any work except military and sexual. Make an offer.

This android either left her servitude or was kicked out. It’s not all that unusual, though most androids stay and serve where they were appointed after forging.

Androids, by law, are mandated to enter indebted servitude after being forged. They’re required to serve whoever commissioned their forging for five years. Breaking this work lease is illegal and can result in imprisonment.

Only in situations where the android can prove that physical or sexual violence took place can they legally exit their lease. Physically disciplining or sexually exploiting your androids is illegal.

Not that it means it doesn’t happen. From what you hear, it’s quite rampant and even when reported, chances are not much will be done about it.

On paper, androids have agency and freedom. In practice, you’re considered a second class citizen. Organics feel superior to you on the basis that they made you, ignoring the fact they also make other organics, to which full rights are granted unconditionally.

You don’t let your eyes linger on the android for too long. You’re thankful that Mister Ackerman was always very gentle and kind. He never as much as raised his voice at you.

Levi is another story, but despite his foul mouth and terrible temper, he does not abuse his servants.

No one’s quit working at the Ackerman manor for ages.

Levi walks you to a large building. It’s made of white granite, large windows framing each side of the heavy and polished double door.

Obviously well off people walk in and out of the doors. You quickly conclude this is a bank.

“Stay here. I’ll be right back,” Levi orders you.

Obediently, you stay behind as he marches into the bank. Inside, you see people behind heavy mahogany desks with heavy books, pencils, ink and scales. Guardian androids are standing on each side of the door, armed and ready to defend the property.

Levi marches across the marble floored hall to one of the desks and sits down. With a sigh, you let your eyes wander a little bit.

The district is quite posh. Housewives walk around in their heavy skirts, some herding a child or two. Well dressed gentlemen walk with linked arms, engaged in talks about politics and the economy.

Your eyes stray to a lone poster plastered to the front door of an arms store.

“The war is still at large! The Milithern military needs your help. We also recruit androids. If you’re interested, please contact your closest Arms Officer. We offer competitive salary and benefits.”

The war. You don’t know much about it, but you have the gist of it.

The Locuples System is the next system over, the one you know Levi grew up in with his mother. On the edge of the star system stands Cassus Oasis, a desolate planet filled with gems.

Not just any kinds of gems, but life gems. The same kind that power up your system.

The gems are invaluable and thus, it’s no wonder the battle over the planet has been running rampant for decades.

Levi grew up on Milither, the main hub of operations in the Locuples System. It’s an old and affluent society that controls the whole solar system.

The people waging war for the life gems come from the Aspero System, a small but very opportunistic star system with just three planets, all of which exhausted of most gems. Thus, they’ve tried to expand to other systems.

You don’t know much about them, just that their forces consist mostly of androids and that their main motivator for acquiring more gems is to artificially inflate their population and work force to be more economically competitive.

Ridawn, the planet you’re on, is a part of the Aequus System. Aequus is large, with nine planets, each inhabitable and well populated. While not an official part of the war, Aequus is closely tied with the Locuples System and as such, has allowed them to recruit on their planets.

The war is far removed from you.

Your thoughts are interrupted when you notice someone has stopped in front of you. Your eyes snap to the person, and you see an older, well-dressed man.

He’s accompanied by a young man, and the gem on the boy’s wrist gives him away as an android.

“Good day,” the man says. He raises his impressively tall hat. You give him a small curtsey. You know a rich man when you see one.

“What might a young woman such as yourself be doing here?” he asks. He strokes his moustache in place with his thumb and index finger. His eyes are small and blue, with a gem-boosted monocle placed over one.

His suit looks to be silk, a leather belt with a golden buckle twinkling on his waist.

“I’m waiting,” you reply simply. You try to decipher what the man might want with you.

“For who?” he asks. You frown. You don’t see a police badge on his chest.

“My business is mine, sir,” you reply shortly. It clearly displeases the man. He frowns and leans in a bit.

“You don’t look to be from around here.”

“I’m not, sir,” you reply nonchalantly. His eyes trail over you and when he sees the gem shining from under your sleeve, his expression changes to that of understanding.

A condescending smile spreads to his thin lips.

“I understand your business,” he says. “And I must say, I quite like what I see.”

You blink, unsure how to reply to this. Why would he say that out of nowhere?

You take a moment too long to reply, and he rolls his eyes.

“I said I like what I see, android. Are you not going acknowledge that?”

Immediately, your temper flares.

“What do you want? A participation trophy for having enough traffic between your brain and your mouth to open it and spout nonsense?” you ask.

The man looks scandalised, then he turns angry.

“Is this how you treat a customer? I don’t mind if you’re a little feisty but watch your mouth.”

“I don’t recall trying to sell you a damned thing, sir,” comes your chilly response. The man’s eyes flash and he grabs your wrist. His fingers press against your gem.

“I said I like what I see. You’re here to sell your body. I’m saying I want to buy it. You’d do well to not anger me and lose this opportunity to make double what you usually do, android.”

At that, you gape at him. This brutish little prat.

“I beg your pardon? I am not an escort. Now unhand me,” you demand, eyes staring daggers at him.

“You sure look like one,” he responds, and his hold around your wrist tightens. You wince a little. He shoves you against the wall behind you.

“Ten trates,” he offers, eyes narrowing.

“What part of ‘unhand me’ do you not understand, old man? Are you alright or should I ask the fellow next to you to fetch your hearing aid?” you snap. The android next to him has shrunk, shoulders hunched.

He’s looking around uneasily as some people pause to look.

“Insolence!” the man proclaims angrily. His thumb presses against your gem, so hard you’re suddenly a bit afraid it’ll fracture.

“Now what might this be?”

You turn your head, just to see Levi standing next to you. His arms are crossed and in his hand, he’s holding a thick envelope.

It’s probably the money he just withdrew.

His unhappy eyes fixate on you.

“I was in there for ten minutes and you already got yourself in trouble, Dahlia?” he asks.

“I was standing here doing nothing but minding my own damned business when this oik invited himself to my presence,” you tell him with a glare.

The man looks at Levi, clearly evaluating him.

“Are you her owner?” he asks. “She was most impolite to me. All I asked was to pay for her services.”

Levi’s gaze hardens a little.

“What do you mean by services?” he asks. The man rolls his eyes.

“I was offering to pay for her company. Figured she’s one of them androids kicked to the curb trying to make a living alone.”

“You wanted to have sex with my maid?” Levi asks, deadpan.

“Yes. My apologies, didn’t know she had an owner.”

Levi closes the distance between you. He grabs the man’s forearm.

“I’m not her owner, I’m her employer. Now, get your grubby hands off my maid.”

The man’s outraged at Levi’s lack of manners. His hand twitches around your wrist. You wince in pain. Levi’s eyes snap to your pained face, then back to the man.

He twists the man’s forearm, and the sudden pressure makes him yelp and release your wrist. Immediately, you duck out of the way and move to the side. You look at the man with open disgust.

It takes Levi no effort whatsoever to tackle the man into the wall. The man winces. His servant is watching in awe, at a loss for what to do.

You notice Levi’s envelope has fallen in the scuffle and quickly pick it up for safeguarding.

“Release me,” the man demands. Levi shows no signs of backing down.

“Apologise.”

“Fine, fine! I’m sorry for trying to solicit your android- Ow!”

“Not to me, old fool,” Levi snorts. He nods towards you. “Apologise to her.”

The man seems flabbergasted but when Levi twists his arm a bit more, he grimaces and painstakingly turns his head.

“I’m sorry,” he breathes at you. Levi releases him and backs off.

“That’s better. Now get out of my sight,” he tells the man, who quickly dusts himself, adjusts the collar of his shirt and marches off, clearly pissed but too afraid to continue the fight with Levi.

You stand still, for a moment, trying to wrap your head around what just happened. When Levi turns to you and approaches, you offer him the envelope, for a lack of anything better to do.

He ignores your outstretched hand and instead takes your wrist. He pushes your sleeve up and checks on the gem.

“Are you alright? Do you need to go see a forger?” he asks. You shake your head.

“I’m fine, sir,” you say with a quiet voice. Levi releases your wrist and takes the envelope.

“Very well. Let’s go, then.”

You look at his back for a precious second, then hastily speak up.

“Sir-!”

He pauses and looks at you over his shoulder. You hesitate for a moment, mainly out of principle. You hate the thought of having to do this. Finally, you relent.

“Thank you,” you finally say. “For saving me.”

“If you have the time to stand there and spout unnecessary nonsense, spend that time by following your orders. I said let’s go.”

He marches off. Immediately, your feelings of gratitude are replaced with annoyance. He doesn’t have to be so rude about it. You follow him without another word.

Chapter Text

“Dee.”

“What?” you speak up from the uncomfortable wooden floor. The library is such a beautiful sight during late mornings like this. The rays from the suns glisten through the windows, warming your skin.

Outside, grape season is in full gear, androids doing their best to keep the crops healthy. Porco’s staring out of the window, at a group of female gardener androids as they’re laughing and giggling, playfully running away from a few male stable androids who chase them with the intention of tackling them down.

It’s the warm season and most androids turn extra flirtatious around this time. Must be all the sunshine they’re getting, making their life gems extra heated.

Porco glances at you where you’re sitting, back propped against a massive wooden bookcase, legs crossed and a book in your hands. Porco’s eyes linger on you for a moment before averting with the faintest blush.

He wishes he could chase you like that and you’d do something other than punch him square in the face. He tried once but learned his lesson immediately.

For an android, you’re exceptionally feisty.

And this, Porco noticed almost immediately.

“Is your feud with the master over?” he asks. You look up from the book you’re holding.

“What do you mean?” you ask with a confused blink.

“You haven’t complained about him for weeks. Usually, you wouldn’t shut up about him.”

You hum and lean your head back against the bookcase as you think it over. It’s true that you and Levi have settled into a neutral working relationship. You’ve learned how to not push his buttons and he’s learned to minimise the headache by cutting the dullest edge from his reprimands.

“He’s not as insufferable as he was,” you finally say with a shrug and go back to reading. The less space the master occupies in your mind, the better. You remain oblivious to Porco’s suspicious squint. He doesn’t buy it, not after all the storm you talked about the master’s ill manners.

But even when Levi strides in after half an hour, discontent eyes clearly looking for you, you refuse to get provoked.

“Dahlia,” he says shortly. You wrench yourself up from the floor and curtsey. Porco pulls his head down to a reluctant bow. “What are you doing?”

“I had nothing scheduled so I just indulged in some novels, sir,” you explain as neutrally as you can muster. Levi looks at the book in your hands. He stares, for a moment, and then his eyes widen a bit in realization.

He walks to you and snatches the book from your hands. He looks over the words and then lets out a long-suffering sigh.

“Of course,” Levi groans. “How many books written by my old man are there in this library?”

Mister Ackerman, Levi’s father, had a career decades long, filled to the brim with an array of stories, most centred around distant galaxies and the worlds he envisioned to reside there.

“Most of this shelf, sir,” you answer. Levi puts the book down and holds the bridge of his nose. What an eyesore.

“Get rid of them.”

“Sir!” you gasp. Levi opens his eyes and gives you a look that’s irritated but also somehow extremely tired.

“I didn’t stutter, Dahlia.”

“These are your father’s legacy, sir. He worked decades on these books-”

“I. Didn’t. Stutter,” he tells you, getting a bit more irritated. “Your infatuation with my father is none of my business.

You gape at Levi. This crude son of a bitch.

“I beg your pardon? Your father was kind to me, as he was to all his workers. I respect his legacy. That doesn’t mean I’m infatuated,” you snap at Levi.

You frown, and just like that the peace between you and Levi is once again fractured, resulting in you staring each other down. Porco can see the tell-tale signs of your temper flaring and steps in.

“Dee, calm down,” Porco says and places a soothing hand on your shoulder.

Levi watches closely as your eyes, filled with deep irritation and contempt, move from him to Porco and shift to exasperated and reluctant affection.

The contrast gives Levi whiplash. He looks at the way you look up at Porco, clearly appreciating his presence.

You never look at Levi like this. He’s a thorn in your side.

“Fine,” Levi barks before he can think it through. “Keep your musty books, but move them from the central shelf to the corner,” he says.

You give him a thoroughly puzzled look. Levi does not change his mind on the fly like this.

“Sir, why-?”

“Do you want to keep the books or not? Do it quickly or I’ll change my mind,” Levi tells you impatiently. Porco watches, wary at first. When he sees the way Levi’s eyes change to be a bit more content when he sees the way your gaze turns from irritated to hesitantly grateful, he has to hold himself back from rolling his eyes.

Of course.

“You. Move the books,” Levi says and points at Porco. “Dahlia, follow me. I crave a cup of tea.”

You give Porco a confused look but obey with a slow curtsey. Porco pulls his lips to a thin line but says nothing as you follow Levi out.

When you’re gone, he releases a slow exhale.

“I sure hope this is about keeping the peace,” Porco mutters to himself, but something about the deeply unhappy way Levi looks at him tips him off that it’s not the case.

-

The night is so fucking loud.

Levi sits at his desk, a quill pen in one hand and his thoughts heavy in his mind. The hum of the universe is maddening.

The tea on the edge of the desk has already cooled down. Levi leans back in his chair.

He sighs tiredly. He can’t focus anymore, but his mind refuses to wind down for the night.

On the corner of his desk sits an unopened envelope. He hasn’t dared to read it because he recognises the handwriting.

It’s from the front lines. Either to announce someone has passed, or to beg him to come back.

He looks at the letter warily for a moment before finally grabbing it. He’s been avoiding it all day. He might as well get this over with.

His thin finger wedges between the envelope and the parchment and he slowly saws his way through to open the top.

He folds the crinkly paper open and glances over it. He doesn’t read it more than once. He rubs his eyes and puts the letter in his drawer.

They have a lot of nerve. They’re losing the war so they’re scrambling to get anyone they can. Even Levi, after he left the front lines in the heat of such a foul argument.

Levi gets up. He can’t focus anyway. He saunters out of his study to the library. He lights a light gem.

Porco begrudgingly moved the books to the corner like Levi ordered him to. You organized them in neat little rows on the corner shelf.

Levi looks over the books, reading a word here and there on the leather spines. When his eyes fall on a thick and worn-out book, the words “An Old Man’s Regrets” carved to the spine, he pauses and hesitates for a moment. A small part of him is intrigued.

For such a shameless man, what would his father have the decency to regret?

Levi takes the book out. He opens it and reads the first page. Immediately, he stills as he takes in the words.

I am a terrible father.

Levi reads over the words a few more time, indulging in the slight spritz of contentment he gets out of the concession.

Yes, he was a horrible father.

He looks at the way the handwriting is a bit scribbly, obviously from the pen of a hand shaking with age. He sighs.

“That old sentimental fool,” he mutters. He snaps the book closed and puts it back in the shelf. Then, without a word he grabs another book.

He settles down on the couch and starts reading.

He can’t sleep, so he might as well try to wrap his head around why you love his old man’s writing so much.

-

The night is so fucking loud around him.

Levi’s lying on his side, the screeching sound of the metal rings around next planet over only interrupted by the sound of distant gunshots every now and then.

Levi closes his eyes and attempts to sleep. His mind fills with visions.

Weary androids dressed in rags, desperately clawing out of the mine his squad is taking over with cylinders full of toxic gases. Fallen humans and androids, the gears and intestines mixing on the barren ground until you can’t tell where the human starts and the android begins.

Empty desert, as far as eye can see. Nothing but the backdrop of dark space and a few tents, haphazardly erected by his squad mates. For miles and miles, nothing but desperation and isolation.

The metal rings of the next planet over get louder. They make his ears ring until he can no longer hear anything else.

-

Levi sits up with a loud gasp. Shirt drenched in sweat and hands clenched into tight fists, it takes him a moment to calm his breathing down. On his chest, the book he picked is splayed open. Levi glances at it and quietly puts it on the coffee table.

He runs a shaky hand through his coarse hair. His eyes stray over the room, still a bit disoriented, trying to find an anchor he can use to pull himself back to the present.

He wishes he had some tea. He’d do anything for a cup of tea, actually.

As much audacity as he has, he also has the decency to look a bit meek as he makes up his mind and walks to your room. He opens the door and turns on the light.

You’re sleeping on the bed on your back, peaceful and not a single frown or wrinkle on your face.

Levi looks at you for a moment, thinking to himself he’s envious of the way androids can just wind down on command and hang up their consciousness.

Tranquil is a foreign concept to him.

-

It takes your system a few more seconds than usual to boot up. You slowly blink your eyes open, only to immediately frown.

It’s dark in the room. You’re programmed to boot at sunrise.

It takes you another second to realise that someone’s finger is behind your ear, quietly pressing your launch nerve.

You gasp and grab the person’s wrist. You hurry to reach to the bedside table and turn on the light gem.

When you see Levi, watching you quietly with a somewhat sombre expression, you don’t know how to react.

Why is he here?

“Sir? Is something wrong?” you ask carefully. Levi looks at you. He should muster his usual sass and leave you no room to wonder or second-guess his orders, but he’s so exhausted he can’t bring himself to.

“...Tea. I’d like a cup of tea,” he says, and he sounds and looks completely worn out.

“Tea? Sir, it’s in the middle of the night,” you point out. You only now realise you’re only in your undershirt and underpants. You hurry to pull the duvet on your body.

“I can’t sleep,” Levi admits. “And I’d really like a cup of tea.”

Maybe it’s the dimness of the room or the quiet around you that seems to take the edge off of Levi’s tone. He seems so different from normal. Weathered and somehow the tiniest bit vulnerable.

You contemplate opening your mouth to scold him for having the audacity to boot you in the wee hours to tend to him, but the haunted look on his face makes you pause to reconsider.

His face is still sweaty and his hair is all over the place. There’s deep bags under his eyes.

With a sigh, you shrug.

“Fine. Can you at least step outside for a bit so I can get dressed?” you ask him. Levi goes to the door. He hovers his hand over the bronze handle.

“...Thank you,” he finally grunts, sounding incredibly awkward. Then, he walks out and pulls the door shut after himself, unnervingly gently given his usual temperament.

You pull your clothes on, wondering what’s gotten the master so worked up he can’t sleep. You briefly wash your face and then walk out. You didn’t bother pulling your hair up in the usual bun.

You walk downstairs. The kitchen is quiet and eerie. Only a couple of night shift guardians and maids are up, patrolling the corridors and premises with silent drive.

You prepare Levi his tea and carry it upstairs. You find Levi in the library. He’s sitting on the couch.

You place the tea down on the coffee table. Your eyes stray, then turn a bit more confused when you notice one of Mister Ackerman’s books, splayed over the table.

Levi opens his mouth to deny reading it, or at least giving a good enough excuse for the fact he did, but nothing seems to be working out for him tonight. He can’t make himself care enough to do that, and his mind is blank anyway.

Instead, he sighs and leans back on the couch. He takes the tea and sips on it. He lets out an undeniably satisfied exhale. His sharp eyes turn to you.

“Are there any adverse effects from interrupting your downtime?” he asks.

“If you do it once or twice, no. Eventually, it might hinder my functions.”

Downtime is generally used to repair connections, recharge gems and flush out useless memories or outdated protocols.

Levi nods, looking deep in thought. He helps himself to the tea, clearly trying to savour it, but he can’t keep himself from taking greedier sips than usual.

You look at the book on the coffee table once more.

“Spiralling Cosmos. Mister Ackerman wrote it during his twilight years,” you say. Levi’s eyes snap to you, clearly discontent with you bringing up his father, but he holds his tongue.

“The prose is good, I suppose,” Levi mutters. You take the book and look over the page.

“His heart was heavy with guilt, hands clammy from the weight of his sins. As he traversed towards the spiralling black hole, he felt his soul deeply resonate within. So many ways for a man to perish, yet he chose this. Knowing not even the darkest pits of the universe could muster a shred of sympathy his way,” you read out loud. You smile a bit.

“Quite morbid,” Levi grunts as he finishes his tea.

“Yes. I suppose so. Mister Ackerman was quite plagued by regret during his later years,” you tell Levi.

“How long did you serve him?”

“Well, I was forged a few years after Mister Ackerman’s wife left the manor. Twenty-five years ago, I want to say,” you think out loud. “How old are you, sir?”

“Twenty nine,” Levi replies shortly. You nod. It checks out given Mister Ackerman’s wife was heavily pregnant when she left.

Levi glances at the book in your hands, now seeming oddly impatient. He hesitates for a moment and then, in a move so uncharacteristic you gape, he leans back on the couch and closes his eyes.

“Keep reading it for me,” Levi says. You look at him, a confused look on your face.

“Why, sir?”

“You have a mellow voice. I feel like I can fall asleep to it,” Levi replies.

“You’re sitting down, how will you fall asleep? At least lay down,” you tell him. The corner of the couch he’s crammed himself into doesn’t look particularly comfortable.

Levi opens his eyes, the steely blue filled with irritation. He then sighs.

“As you wish, Dahlia,” he says. Then, he moves to lay down, his head placing on your lap. Your eyes almost bulge out of their sockets at the malicious compliance.

He sure has a lot of nerve, using you as a pillow.

“Better?” Levi asks, looking up at you with a raised eyebrow. You clear your throat and tear your eyes from him.

“Hardly,” you say, but you open the book nonetheless. Whatever.

You start reading for him, trying to stay distracted from his weight on your lap. It’s quite the sight and should Porco or Hitch see you, you’d never hear the end of it.

You keep talking, quiet voice slowly lulling Levi into a state of relaxation. His eyes close and his breathing gets a bit deeper.

“A depressing story,” Levi mutters, half asleep.

Spiralling Cosmos is the travel journal of a man, travelling through space alone in a cramped and claustrophobic spaceship. His destination is a giant black hole where he wishes to throw himself to compensate for what he’s done.

Throughout the story, it’s little by little revealed that the man is responsible for the death of all other life in the universe. A mistake he made out of carelessness rather than malice, but the end result is the same.

You know Mister Ackerman put a lot of himself into the main character.

Maybe a bit too much. The text at times is harrowingly personal.

You pause reading and look down at Levi.

“Is it too sad for you?” you ask. He shakes his head.

“I’m used to sad,” he says, tone matter-of-fact. His eyes flutter open to look at you, obviously sleepy.

“If anything, it’s not the story that unnerves me. It’s you,” Levi murmurs.

“Me? Why?”

Levi exhales. His hand moves up to gently touch yours on the book. His palms are a bit rough from all the years he spent holding the end of a rifle.

Your eyes widen.

“Sir?”

“You’re warm. You’re soft. You feel…”

Just like a normal person. And nothing unnerves Levi more than that. He’s seen what’s inside you, the cogs and machinery that haunt his nightmares.

Yet now, he finds himself able to relax resting his head on the lap of an android.

He closes his eyes and falls asleep. He turns, his nose burying against the fabric of your dress.

You feel a jolt in your life gem. Your ears ring a bit. For a moment, you’re short of breath.

You frown. This glitch again?

You place a hand on your chest to calm your gem down. As Levi stays fast asleep, your system winds down as well to catch a bit of down time before sunrise.

Your consciousness is stopped and you’re feather light, no thought in your mind. Levi can’t escape his dreams, the vivid imagery plaguing his rest.

Yet somehow, his nightmares are much tamer than usual.

Chapter Text

“Dee-”

“No. Absolutely not. We are not talking about it.”

“Dee, why was the master lying on your lap this morni- Ouch,” Porco grunts as you quickly swing your fist and give him a leisurely hit on the shoulder.

He looks at the way you fiercely glare at him, hell-bent on leaving this completely unaddressed. His eyes lid slightly, decidedly unimpressed.

This morning, you woke up to Porco walking into the library. He’d gone to your room at sunrise just to find it empty, so he got worried.

You booted to the sight of him gaping at you at the library doorway. Levi’s head was still resting on your lap and the book you were reading to him lay forgotten on the armrest of the couch.

Levi woke up and casually sat up. He gave you one unreadable glance and then asked Porco what he wanted with a rather pressuring tone. Porco read the room and left.

Levi didn’t address your slumber in any way. He merely walked in the bathroom to freshen up, ignoring you completely.

You would’ve thought he’s completely back to normal if it weren’t for the way his eyes have since softened just the tiniest bit when he looks at you.

You knew you wouldn’t be able to avoid Porco’s nosy questions forever, so when he sought you out during midday break, the first thing you did was put a finger on his lips to hush him.

Not that it was ever going to work.

“Seriously, what is going on with you two?” Porco asks with an edge of suspicion to his voice. You contemplate punching him again but give it up.

He’s a guardian android, it’ll hurt you more than it hurts him.

You sigh where you’re sitting on his bed, legs crossed.

“Nothing is going on. He just woke me up last night to make him tea and I ended up reading to him and when he got sleepy, he put his head on my lap- Don’t look at me like that.”

The look on Porco’s face is downright disgusted.

“So you just let the master use your thighs as a pillow?”

“Don’t give me that tone. He’s my boss, what am I going to do about it?”

“So you disliked it? He forced you into it?” Porco asks, and he suddenly looks pissed.

“Not exactly. I didn’t mind it.” You shrug. You think back to the glitch you experienced last night. It was strange. You contemplate bringing it up, but you know Porco will just turn fussy.

You love him, he’s your batch mate and the closest thing to a brother, but he’s a worrywart.

Porco hesitates for a moment. He leans against the bed, his rifle on his lap for cleaning as he sits on the floor in front of you.

Then, he slowly moves his head and leans it against your legs. You give him a questioning look.

“Let’s go out,” Porco finally says. “There’s a party next Porcelain Night. You’ve been too reclusive lately, it would do you good to see someone besides the master for a change.”

You contemplate. Porcelain Night is an annual holiday celebrating the night the nearest moon of Ridawn comes its closest to the planet, panting virtually the whole sky porcelain white.

It’s a mix of a masquerade and a drinking party. People wear dark clothes, paint their arms, neck and chest black and sparkle gem dust on their skin to mimic the look of a night sky. Most wear moon-shaped masks or white face paint to complete the look.

You’re not sure you like the idea. Those parties tend to get rowdy. People get touchy, people forget their inhibitions and make fools out of themselves.

You never liked it.

Yet the concerned look on Porco’s face makes you reconsider. He’s kept you a lot of company lately and patiently sat through your endless rants about Levi.

Maybe you owe him this much?

“I’ll think about it,” you finally concede. He smiles a bit and goes back to cleaning his rifle.

His head never moves from your legs.

After your break, you saunter back to the main house and walk in the kitchen. Levi’s lunch is already waiting on the wooden table. Hitch and Annie are hustling by the stove and sink, cleaning after their cooking.

You take the tray of food and start moving to the door, only to be interrupted by a loud thud. You turn, to see Hitch has stumbled into the kitchen counter and is now holding her arm.

“Ow,” she hisses under her breath. You look at her curiously.

“You alright?”

“Yeah. I think I had a jam function last night or something. I’m sure it’ll reset during next shutdown,” she says dismissively and waves her hand. Sometimes, there’s issues with downtime where some functions jam, making androids feel a bit out of it. They mostly settle by themselves during next downtime as the system refreshes.

You shrug and carry the tray all the way to the third floor where Levi’s quarters are.

He’s sitting at the table in his study, already waiting. He gives you a rather neutral look as you set the tray in front of him.

He starts eating without a word. A silence falls between you. You haven’t talked since this morning, and Porco’s interrogation is fresh in your mind.

“Tell your guardian friend to not enter my quarters so flippantly,” Levi finally speaks up. He doesn’t look at you as he eats.

“Do you mean Porco, sir?”

“Blonde-haired fellow. Always sticking to your side,” Levi grunts.

“Not always, sir,” you point out with a small frown.

“Sure feels like it,” Levi says, and it’s hard to interpret his tone, whether he’s neutral or irritated. If anything, he sounds sullen.

“We were forged in the same batch, sir,” you explain with a small shrug.

“So you’re siblings?”

“Not exactly. Close friends,” you tell him. Levi’s observant eyes turn to you. He scans over you once, trying to see if you believe in your own words.

He contemplates speaking up, about the possessive and insecure gaze he’s seen in Porco’s eyes more than once when he looks at you, but he holds his tongue.

“Is that so?” he finally replies curtly and resumes eating. He eats with good appetite.

You never understood how he can eat the same things every day and not get tired of it. Carrot bread and fresh plucktalon eggs for breakfast. Vegetable soup with carrot bread for lunch. Sizzlesnort roast with mashed roots and a side of salad for dinner.

He likes his routine. He cares about punctuality. You wonder if he learned all that in the army. You wonder why he joined in the first place. You wonder why he decided to leave and come take care of this manor.

Ultimately, it’s none of your business and you’re not crazy enough to ask, even if Levi has been more approachable lately.

When he’s done, you collect his dishes and bring them downstairs. You put them in the sink. Hitch is already standing by it, pumping water to fill it up.

She reaches for the soap bar on one of the shelves above the kitchen counter. Her movement is fast and purposeful, clearly annoyed by her poor downtime last night.

“Tha-”

You hear a crushing sound. Hitch cuts herself off with a buzz. Her eyes suddenly turn empty and she slumps against you.

Her body weight makes your knees buckle and you topple back on the ground. Annie, who was busy boiling water for Levi’s afternoon tea, turns.

You lay underneath Hitch, confused. You look at where she was standing just a moment ago, and when your eyes land on a small purple shard that’s landed on the counter, your eyes widen.

You hurry to grab her wrist. You push her sleeve out of the way just to see the fractured gem.

“Her… She must have hit her wrist on the corner of the shelf,” you explain, at a loss. Did her poor downtime completely wreck her motor functions?

“I’ll get the master,” Annie concludes immediately as she turns off the stove and strides off with clear urgency. You look at Hitch, deeply worried. Fractured gems can turn bad quickly if the information in it can’t be dug out and relayed to another one.

Levi walks down the stairs mere moments later. He walks straight to you and grabs Hitch. He pulls her off of you and sets her down on the floor. Then, in a flabbergasting move, he turns to you and grabs your wrists.

You gape at him.

“I’m not injured, sir. She is,” you tell him. He takes a close look of both of your gems before finally letting you go.

“Just making sure,” he grunts and then turns to Hitch. You give him a weird look. Making sure of what?

Levi looks over the fractured gem, mouth pulled to a thin line. He then turns to Annie.

“Fetch a guardian and call for Magath,” he orders. Annie gives a half-curtsey and zooms out with purposeful steps. She has to be worried. Her and Hitch are tight. Sometimes, you wonder if they’re lovers.

Mister Magath takes almost no time to materialise at the scene. He dashes through the door and when he sees Hitch in Levi’s arms, he presses his hands together, disturbed.

“Poor girl. What happened?”

“She had a downtime malfunction last night and wasn’t feeling too well. She slammed her gem to the corner of the shelf while reaching to take something,” you explain.

“I sure hope it’s not a system failure,” Mister Magath muses out loud. He checks over Hitch. Her eyes are wide open and void of life. Her body is stiff in Levi’s hold.

“Get a carriage ready,” Levi orders Mister Magath. “I’m taking her to Mirthport.”

A guardian arrives minutes later, followed by Annie. Her blue eyes immediately search for Hitch, just to find her exactly where she left her.

“Pick her up and take her outside to the carriage,” Levi tells the guardian. He then marches to the door. You look after him, wondering if Levi even knows the way to the forger.

Levi pauses in the doorway and looks at you expectantly. You stare back, blatantly unaware of what he’s thinking.

“Up, Dahlia. We’re leaving,” he tells you after a brief moment of silence. He looks impatient. You slowly point at yourself.

“Me?”

“Who else?” Levi snaps.

“Why, sir?”

“The forger needs to check your gems too.”

“Why?” you ask with a dumb look on your face. Your gems are fine. Levi gives you a deep frown.

“She stumbled into you. Your gem might have dislodged.”

“Dislodged? Sir, what are you talking about?” you ask him. Levi should be worrying about Hitch, not you. Yet his eyes seem incredibly reluctant to leave you, as if he’s half-convinced you’ll keel over and fall on both your wrist gems in one go the moment he turns his back.

You have a brief stand-off. He shows no signs of backing down.

Finally, you sigh. You don’t know why he’s so worried all of a sudden, but you figure he’ll need someone to show him the way to the forger nonetheless.

Not that you’ve visited them after your forging, but you should recall the way. The constant clouds of smoke coming from the chimneys of the factory are hard to forget.

“Fine, sir,” you say and get on your feet. You dust the hem of your dress and then follow Levi out. Annie looks after you, not having the audacity to demand to come, too. You give her a smile.

“I’ll make sure she gets a new quality gem,” you tell her. She nods without a word.

Outside, the guardian carefully places Hitch inside the carriage, making sure she’s firmly cushioned. Levi climbs in after her and when you get there, you notice Hitch takes up one of the benches completely, leaving the only spot right next to Levi on the opposite one.

You hesitate for a moment and then climb in, settling down next to the stern-looking Levi.

As the carriage pulls to motion, Levi crosses his arms and taps his fingers against his biceps, glancing at Hitch every now and then to check on her.

As he sees her splayed over the bench and he takes a good look of her vacant eyes, he’s hit with a rather unwelcome memory.

Heaven knows he’s seen that sight more than once in the front lines. He shudders.

“Is there any way to close her eyes?” Levi asks.

“No, sir.”

Levi gives you a long-suffering sigh and shifts his gaze. You spend the rest of the way in silence and when the carriage finally pulls to a halt in front of Hange’s forgery on your instructions, Levi immediately recoils at the smell.

Molten metal, smoke, burnt flesh. It brings forth so many unpleasant memories.

A couple of soot-covered and gruff-looking employees come check on the carriage and when they’re explained what happened, they carry Hitch inside together.

As you exit, you pause to look at the forgery. The massive chimneys pushing out smoke, the large iron walls that look more like hulls. The sound of heavy machinery, hammers against metal.

It crosses your mind, if only briefly, that you were born at the hands of one of these blacksmiths. So many billions of years passed while you were oblivious to it, and then you awoke, complete and ever-still.

You don’t age and most things you knew on instinct when you awoke.

Even your personality was pre-programmed, even if forgers don’t know how or why. Each life gem is different, even if you sculpted one to look exactly like another, the two could never truly be interchangeable.

It truly is an existence different from that of humans, who seem to blindly stumble their way through life. They’re born knowing nothing, yet they grow to acquire a sense of superiority over you.

“Dahlia,” Levi snaps at you as you space off for a moment too long. You snap back to the present and push your thoughts of existence and how odd it is to the back of your head.

It makes you feel queasy anyway.

With a hurried curtsey, you follow Levi inside the facility. The two employees carrying Hitch by arms and legs lead the way through the dim and stuffy corridors. Light gems are lined up on the wall on each side.

The smell of smoke is heavy inside. The rugs rolled on the floors of the corridors are dirty with sooty footprints from staff walking back and forth between the forging room and the offices.

Hange’s in their office and when one of the staff knocks on the heavy metal door, they open with an irritated frown.

“I’m busy,” they bluntly say, though when their eyes land on Levi, the malfunctioning Hitch and finally you, the irritation gives way to confusion.

“Who is this?” Hange asks.

“Levi Ackerman from the nearby Ackerman Manor. We have a gem shatter,” one of the staff explains. Hange looks at Hitch, giving her an evaluating once-over, before finally getting out of the way.

“Fine. Get inside,” they say.

Hange’s office is very messy. Scattered piles of books on tables and floors, smudged tools hanging on walls for easy access, gems on shelves, seemingly unorganised.

Hange haphazardly makes room on the dusty leather couch by the wall and the staff place Hitch down. They excuse themselves, leaving you alone with Hange.

Hange looks over Hitch. They check her eyes and mouth before looking over her wrists.

“Only one is damaged. That’s good,” Hange says. They look over the fractured gem. Some shards are missing and deep cracks slither from the point of impact to the edges.

“I need to replace this.”

“What’s that gem even for?” Levi asks as he watches Hange take a sharp knife and gently use the tip of it to dislodge the fractured gem.

“It’s an energy gem. It works as a point of contact for all neurosignals coming from the life gem,” Hange explains. “They shoot through the wires of the body and bounce off of the gem to get more energy and make it all the way down to lower limbs and other vital places.”

They hold the gem between their thumb and index finger.

“If the gems are fractured, they need to be replaced as soon as possible. Otherwise, the life gem might malfunction since it needs to work so much harder to keep vital functions operative, leading to some vital data possibly getting corrupted. Replacement comes with its own risks, though.”

“What risks?” Levi asks. His eyes snap to you for a brief moment before turning back to Hange. Seriously, why is he being like this?

“Well, when an android is forged, they’re forged with these gems. They’re their so-called native gems that their system is born adapted to. Even though energy gems all function the same, they still have slight differences and if replaced, the system might reject the new gem,” Hange explains as they walk to the shelf of gems. They start comparing the gem to the ones they have on the shelf, trying to find one as close as possible.

“So like organ transplants?” Levi asks slowly. Hange looks over their shoulder and smiles.

“You nailed it,” they say before finally settling on a new gem.

“Why aren’t they all just moulded to be the exact same size and shape?” you ask as Hange looks at the gem-shaped hole on Hitch’s wrist. There’s a small metal lining on it, made to match the shape of her energy gems.

Hange turns to you, a clearly excited smile on their face. Must have been a while since people asked this many questions.

“Excellent question!” Hange says with a wide grin. They grab a heat light gem from their desk. The gem takes in the heat from their palm and flickers to life with a bright light. Hange points the light right at the gem in their hands.

You and Levi lean in to see. Inside the purple gem are hundreds of little strands, spanning through the gem in web-like formations only to stop a few millimetres from the edge of the gem.

“Every gem has what’s called its fabric. It’s what transmits the energy needed to do what the gem does,” Hange explains. “So we can’t alter the shape too much, just to what the fabric of the gem allows.”

“And is that why a broken gem can’t be fixed?” you make an educated guess. Hange snaps their fingers and points at you.

“She gets it!” they exclaim with a bizarrely proud smile. “Luckily, energy gems and other non-life gems can be replaced quite easily given a replacement gem can be welded in fast enough. Life gems, however. Well, it can be replaced but all the data in the life gem is gone. Memories, sense of identity, knowledge, it’s all reset.”

Hange turns serious as they continue.

“Obviously, traces of the android still live in other functions, the neurosignals do retain some data of who the android was, so traces of personality still persist. But it’s like being born again. No matter that you’re still the same, living your life all over will inevitably bring you to a different end result, if for nothing else, then for the virtue of life’s unpredictability.”

Levi and you listen quietly. Levi’s eyes harden a bit at the words. You find yourself grappling with an overwhelming and acute sense of hopelessness.

The gem in your chest is you, much like the brain in Levi’s head is him. Yet one day, you might cease to exist as you are right now, should fate be cruel enough to damage your gem. You place a hand on your chest. Hange catches onto your discomfort and smiles.

“Well, that’s why we put the gem in your chest. That’s the safest place. The old Ackerman spent a lot of money so there’s a layer of metal around it, too. It’s essentially in a vault. It’s as safe as it can be,” they try to comfort you. You look at Hange carefully.

They’re right, of course. Your gem is safer than Levi’s brain. If humans can live their lives without the perpetual fear that their head will crack open destroying their brain and thus themselves, you can refuse to worry about your life gem being destroyed.

Hange goes to Hitch with a blow torch. They carefully heat up the empty frame of the energy gem on her wrist and pull it out, disconnecting it from her body.

Levi looks away as the wiring under Hitch’s skin is revealed. Small crystal-cased wires, light liquid running through them at a high speed.

It’s fluid from Hitch’s life gem, transporting data to her body from her life gem and vice versa, much like humans do with their circulation system.

Hange heats up the gem frame. They use a small metal stick as a precision tool to carefully push the heated metal into the shape of the new gem. Then, they use an adhesive to lodge the gem in its frame.

Hange walks back to Hitch and carefully connects the wiring under her skin to the new gem through the small hole in the back of the frame. Then, they snap the frame in place.

Immediately, Hitch’s vacant eyes snap to life with a buzz. Hitch jolts and immediately sits up.

“What- Where?” she asks, incoherent and confused. Her green eyes look over the room. She quickly gathers she’s at a forger’s place.

“What happened?” she asks you carefully. “Last thing I remember I’m reaching for the shelf in the kitchen.”

“You hit your gem on the corner of it and it fractured,” you explain to her. She twitches and hurries to check her wrists. Her eyes widen as she sees the new gem, identical in colour and similar in shape, but just a tad differently cut compared to the gem she used to have.

She slowly lifts her puzzled gaze to Levi, who’s leaning against the wall. His eyes are calm and unreadable.

“Sir, did you take me here for treatment?” she asks. Levi nods without a word. Hitch slowly gets on her feet and curtseys.

“Thank you for your assistance, sir. I’ll make sure to be more careful in the future. If there’s anything I can do to offset the cost of the new gem-”

“No need. I’m your employer so I’m responsible for you. Save your useless thanks,” Levi tells her, deadpan. Hitch looks somewhat insulted at the blunt words but holds her tongue.

Hange sends Levi and you outside to the dim corridor while she does a more comprehensive check-up on Hitch.

When Hitch comes out of the room fifteen minutes later and Levi pays Hange an upsetting amount of money, you conclude you’re done and start walking down the corridor.

You want to get back to the manor before nightfall.

“Halt.”

Levi’s words are sharp and commanding. You pause and turn to look at him.

“Sir?”

“Go get checked, too,” Levi orders. You blink, then groan.

“Sir, I’m fine. Hitch toppled on top of me, but I’m not injured.”

“Sorry,” Hitch mutters meekly from where she’s standing next to Levi, clearly itching to get out of here.

“Not your fault,” you tell her off-handedly and turn your attention back to Levi.

Hange looks back and forth between you and Levi and finally shrugs.

“I can do a quick check-up,” they accommodate Levi and gesture for you to walk in. With a long-suffering sigh, you walk to Hange’s office, Levi’s hawk gaze following you all the way to the door to make sure you go inside.

Hange closes the door and does a short series of standard tests. You come back out not a minute later.

“She’s completely functional, no signs of defects,” Hange tells Levi. Levi nods.

“Good. You, keep it that way. My life is busy enough without having to worry about you,” Levi says as he turns to you, his expression somewhat grumpy. You frown.

“Worry about me? Why on our god-forsaken planet would you worry about-?”

“Shut up, Dahlia. We’re going home,” Levi grunts and strides off, leaving both you and Hitch behind. You stare after him incredulously.

Hitch looks at Levi’s distancing back, then at your thoroughly flabbergasted expression. A slow, amused smile creeps to her cheeks.

She can’t wait to get back home and tell Annie about what she just saw. About how the master has become quite protective of his personal maid, and how the said maid is too thick-headed to understand why.

Chapter Text

You’re sitting in such an eerie silence. Around you, the planet is quiet. The universe hums. Your feet gently brush into the grass underneath you.

You place your chin on your knees and look up. You’re holding a stone in your hands, fingertips idly tracing the cut edges of it.

Above you, the sky is raining down. Planets shatter into millions of little pieces. Fiery stones rain down into nothingness.

You look around you. Your mates are already done. They lay by you, unconscious, hands clutched around their gems.

You look down at the gem in your hands.

You know your quiet minutes on this peaceful planet are numbered. You watch the star you’re orbiting pulsate, then explode into a ball of light so bright you immediately go blind.

The concept of non-existence still doesn’t register as you feel the scorching heat. Your fingers find the right spot and press down tightly.

Your ears ring and you’re unconscious before the deadly rays from the supernova approaching reach you.

-

You boot up with a startled shriek. You look around, disoriented, and it takes you a moment to realise where you are and that your mouth is open in a scream.

You fall quiet. You take a shaky breath.

Your door is slammed open not twenty seconds later. You look up at Levi. He’s standing in the doorway with an alert expression on his face.

“Why did you scream?” he asks sharply, eyes equal parts worried and irritated.

“I… Don’t remember,” you realise as you speak. Whatever made you boot up with such a startle has already been forgotten.

“Did you have a nightmare?” Levi asks. You frown at him.

“I don’t have nightmares, sir. Nor dreams for that matter,” you inform him. “Something must have startled me while my systems were half-booted,” you rationalise.

Levi looks at you for a moment. Then, he shrugs.

“Very well, then. Get ready for the day and bring me my breakfast,” he orders and then leaves, closing the door in his wake.

You slip out of the bed and scratch your head. You once again fruitlessly try to remember what startled you and then give up. You’ll just give yourself a glitch.

You get ready for the day and step out of your room. You walk downstairs to fetch Levi’s breakfast.

Hitch and Annie are fast at work as usual. When you see Hitch, you give her a small smile.

She seems to have recovered well from her gem fracture. Her system adapted to the new energy gem without issue. You could swear Annie’s been keeping a closer eye on Hitch ever since the incident. Even now, her eyes linger on Hitch as she grabs the seasoning from the shelf and sprinkles it on Levi’s breakfast.

“Here. Breakfast for your beloved,” Hitch tells you. She’s grinning, having completely overcome her injury. You sigh.

For whatever reason, Hitch has found a new way of getting on your nerves: insinuating you’re personally involved with Levi.

“Not my beloved,” you grunt and take the tray.

You carry the tray upstairs to the awaiting Levi. You place it down in front of him and watch him stick a napkin in the neck of his shirt.

He digs in with good appetite. You space out, once again briefly thinking back to your sudden awakening this morning, but it’s quickly wiped from your mind when there’s a sudden knock on the door.

Mister Magath peers his head in.

“Sir. You have guests,” he says. Levi pauses and looks up from his meal, clearly irritated by the sudden intrusion.

“Who?”

“I don’t know, sir. They just asked to see you, saying they’re from a neighbouring manor.”

Levi frowns. He contemplates for a moment and finally gets on his feet. He strides out of the room.

“Follow, Dahlia,” he grunts. You fall into step behind him.

“Why do you want me to come too, sir?” you ask curiously.

“In case they’re raiders,” Levi curtly replies. You frown. Raiders sometimes land on the planet and ransack more remote locations like this.

It has never happened to Ackerman Manor, though. The premises are well guarded.

“Why would you want me to come in that case?”

Levi gives you a small glance.

“You can’t fight, can you?” he then says. You feel like rubbing your eyelids. This again. Being all protective.

“Sir, I don’t need you to-”

He cuts you off by extending his arm as you walk down the last few steps to the hallway. The doors are already open, revealing the people in the yard.

Two well-dressed men are looking around, their hats politely in their hands. They’re clothed in fine black silk, their vests carrying a row of silver buttons and their shoes thoroughly polished.

Behind them is a large white carriage pulled by two horses and manned by an android servant.

One of the men has a neatly trimmed beard and blonde hair. His glasses have slid halfway down his nose. The other man has dark brown hair, pulled on a bun far messier than his clothes. His green eyes scan the premises with fleeting interest.

Behind them is a woman dressed in a black uniform. Her boots and the rifle on her back give her away as a guardian android.

As soon as Levi steps out, the blonde man approaches him.

“Ah. The elusive master of the manor,” he says with a small smile. “Zeke Yeager. I reside in the nearby Yeager Manor,” he introduces himself and offers Levi his hand.

You only now realise Levi still has the napkin in the neck of his shirt. You subtly reach your hand to tug it off. He turns to give you a small look. Zeke looks quite amused by the oversight.

Levi shakes Zeke’s hand shortly.

“My brother Eren,” Zeke says and gestures to the brown-haired boy. The boy nods quickly. You glance at the android behind him again, but Zeke does not introduce her.

She must be a mere servant there to guarantee their safety.

You see the boy named Eren subtly reach his hand back. It touches hers and squeezes it. You frown, a bit confused. Why did he do that?

“I heard that the old lord died not a year ago,” Zeke explains to Levi. “And when I heard that his son not only came here to take over, came here from the front lines, my curiosity just had to be quenched.”

There’s something almost gleeful to the way Zeke looks at Levi, and you instantly get a bad feeling. Behind him, Eren sighs quietly to himself, as if he knows exactly what his brother is up to.

“I must say, I never saw you there,” Zeke continues. Levi frowns.

“Saw me?” he asks, his tone polite but decidedly glacial.

“I was there too, you see. Up until a year ago.”

“I do not recall anyone by your name in our forces,” Levi says. Zeke’s grin grows wider.

“Oh, I was not fighting for Milither. I was fighting for Aspero,” Zeke reveals, his eyes following the expression on Levi’s face turn from stoic to shocked to deeply angry, before forcefully turning stoic again.

“Is that so?” Levi responds, futilely feigning indifference.

You look at Zeke. So he fought for Aspero System, the side opposing Levi’s home planet of Milither. Asperonian forces seized and are trying to retain control over Cassus Oasis, the outermost and most isolated planet belonging to Milither.

And naturally, given how the planet is filled to the brim with life gem mines, Milither is rather keen on getting it back.

Your home planet Ridawn is not involved with the war, but because it’s allies with Milither, most people here hold a staunchly anti-Aspero sentiment.

“I was promised a cut of the gems if I participate. I figured why not,” Zeke shrugs, and he seems very flippant about it.

You look at him closely. You may not be the best judge of character, but you know enough to realize Zeke is nihilistic. And that he’s riling Levi up on purpose.

A shit-stirrer.

“Must feel weird taking over a manor filled with androids. I know you killed your fair share of them,” Zeke says with a small grin.

“What can I help you with?” Levi replies, deciding to just ignore Zeke. Though, he does look rather pale.

“Oh, I’m just curious. A tour around the manor would be lovely. I used to attend balls your old man would hold. Lovely times,” Zeke hums.

Levi stays quiet. He’s clearly trying to decide how rude he’s willing to be. He doesn’t want to make enemies, but he’s far from fond of this idea of a tour.

“I can give him a tour, sir,” you find yourself volunteering. Levi really does not look well and you don’t trust Zeke will behave.

You start walking towards the amused-looking Zeke when Levi’s hand shoots out and grabs your shoulder.

“No,” he says, and on that he sounds firm. You turn to look at him, confused. Levi glances at Zeke over your shoulder.

“I’ll give you a tour,” he finally decides and walks off. Zeke gives you a small glance and then follows Levi, clearly pleased he got what he wanted.

You wonder what to do for a bit and then turn to Eren.

“Would you care for some tea, sir?” you ask him with a curtsey. You vastly prefer Eren’s neutral gaze to Zeke’s amused one.

Eren scratches his neck and looks around for a bit before shrugging.

“Sure. I don’t have anything to do anyway,” he says. As he follows you into the manor, the guardian android with him quietly falls into step behind him, clearly vigilant.

You guide Eren to the large and unused dining hall. It used to be in frequent use for parties and balls but ever since Mister Ackerman got ill, it’s been left unused.

You pull back a seat for Eren and disappear into the kitchen with a curtsey. You ignore Hitch’s nosy questions and Annie’s ever-quiet gaze and instead focus on making Eren his tea.

As you step into the dining hall with the tray a few minutes later, you almost drop it when you see the sight inside.

The guardian android is standing next to Eren. They’re conversing in a quiet voice. She’s cupping his cheek and his hand is placed on her waist.

It doesn’t take a genius to realize what’s going on. You frown a bit.

Well, it’s not like android-human relationships are unheard of. Some are drawn to the slightly taboo nature of them. Some humans forge androids just to coerce them into a relationship.

You clear your throat. Eren glances at you, but he doesn’t seem bothered by your presence. He doesn’t pull away from the guardian.

You set down the tea for him and curtsey.

“Was there anything you’d like to see, sir?” you ask him as he takes the tea and sips on it.

“No. I just came to make sure Zeke doesn’t get himself a broken nose,” Eren grunts.

“The master would never,” you try to reassure, but you’re not so sure yourself. Levi has a temper, and Zeke has a pretty punchable mug.

“Don’t mind him. He heard the master here is a veteran from Milither and became hellbent on getting under his skin,” Eren explains. You hum to yourself.

Getting under Levi’s skin is not a hard task.

The guardian next to Eren gently pets his hair once before stepping back to her post. You look at her. She looks stoic, but her eyes gleam gently whenever she looks at Eren.

Lucky her. Must be nice being in love-

Your thoughts are interrupted by a loud bang. You turn your head to look outside, and your eyes widen.

Outside, in the yard, Zeke is standing over Levi. Levi’s hunched on the ground, his hands over his ears.

You’re confused for a moment before you suddenly remember the time you dropped the tray of tea. The panic and fear in Levi’s eyes. He’s carrying that same expression now.

You gather the hem of your dress and hurry outside to him.

The grin on Zeke’s face pisses you off beyond belief as you zoom to the other side of the yard to Levi’s crouching form.

The moment you make it to Levi, you kneel down. His hands are shaking and when he sees you, he instinctively reaches to grab your arm.

His eyes are faraway, almost delirious. He’s clearly not in the present. His mind is somewhere completely else.

“Oh, the maid,” Zeke remarks. “Sorry about that. We were sharing our memories of the war. We have a lot in common, you see. I must have slammed the barracks door shut too loudly.”

He’s watching, thoroughly entertained as you slowly help Levi back on his feet. Levi looks frail and tired, a sight the servants around you pause to gawk at, but you know this side of him exists.

You’ve seen it a couple of times before.

You look at Zeke’s obvious lack of remorse, and your temper flares. This time, there’s no Levi or Porco to keep you in check.

“Mister Yeager, who do you think you are, coming to my master’s home to purposefully cause him distress?” you ask him, back straightened and chin lifted.

You don’t answer to Zeke, so there’s no reason to fear him. You answer to Levi, and albeit as his maid protecting him is not your duty, you’re not going to just idly stand by and let Zeke do this.

“It was not on purpose, miss,” Zeke replies lazily, knowing you don’t buy an iota of it.

“I do not care,” you tell him bluntly. You grab a passing maid’s arm.

“Please go to the stables and tell the servant that brought Mister Yeager here that they’re returning at their earliest convenience.”

You turn to Zeke, eyes ice cold.

“Take your brother and leave, Mister Yeager. You are not welcome to stay any longer.”

With that, you turn without waiting for a reply, ignoring the way Zeke’s gleeful eyes look at you. What an unpleasant provocateur.

Levi leans against you as you help him back inside. You walk right past Eren, who’s still sitting in the living room.

“Your brother is waiting, Mister Yeager. You’d be better be on your way,” you call to him and then start the slow process of helping the panting and unstable Levi up the stairs.

You don’t know why loud noises affect him like this, but given his past it’s not that big of a mystery.

As you step into his bedroom, you push him to sit on his bed. You expect him to let go of your arm, only he’s still so dazed he doesn’t.

You feel yourself tilt forward and stumble against his chest, unwittingly pushing him back against the hard mattress.

Feeling the weight, he frowns and finally slowly blinks himself back to the present. He looks at you, expressionless.

You stare right into his eyes. Outside, you can hear the carriage Zeke came with depart, the clopping of hooves distinct against the paved road.

“Why are you on top of me, Dahlia?” he asks.

“Not by choice, sir. I helped you up here but you refused to let go of my arm when I pushed you to sit on your bed,” you explain, voice exceptionally breathy.

“Was I dazed?” he asks. You quietly nod.

“Did you bring me back here?” You nod again.

Levi looks at you quietly. He then reaches a hand and, quite carefreely at that, tucks back a strand of your hair that’s escaped your usually neat bun.

“You helped me get rid of that Yeager brat didn’t you?” he asks.

“You… Collapsed, sir. I was serving tea to the younger Yeager when I heard a loud sound. I saw you crouching down, clearly distressed. So I came to you to see what’s happening. Mister Yeager was quite amused. That rude, provocative little-” you start huffing under your breath, but cut yourself off.

You hesitate for a moment and then have the decency to look quite sheepish.

“I told them to leave. I did not consult you because you were in no stage to talk, let alone make decisions. I apologise, sir.”

“Why are you apologising for helping me?” Levi asks calmly.

“Well, you’ve made it quite clear you don’t appreciate me doing things without being told to,” you reply, a bit thorny. You dislike that about him.

Levi chuckles, a sound you’ve never heard before. You thought he was incapable of smiling.

“I do have the bad habit of micromanaging,” he admits. His hand places on your waist. You feel a sudden jolt in your gem. Another glitch.

His voice lowers to an almost affectionate tone.

“Good job. I would not have been able to handle that myself. Thank you.”

“...you’re welcome,” you murmur. His hold on your waist tightens a bit.

Why has your life with Levi been so unusual lately?

You look at him. Up close, he really isn’t too bad on the eyes. His features are surprisingly delicate.

You get a sudden impulse that horrifies you. To lean down and kiss him.

You immediately reject the idea. You place your hands on his chest and use them as leverage to push yourself on your feet.

“Would you like something to eat, sir?” you ask him. He remains where he is lying for a while. He stares at the ceiling and then sighs. If you didn’t know better, you’d think he’s disappointed.

“No, Dahlia. Go take a break until lunchtime,” Levi says and sits up.

You curtsey and go to the door. You exit without daring to look back because you can feel the warmth on your face. You’re blushing.

You close the door after yourself and lean against it. Then, you slap your own forehead.

“Fuck me,” you hiss. You place a hand on your chest. “Calm the fuck down, you irrational little-”

“Dee?”

You look up, just to see Porco standing at the end of the hallway, having just claimed up the stairs. He gives you a confused look. He was clearly on his way to scold you, having heard the rumours that you kicked the master of the neighbouring manor out.

“What are you doing?” he asks. You groan and decide you’d rather toss yourself into the nearest black hole than answer truthfully.

“Gathering myself after the master got on my nerves,” you reply shortly and pull yourself off the door. Porco crosses his arms and sighs.

“Nevermind that. Dee, what on this god forsaken planet did you do to the master of the Yeager Mano-”

“The party,” you interrupt him, paying no mind to his budding preach. “I’ll come with you.”

You clearly need to mingle more with your fellow androids. Because there’s no way in hell you’re falling for an organic.

And not just any organic but the bane of your existence.

Porco gives you a taken aback look. Then, he smiles. He pats your back as you walk past him.

“Atta girl,” he tells you affectionately. You shrug his hand off.

“Stop being a weirdo, Porco. I spotted some moonberries in the bushes by the edge of the meadows. Let’s go pick some.”

You push past him and decide to stay busy until this weird, unnerving feeling of wanting to climb your boss passes.

However a minor task that would be.

Chapter Text

The sound from the barracks can be heard even across the yard.

You adjust your cloak, the black velvet flowing over your body, making you feel a bit more at ease. Porco made you do the whole getup. Your arms and neck are painted black, gem dust splashed all over them to mimic the look of a night sky. Your skin is glistening in the light of the moon.

You decided against white face paint and instead borrowed a mask from Porco. He’s quite fond of this little holiday. He’s wearing a mask of his own.

Levi begrudgingly allowed this party to take place after being informed how important it is to the locals. He’s not in attendance himself and when you asked for permission to leave early so you could get ready, he gave you a single grunt.

The party takes place in the further barrack from the manor itself, mostly because it has a large ceremony hall attached to it. The barrack is situated close to the stables. The meadows have been emptied of pasturing horses to make sure they don’t get unnerved by the noise.

You’re a bit grumpy about the fact you had to dial off your downtime for tonight.

Porco escorts you to the barracks. The moment he opens the door, the loud music hits you like a tidal wave.

In the ceremony hall, almost every android working for Levi has gathered for some merrymaking. Everyone you see is in full costume, the face paint and masks making it impossible to decipher who’s who.

It adds to the mystique of the night.

The loud music wouldn’t be unnerving if it wasn’t for the pitch black interior. No lights are on. True to tradition, only moonlight is allowed to illuminate the world tonight.

The hustle and bustle inside the ceremony hall feels odd in the darkness and, instinctively, you hold onto Porco’s arm.

Music gems are humming tunes that feel both cheerful and sombre. Some androids have recorded their own Porcelain Night tunes, some have brought their favourite ones from around the world.

Some have taken to dancing in the middle of the hall, some are conversing around the edges. Black curtains cover the walls and gem dust has been sprinkled all over the room, making it glimmer dimly in the moonlight.

There’s no food or drinks as androids don’t need to eat or drink, but you spot a few people with lilyshine oils.

Androids don’t get drunk in the traditional sense of drinking alcohol, but it didn’t take long for them to discover lilyshine oil. It’s an extract made from a small but very acidic plant. When rubbed on an android’s skin, it gets absorbed through it.

The acidity makes it interfere with your circuits, eroding them a little and making them slower. This, in turn, gives a sensation very close to being drunk.

You never tried it. The thought always crept you out a bit, even if it’s completely safe. Your system is fully equipped to work out the interference and refresh any circuits during your next downtime.

Someone in a passing group of carefree dancers grabs your arm all of a sudden, clearly inviting you to join. You stiffen and pull your hand loose. On cue, Porco takes care of it by protectively stepping between you and the passing dancer.

“Sorry,” the man calls over the music. “She looked a bit lost.”

“She’s fine, just not used to parties,” Porco says back. The man pauses. His face is painted white so you don’t recognise him immediately but when he walks to Porco and shakes his hand, you realise it’s one of Porco’s guardian buddies.

Thomas, if you recall correctly.

“Porco! You made it after all. Last I heard you weren’t sure you were coming. What made you change your mind?”

Porco mutters something. Thomas’s eyes move from him to you. He ponders for a moment, trying to decipher who might be behind the pale mask.

Then, finally, a knowing smile spreads on his face.

“Is that-?”

“Shut your mouth,” Porco snaps immediately. He sounds oddly nervous, something you pick up even over the music.

“-Porco’s reclusive maid friend?” Thomas finishes his question. You raise an eyebrow behind your mask. Reclusive?

“My name’s Dahlia,” you tell him, just a touch pointed. Thomas laughs. He runs a hand through his short blond hair, not minding the fact he’s getting gem dust on it.

“That’s the name. The master’s exclusive servant. Your quarrel with him was quite the topic of gossip sometime back.”

The well incident. Of course. Not the least because Levi made it half the manor’s business by making you carry out your punishment in public.

That annoying, petty little-

Your thoughts are interrupted by the memory of him sleeping soundly, his head resting on your lap.

Your face feels flushed. You really need to find a way to get this weird feeling under control.

“Tell me, what’s the master like behind closed doors?” Thomas asks. You sigh. You really don’t want to think about Levi right now. It makes you feel weird.

Despite that, you shrug.

“He’s pretty much as he is in the open. Blunt, rude and a major control freak.”

Thomas laughs, clearly amused.

“You really don’t mince your words.”

“Thomas, cut it. Don’t make her talk about the master on her evening off,” Porco says with a sullen edge to his voice. Thomas gives Porco’s masked face a small look and then grins.

“Sure, sure. Enjoy yourself, Dahlia. Porcelain Night only comes around once a year.”

With a wink, he returns to the dance floor, leaving you alone with Porco. Immediately, you turn to look at him.

“What have you been blabbering to him about me?” you ask and cross your arms.

“What do you mean?” Porco asks defensively.

“Reclusive maid friend? Really?” you ask him, unimpressed.

“That nickname wasn’t coined by me,” Porco defends himself. He sighs and plops a hand on your head.

“Relax, Dee. I know you feel tense and out of your element but let loose for a bit. Have fun.”

You glare at him, then realise he can’t see your face and resign.

Thomas returns a couple of minutes later with a drenched napkin.

“Want some lilyshine oil?” he asks you and Porco. Porco shrugs and gives him his arm. Thomas slaps the napkin on his bare skin.

“Just ten seconds,” Porco says. Thomas waits, and then withdraws the napkin. He turns to you.

“Want some?”

“I’ve never tried any,” you tell him.

“The master doesn’t like it?” Thomas asks. Levi’s face flashes in your head and you wince. You really don’t want to think about him right now.

On impulse, you pull the heavy sleeve of your cloak back and hold out your arm.

“Just a little,” you say. Thomas grins and puts the napkin on. The music shifts from sombre and kind of ceremonial to a jovial string quartet.

Thomas’s eyes lighten up. He takes a moment to listen to the music.

“I love this song. Remember that one time we were sneaking into the stables while listening to this-?”

Porco ignores him and hurries to take the napkin off your arm.

“She’s never had any before,” he reprimands Thomas. Thomas blinks and then gives an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, I forgot to count. It can’t have been longer than fifteen seconds though,” he says.

“Fifteen?!” you yelp. Already, you can feel the ground under your feet get a bit more queasy. You wobble and latch onto Porco’s arm.

“Shit,” you mutter under your breath. Yet despite the situation, you find a stray giggle bubbling in your throat as well.

Porco wraps his arm around your shoulder.

“Dee, you okay? You should sit down,” he urges. Thomas scratches his neck, apologetic, but when one of the gardener girls tugs on his arm to invite him to dance, he gives in and departs with an awkward wave of his hand.

“That airhead,” Porco grumbles. He looks around, trying to find you somewhere to sit, but the hall is crowded.

You’re in your own head. From descriptions of organics getting drunk, you expected something abrupt and energising, but instead once you get used to the sensation, it lulls into a gentle sway.

You feel like you’re at the lake balancing on the deck while a storm rages.

You look around with a neutral expression. Most androids are at the dance floor, dancing to the cheery tune, their cloaks dragging over the floor. Some are conversing on the side, patting their arms with lilyshine oils every now and then.

You see one couple head for the door. A stable maid has decided to make merry with one of the guardians. She’s giggling as she guides him out of the hall.

Sex. You know androids enjoy it but you never really saw the draw in it.

Not because you’re chaste or pure, but because you never met anyone you’d like to try it with.

You briefly think back to the time you injured your ankle and mistook Levi’s order to get on the bed so he can treat you as a command to spread your legs.

More than anything, it’s the fact you obliged out of sheer shock that makes you irritated. You should have kicked him. Maybe punched him, told him what a prick he is.

Or you should have grabbed his neck, your drunk circuits cut in. Pulled him on top of you, kissed him feverishly, arched your back so he can reach behind you to undo your dress-

You facepalm, so violently and suddenly Porco jolts. He looks at you.

“What is it?” he asks. You shake your head and grab Porco’s arm.

“Let’s dance.”

You navigate to the crowded dance floor. Some groups are dancing together, you see a row of maids turn in unison and stomp their heels on the floor with a loud clack.

Some people are dancing in couples. You see a pair of guardians in an intimate dance, clearly enjoying each other’s company. Porco looks at them and gives you a glance through his mask.

You wobble a bit where you stand but despite that you stubbornly grab Porco’s hand. You raise it to twirl under his arm and then place your hands on his arms.

“Make sure I don’t fall. I’m drunk,” you yell at him over the music. He nods wordlessly and places his firm hands on your waist.

It’s been a while since you’ve been on the dance floor, so you’ve forgotten how to do most popular dances, but you do remember hopclap.

You take a step to the right. Porco, understanding what you want to do, tightens his hold on your waist.

You hop, and he effortlessly supports your weight. He places you down. You take another step to the right just for Porco to do the same. You both turn around and when you face each other again, you clap your hands.

It’s a nice, simple dance.

You get into the groove of it quite fast and a couple of people around you see what you’re doing and join. Quickly, a circle forms in the middle of the dance floor.

Usually, hopclap is a rotating dance. Every time you move right, you move to a new person. As the circle forms, you prepare to move, but when you try to step to the right to face the person next to Porco, he stops you.

His hands clutch your waist, refusing to let you go.

“You’re here with me,” Porco leans in to tell you over the music. He sounds sullen. You frown. Why is he being possessive all of a sudden?

Despite that, you decide to humour him. He’s earned it. Thus, you move away from the ring to the side so you can dance with just him.

Your intoxication shows no signs of going away. As you reach the edge of the dance floor, you wobble right into Porco.

He easily catches you. Doesn’t as much as sway even though he’s drunk as well.

“You’re too damn sturdy,” you blurt the first thought that comes to mind.

“Sturdy?” Porco repeats.

“You never budge. You’re so calm, too. You’re like…” you trail off, trying to figure out the right term. “A rock. Solid rock,” you decide. You pat his sturdy chest and laugh.

Porco looks at you for a bit. He takes a deep breath and decides to seize his chance.

“Dee-”

“Ugh. I’ve had it with these robes,” you cut him off without even registering he was trying to speak. The satin is heavy and hinders your movements, and you’ve almost stumbled down by stepping on the hem more than once.

“I’m going to go change to something more comfortable. I’ll be right back,” you tell Porco and pat his shoulder.

Porco stays quiet for a bit.

“Alright,” he finally says, but he sounds a bit irritated. You ignore it and turn to walk out of the barracks. You dodge the people making out in the hallway and get to the door.

As you come outside and close the door, the music from inside dulls down.

You walk towards the manor, the rowdy sounds gradually becoming inaudible. The manor is quiet and lonely and the sight feels odd in contrast to the chaos you emerged from.

You pause in the yard and look up. The moon is so large it takes up most of the sky. If you squint, you can see the large craters on its surface, filled with ice.

Most of the planet is celebrating. To you, the moon always looked a bit ghoulish. You used to imagine what it would feel like to be stranded on its surface, forced to look down at the lively planet it’s orbiting as an eternal observer.

You sway.

“Shit. Still drunk,” you mutter under your breath. Then, you walk inside. The manor is quiet. As you climb the stairs up, you keep an ear out. When you pass the third floor, you can faintly hear Mister Magath’s rather grotesque snoring.

As you arrive to the top floor, you celebrate the smooth ascent in your head. Prematurely, as it turns out.

You lose your balance and collide with the wall, the loud thunk feeling like the equivalent of a bomb going off in the quiet manor.

You pause and wince. The door to the study opens on cue, and you see Levi standing in the doorway with a deeply irritated expression.

“Take the mask off,” he orders you first. You grab the clay and pull it off, revealing your hazy face.

Levi pauses and looks at you. He notices the way you sway.

“What are you doing, Dahlia?” he asks with a frown. He’s still in his daywear and in his hands, he’s holding a book. You glance at the cover.

Another one of Mister Ackerman’s later stories.

“I was coming to get a change of clothes, sir,” you reply.

“You’re going back?” he asks, raising his eyebrows.

“Porco’s waiting,” you explain and rub your forehead. “Sorry for the disturbance, sir.”

Levi sees the way you stumble as you reach for your door.

“Did that guardian get you drunk?” he asks and crosses his arms.

“No,” you deny. “I decided to do that by myself.” Well, not exactly. One of Porco’s guardian friends accidentally gave you too much. But you don’t need to tell Levi that.

“You like drinking?” he presses, his frown deepening.

“Never tried. Until now.”

“Why did you decide to start now?”

“Because of your stupid face,” you blurt out before you have a chance to catch yourself. You watch Levi’s face slowly turn from a frown to pure confusion.

“What?” he asks.

You don’t reply. Instead, you hurry to your room.

“I’m changing. Don’t you dare come here,” you tell him and slam the door shut. Once inside, you lean against the door and whack your forehead a couple of times.

Why on this cursed planet did you say that? Not to mention the sheer disrespect in the way you addressed Levi just now.

You really need to make sure to never get drunk again. Your temper is out of control.

You change into your normal leisure dress and wait a few more minutes before exiting the room.

You freeze the moment you open the door back up. Levi’s still waiting for you. He’s crossed his arms, eyes sharp in the dim light.

You pause and hesitate. Then you curtsey.

“I was most rude just now, sir. I apologise,” you mutter, avoiding eye contact. Then, you hurry to walk past him. You can’t be around him right now.

Only, he’s not about to let you. He grabs your arm and turns you around.

“Halt,” he orders. His voice is low. You look at him, eyes wide and a bit startled. Please, not now.

“I already apologised for my rudeness, sir,” you attempt to deflect.

“I don’t give a fuck about your sharp tongue. What do you mean you got drunk because of me?”

“A slip of the tongue. I meant nothing by it,” you immediately deny. You can smell his cologne. He’s too close.

Fuck.

“I don’t believe you,” Levi replies. “You look unsettled by me bringing this up.”

You stay quiet and when the eye contact becomes unbearable, you drop your gaze.

“It’s nothing.”

“It’s something. Tell me.”

“Sir, I’m begging you to drop this.

“Denied. Tell me what’s going on, Dahlia.”

You close your eyes and take a deep breath.

“You’ve just… Been on my mind a lot lately, sir,” you finally mutter.

“Why?” he asks.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” you snap, irritated. You look up at him, glaring fiercely. Levi looks back. He seems a bit irritated by your hostility, but he’s remarkably calm.

As if he’s consciously refusing to get provoked.

You sway, nearly losing your footing. He grabs your waist.

“Careful,” he murmurs.

You have to fight the urge to put your hands on his shoulders and kiss him. Instead, you grab his hand and pull it off your waist.

“Sir, I have to go now,” you murmur.

“Do you hate me, Dahlia?” Levi asks, and the question catches you by surprise. You raise your gaze to meet his unreadable eyes.

“I don’t,” you finally whisper. “And that’s what troubles me. That’s why I’m trying to get you out of my head, sir.”

“What does that mea- Hey! Dahlia!” he calls after you, but you’ve already practically dashed to the stairway. You hurry down, your gem jolting like crazy in your chest.

Why did you say that? Are you crazy?

You hurry down and when you open the front door to leave, you collide with someone. You look up, just to see Porco. He’s pushed his mask out of the way on top of his head.

“Dee! There you are. You took so long I got worried,” Porco says with a frown. He looks at your unsettled expression.

“Is everything alright?” he asks. You close the door after yourself, leaving you and Porco in the quiet yard.

“I’m fine. I just… Saw the master,” you mutter. Porco immediately turns wary.

“Oh,” he curtly replies, clearly unhappy. You immediately feel the need to cover your tracks.

“Nothing happened. We just…” you trail off. What even was that? “-bickered for a bit,” you finally fill in.

“I see,” Porco sighs.

“That grumpy geezer, he’s so irritating. Ambushing me, interrogating me about why I’m drunk,” you start listing, using anger to mask up your confused feelings.

Only, that proves to be the wrong thing to do. Porco pushes you up against the wall.

“Stop talking about him,” he says, annoyed. You look at him, a bit taken aback. Porco’s clearly still intoxicated. He grabs your waist.

“It’s always master this, master that. You’re out with me tonight. Stop caring about him for one damned second,” Porco complains sullenly.

“What are you talking about?” You’re stumped. What’s with him?

“You’re supposed to keep your attention on me tonight.”

“Why?” you ask dumbly. He rolls his eyes.

“Because I asked you out for tonight,” Porco says.

“What do you mean?” You blink. Porco groans.

“You’re really that clueless, Dee?”

Then, before you can unleash your irritated retort, he pulls you in by your waist and kisses you. You freeze, eyes wide and mind struggling to grasp what’s happening.

You clumsily place your hands on Porco’s shoulders.

When he pulls back, his eyes are dark.

“That’s what I mean, Dee,” he says. Then, he takes your arm and gently but determinedly guides you away, back towards the barracks where the party is still ongoing, chaotic and rowdy.

Neither of you notices the lone figure in the window of Levi’s study, looking down at you with quiet intensity.

Chapter Text

“Your breakfast, sir.”

Levi seems to be deep in thought as you place the tray in front of him. You feel your circuits ache a bit with the movement as you lean down.

Every time you recall last night, you’re taken over by the urge to slam your hand on your face rather violently.

Why did you blurt out so many dumb things? Why did you kiss Porco?

The party is a sickening blur in your head, the few things you recall crystal clear are unfortunately both your chat with Levi in the stairway and the unexpected kiss you shared with Porco.

You have not seen Porco since last night. You partied deep into the night and when you returned to your room, you didn’t have time to think before your downtime hit you.

This morning, you woke up miserable and with sore circuits. Harmless or not, the feeling of erosion is never nice.

You turn your eyes back to Levi. He got bathed and dressed as usual and he’s now sitting in his chair, arms crossed and eyes trained ahead, obviously spaced out.

You wait for him to start eating, but he doesn’t. You wait a few seconds before speaking up.

“Sir? Are you not hungry?”

Levi blinks and seemingly returns to the present. He looks at you warily.

“Did I say that?” he barks, eyes unhappy as he grabs his utensils and starts eating. You sigh a bit.

“No, sir. But you weren’t touching your food.”

“Worry about yourself, Dahlia. Are you still drunk?” he asks, eyes running up and down your body. You look professional as always. A hangover wouldn’t be enough to make you slip up.

“No, sir. My downtime got rid of that,” you tell him. You recall last night again and feel your face flush.

“Where did you go after you left?”

“I went back to the party, sir. I was only returning to my room to get changed.”

“You weren’t back by the time I fell asleep.”

You hold your tongue from giving Levi a much-deserved verbal battering. Why is he demanding to know your every move?

“I was out quite late, sir.”

“With that guardian friend of yours?” Levi’s eyes gain a particularly sour sheen. He watches as you flinch, blush even deeper and then shake your head swiftly to shrug the memory.

“Yes,” you finally reply curtly. You don’t want to spend too much time dwelling on the memory of Porco’s lips against yours.

You haven’t even decided if you liked it or not.

Levi doesn’t continue the conversation. He focuses on eating, but when you pick up his plate after he’s done, he looks spaced out again.

You wait for him to order you to bring you his tea, but he merely gets up from his chair and saunters to his study.

“Sir, the tea-” you call after him.

“Did I ask, Dahlia?” Levi pointedly cuts you off without turning.

“...No.”

“Then logic would dictate I don’t want any. Get to cleaning,” he says and slams the door closed after himself. You look after him, thoroughly confused.

What’s with him?

Everyone around you is puzzling you lately.

Levi remains thoughtful yet oddly snappy throughout the day. His unusual behaviour occupies so much of your thoughts that when your afternoon break comes around and you exit the manor to go to the nearby meadow for a bit of daydreaming, you have happily forgotten the part of last night where you made out with your best friend.

That is, until you see Porco waiting for you outside.

He looks up as you exit, his eyes stern and unreadable. You pause to give him a good look.

He seems tense.

“Follow me,” he says and turns in his heels. He strides off, towards the meadow you were just on your way to. Porco really knows your favourite places well.

He walks to the middle with no hesitation, straight to the spot where the grass is a little worn out thanks to your fondness of lying there staring at either the clouds or the galaxies.

He sits down and waits for you to join him. You quietly get seated next to him.

You look at him apprehensively. The atmosphere is quite heavy. It’s obvious Porco wants to talk about last night.

You’ve never kissed before. Hell, you barely even hug.

“Porco…” you start after the silence drags on for too long.

“Dee,” he replies calmly, eyes glued to the horizon. He’s resting his elbows on his knees. His guardian uniform looks a bit too hot for the sunny weather.

“Last night, why did you kiss me?” you ask. Your gem jolts a bit in your chest, but somehow it’s different from when it happens with Levi. You don’t feel light-headed and high, but rather anxious.

“I just felt like it. We were out together, having fun, you kept blabbering about the master…” Porco explains with an awkward frown.

Indeed, it was a chaotic night.

“Did you dislike it?” Porco asks carefully. He glances at you, trying to gauge your mood. You don’t look hostile, just confused.

“Dislike is not the right word. More like… Didn’t know how to feel about it,” you admit and wrap your arms around your legs. You press you chin to your knees.

“It was sudden,” you continue after a moment of awkward silence. “But it’s alright. It was a drunken impulse.”

Porco turns to look at you. No, to him it was not. But when he meets your eyes, he sees a very particular sheen in your eyes and immediately realises you’re going to be stubborn about this.

He entertains the notion of arguing, but ultimately decides it’s better to value his own sanity.

“Whatever you say, Dee,” he finally sighs and leans back, lying down on the grass. You look at the slightly sullen expression on his way and decipher he’s unhappy, but you cling to the notion anyway.

You have enough on your mind as it. Re-evaluating your relationship with Porco is really not something you want to add to the mess.

-

Your eyes flutter open. You sit up. You look around at the dark and eerie meadow.

This again.

Only, this time when you look around, there’s no light. Where last time, the sky was falling down before your very eyes, there’s now nothing. So little light reaches your eyes you can hardly make out the empty horizon.

Around you, your mates have burned into scorched bodies. They lay down as underneath you the planet rumbles.

You look down, just to see another figure where you were lying just now.

The body is so badly burned you can’t make out the details. The supernova has destroyed everything that made you, you.

You know eternal slumber is nearly certain and it scares and frustrates you. Yet you cannot fathom which you dread more: nothingness or the fate of immortality.

For everything that made your world has now vanished, and you’d be orbiting a galaxy full of nothing as an eternal, quiet observer.

A fate worse than death to many.

You look down at your own body once more and then settle down. You hope you’re found one day.

As the suns are long gone, nothing warms you up anymore. Your body shuts down as freezing cold takes over.

As you lay there shivering, trying to make sense of it all, you suddenly have a realisation.

You’re an android.

You should not feel cold.

-

You’re clutching your throat as you sit up with a gasp, eyes wide and your system already whirring in full gear.

You look around the room. The ample moonlight from the recently giant Porcelain Night moon is making it easy to map out your surroundings.

Your bed, your wardrobe, the mirror, everything exactly where you recall them. Underneath you, the bed is soft but supportive, just like always.

You faintly recall the dream you had. Was that you, or were you someone else?

For whatever reason, it simultaneously felt like both.

You lower your hands and look at them. You’re an android, so things like shaking don’t apply to you, but you feel a tingling sensation at your fingertips.

Your circuits are receiving way too many messages from your life gem.

You’re just about to settle back down and initiate another downtime when a loud thud interrupts the thought.

You look up. It came from Levi’s bedroom.

You wait and listen for a moment, ears perked and body tense. A moment of silence passes and you conclude it must have been nothing serious.

You get as far as pulling the blanket over yourself when you hear a series of knocks. They’re faint but there’s a distinct rhythm to them.

Five rapid ones, four slow ones, ending with two obvious long drags of knuckles against the surface.

You only know the knock code because Mister Ackerman utilised it in one of his stories.

This is a code asking for immediate assistance.

You leap to your feet, any hesitation now replaced with worry. Levi has been quite off lately.

You pull on a thin robe to cover your mostly bare legs and quietly skulk through the corridor to the door of Levi’s bedroom.

You knock.

“Sir? Is everything alright?” you quietly call through the door, your gems jolting with apprehension.

There’s no response. You hold your breath for what feels like an eternity.

Then, there’s another loud thud. You hesitate, but eventually your worry overrides your consideration for Levi’s privacy. You crack the door open.

It’s dark. Levi has pulled the curtains tightly over the windows and all lamps have been extinguished. You look around with a frown and when your eyes get used to the dark, you realise Levi’s not in his bed.

You tiptoe inside and decide to check the bathroom. Maybe he’s taking a bath, for some cursed reason.

Only, as you grab the handle of the bathroom, there’s another loud thump right behind you. You turn to face the large wardrobe.

“...Sir? Are you in the wardrobe?” You frown.

“Quiet.” It’s undeniably Levi’s voice and it undeniably is coming from the wardrobe, but he sounds oddly cold and distant.

“Sir, come out of there,” you sigh. “A man of your age should not be playing hide and seek-”

The door is slammed open. You come face to face with Levi. He’s lit a gas lamp in the closet and placed it in the corner underneath his jackets.

He looks at you with oddly hollow eyes.

“They’re almost here. Get in,” he hisses and grabs your arm. He yanks you in the closet and closes the door. You land on your butt right next to the lamp.

He presses his ear to the door.

It’s very cramped inside the wardrobe. You’re nearly touching Levi and the clothes hung up there really don’t help it feel more spacious.

You look at Levi, flabbergasted. What on this forsaken planet is he doing?

“Sir-”

“Quiet, Dahlia. Unless you want them to get us.”

“Them? Who’s them?” you ask. Levi looks at you over his shoulder, his eyes still hollow and somehow distant.

“How did you even get here?” he asks you, disregarding your question.

“I walked here from my room. Sir, are you alright?” you ask. He’s making no sense. Why is he hiding out in the wardrobe like some madman?

Levi knocks the emergency code on the wood again. You look at him, gaping, then decide you want none of this.

Levi’s alive and unharmed. He can play here by himself.

“Alright, sir. I’m going back,” you say and get on your feet. You reach for the door, but Levi grabs your waist with both arms and pulls you back.

“No,” he hisses. “They’ll find you. Then they’ll…” Levi trails off. He takes a shuddering breath and buries his face in your shoulder. He inhales.

“You smell good,” he mutters. You’re beyond confused. Talk about changing the subject. Or being all over the place.

“Sir, let go of me.”

“No. I’m not letting them take you, Dahlia,” he replies and tightens his arms.

“Sir, you’re making no sense.”

“I just… Let me just…” Levi trails off. Then, you feel a weight on your back, so heavy your knees buckle and you find yourself stumbling down.

You pause.

“Sir, why are you on my back now?” you ask. Levi doesn’t reply. Instead, you hear his breathing steady and his body goes completely limp.

You hear the faintest snore against your ear and freeze. Slowly, an unimpressed scowl creeps on your face.

“Sir, don’t tell me this is that sleepwalking organics sometimes do,” you sigh deeply. Levi doesn’t reply, and his weight on top of you makes sure you can’t wiggle out from underneath him.

You try to push him off, but his limp body is far too heavy for you to lift.

When you realise you’re stuck for now until further notice, you slowly relax and accept your fate. It takes you a long time to wind down enough for your system to start closing off.

He’s heavy on top of you, so why is he making you feel so light?

-

The first thing Levi realises when he wakes up is that his back hurts. His irritated eyes blink open. Immediately, he can tell he’s not where he fell asleep.

He jolts and sits up. He looks around, but his view is obstructed by a thick layer of fabric. As he shoves what he recognises as his jacket hanging before him out of the way, his eyes land on a heavy mahogany wall.

He’s in his wardrobe. What on this forsaken planet is he doing here?

He wants to get to the bottom of this mystery, but a sudden faint buzz next to him makes his attention turn to the figure next to him.

He stares, beyond confused, as he sees his maid lying on the uncomfortable bottom of the wardrobe. The closet is hardly big enough for you both, and you’ve curled up in the furthest corner.

Levi sees the way your clothes are very wrinkly on your back and concludes he must have fallen asleep on you.

That still doesn’t explain what is going on.

He looks at your peaceful features. And in the quiet dimness of the closet where only a few rays of sunshine reach through the crack on the door, Levi allows his feelings to show on his face.

His eyes soften and a quiet look of pining takes over his handsome features.

He reaches his hand and brushes the back of his delicate fingers against your hair to caress it. Your hair is slightly coarse. It doesn’t grow or need to be maintained thanks to you being an android but despite that, it feels lifelike and comforting against Levi’s fingers.

Levi wishes you were more obviously not human. It would make it so much easier for him to not let his fondness of you cloud his judgment.

He leans down and presses a chaste kiss on your forehead. Then, he reaches behind your ear to boot you, preparing himself for a heated scolding. The woman he fancies is feisty like that.

The moment your eyes snap open, you gasp and sit up. You look around with wide eyes, your memories returning in an instantaneous crash.

Your eyes land on Levi. For a precious moment, you stare at each other. Neither of you has any clue how to start undoing this messy tangle of events.

“What happened?” Levi finally asks. “Why am I here?”

“That’s what I’d like to know, sir,” you answer pointedly. You wrap your cloak tighter around yourself, suddenly hyper aware of your scantily clad state.

Levi’s eyes flicker down almost imperceptibly, over your bare legs.

“How did you end up here?” Levi asks. You slowly start recapping last night. How you woke up in the middle of your downtime and heard sounds from Levi’s room. How you came to check on him just to find him acting like a madman in his wardrobe.

And finally, how he decided to use you as a mattress and sleep on top of you.

Levi looks taken aback, but you note he’s not exactly disturbed.

“Has this happened before, sir?” you ask.

“I quite routinely wake up in places I shouldn’t. The doctor says it’s…” Levi trails off, suddenly hesitant to let you in so deep.

You give him a puzzled look.

“It’s what, sir?” you ask after a moment of pressuring silence. Levi sighs, resigned. He probably owes you this much information after trapping you here for half the night.

“Trauma induced parasomnia. I act out when I was… Back there,” Levi murmurs.

You take in the information. Back there most likely refers to Levi’s time in the front lines.

You recall Levi last night.

He was terrified.

Your eyes soften a bit.

“Dahlia, I apolog-”

You get up before he can finish and open the wardrobe doors. You get on your feet and do your best to smooth out the wrinkles on your cloak, caused by your unconventional sleeping habitat.

“Get bathed, sir. Let me get dressed and get your breakfast,” you say, ignoring Levi’s attempted apology.

From the looks of things, he’s going through it. He doesn’t need to apologise for that. It’s you who invaded his room in the first place.

You exit the bedroom. You hurry to your room and change into decent clothing.

You spent the night with your master. Your gem is going nuts in your chest at the thought.

Sure, not in the most unsavoury way the phrase could be interpreted, but it’s still far more than a master should be doing with his android.

You pause to look at yourself in the mirror. You look abnormally shaken. Your wrist gems are shining brighter than usual, a tell-tale sign your system is being overburdened by your anxiety.

Are you truly doing this? Falling for your master. That foul, ill-tongued man who’s never happy with the result of your work.

Yet also a vulnerable man with deep scars who’s protected you on more than one occasion completely unprompted. Who despite his sassy mouth continuously displays worry for your well-being.

Right in front of you you have a man far more suitable for you, who you have far more in common with, who already made a move on you. Yet the memory of Porco becomes so incredibly dim and plain the moment you think of Levi.

You want him, you realise to your absolute horror. Just like Eren Yeager’s guardian, you’ve fallen for the man you’re serving.

The truth disturbs you, yet also you feel like a huge weight has been lifted off your shoulders. You finally have a name for this smothering feeling in your chest.

Chapter Text

“Magath.”

“Sir?” Mister Magath looks up from the pile of letters he’s handing over to Levi. It’s today’s mail. The letter on top of the pile is quite thick. The handwriting on the envelope alone tips Levi off about who it’s from.

Pixis, that old geezer, has the messiest handwriting Levi’s ever seen thanks to booze taking whatever stability he had left in his hands from his old age.

Deciding to ignore the letter for now. It’s far too early to ruin his day by reading it.

Levi instead focuses his attention on Mister Magath. As far as Levi knows, he’s served the manor most of his life.

“Have you ever been married?”

Mister Magath stares at Levi with an idle gape. What a conversation opener.

“No, sir.”

“Had a lover?” Levi presses on.

“Well, yes, sir, in my youth-”

“How did they woo you?”

“Excuse me?” Magath looks utterly lost.

“Tell me how they wooed you.”

“Why?”

“I… Need that information,” Levi presses on, cringing internally.

“Sir, with all due respect, I prefer women.”

“I wasn’t asking because I wished to court you,” Levi groans and rubs his forehead. He frowns to himself and finally grabs the pile of letters from Mister Magath and puts them on his desk.

“Then why are you asking, sir?”

“I’m just… Curious. How to do it. How would you approach someone? A woman, more specifically.”

Levi looks awkward. He’s clearly not enjoying this conversation. Mister Magath observes him for a while. Levi must be stumped if he resorts to this.

“Sir, it depends on what kind of woman you’re wishing to court,” Mister Magath explains. Levi thinks for a moment, mulling it over.

“She’s stubborn as all hell. Snappy. Sassy. Unafraid. Headstrong. Caring and moral. Strong. Diligent and smart,” Levi starts listing.

Magath raises his eyebrows. Levi could at least try to hide who he’s talking about.

“Miss Dahlia is not known to dabble with romance, sir,” Mister Magath says. Levi flinches like a whipped dog, clearly not having anticipated Mister Magath seeing right through him.

“My old man-”

“-never put his hands on his servants, sir. Never,” Mister Magath fills in resolutely. Mr Ackerman was a very upright employer. “They never had that sort of relationship.”

“She’s never been interested in romance?” Levi asks, opting to cut the bullshit. He wants answers, so maybe it’s a good thing Mister Magath is not beating around the bush.

“Not that I know, sir. After she was forged, she was always more interested in stargazing and your father’s stories than fooling around with flings.”

Levi looks frustrated. This is not helping.

“I was the same way. So now, I have no clue how to…” Levi groans. “Forget it. That’s an order,” he finally barks and grabs the second letter from the pile, ignoring the first one whose purpose he already figured out.

He’s not in the mood to listen to pleas to return to the hell that was front lines.

“Well, sir. I cannot help with her romantic past, but I do know a few things about her,” Mister Magath says quizzically, oddly amused by Levi’s sour mood. “Try taking her out for a bit. Miss Dahlia rarely gets to leave the estate and she’s known to be curious.”

“Curious…” Levi trails off, deep in thought. When you enter ten minutes later to serve him his lunch, he’s apparently already made up his mind.

“Dahlia, we’re going out,” he says.

“When?” you ask, stopped in your tracks holding the tray.

“Now.”

“Now? Sir, I just brought you lunch,” you point out. Levi frowns a bit.

“Fine. After lunch.”

“Very well. I’ll let the stablemen know they should prepare your carriage for after lunch,” Magath cuts in. He hold back a smile and walks to the door, disappearing into the corridor.

Still a bit confused, you place the tray in front of Levi and stand back with a curtsey.

Levi wolfs down his meal in record time and sits back, giving you an expectant look.

You take the wooden tray.

“Do you wish to depart immediately, sir?”

“Yes.”

“Alright. I’ll check up on the carriage,” you tell him.

Fifteen minutes later, you’re standing on the first floor, a cloak pulled over your shoulders, as you wait for Levi to come down. As he steps down, a fine jacket over his usual simple attire, you curtsey.

“Where are we going, sir?”

“Mirthport.”

“What for, sir?”

“They’ve been pestering me long enough with letters from the lines. It’s about time I reply to them.”

You tilt your head and look at him, puzzled.

“I don’t see a letter on you, sir,” you tell him. Levi freezes, taken aback by his obvious oversight.

“Right. Wait,” Levi grunts a reply. He strides to the ball room and out of sheer curiosity, you peer inside to see what he’s doing.

He walks to one of the cabinets lined by the edges, mostly there to give guests a place to put down their empty glasses. He opens a drawer and takes out a sheet of parchment paper.

He rummages around for a bit before he finds an envelope. He grabs a quill and ink bottle. He writes in the address before turning to the parchment.

Curious, you quietly skulk inside the ball room to spy on Levi. He’s been hounded with letters begging him to return for ages.

How will be respond now that he finally caved in?

Levi dips the quill in the ink. He scribbles two humongous letters on the parchment:

NO.

He blows on the ink to set it and then folds the letter, slipping it in the envelope. He hands the letter to you, not even mentioning the fact you’re behind him snooping.

“Go seal it shut,” he orders. You stare at him dumbly.

‘No’?

You do your best to hold back the laughter, but it’s nigh futile. Levi watches, raising an amused eyebrow.

“I have no clue what’s so funny, Dahlia. Get to work,” he retorts, but his voice lacks its customary sharpness.

Lately, his voice has been much softer.

You grab the letter and stride off, a small smile on your face.

You had no idea Levi was capable of having a sense of humour. When you first met him, as much as seeing him smile would have made your gem malfunction with shock.

-

The bustle of Mirthport never ceases to fascinate you. You’re not used to seeing so many people in one place.

However, the most fascinating thing is not that, it’s the fact that Levi for once is not telling you to hurry it up. Despite his assumed haste to mail the letter, he patiently stills and waits, allowing you to observe whatever strikes your fancy.

He watches, confused but not sour, as you ogle the vegetable market, the crystal shop and the gem workshop.

The letter sits ignored in his chest pocket.

His eyes wander a bit when you take your time with the hat salesman, taking in the busy ambience of the marketplace.

Mirthport has three districts: commercial for shops and marketplaces, industrial for forges and factories, and business for banks and government buildings.

Levi doubts you’ve ever had an extensive stop in the commercial district.

He sees you stop before a stall staffed by an old forager. She smiles patiently as you lean in to inspect the various berries on display. You always enjoyed picking berries even if you can’t consume them.

Mister Magath often puts the berries you picked on his morning panbread.

Levi observes as you seem particularly fascinated by lumenberries. They grow exclusively close to gem mines and they glow in the dark, hence giving them their name.

Some people believe they’re poisonous or somehow polluted by gem dust, but extensive testing has proven them safe time after time.

Levi leaps in, impulsively.

“I’ll take the whole batch,” he tells the forager lady. She claps her wrinkly hands together and hurries to take out a pouch big enough for them.

Taken aback, you turn to Levi.

“You like lumenberries?”

“They’re for you,” Levi grunts. You blink, a bit stunned.

“Sir, I’m an android. I don’t eat,” you point out, and Levi feels like walking to the nearest brick wall and smashing his head against it.

You see the way his expression turns embarrassed and leap in.

“But I love looking at them, they’re very pretty. I would love to ask Annie and Hitch to teach me to cook something with them. Maybe you’d like to eat whatever I cooked,” you hurry to reassure him with an eager nod.

You feel bad for him. Even if you can’t fathom why he’d like to give you a present like this. Lumenberries are quite pricey.

Levi sighs to himself, grateful for your attempt at cheering him up but still embarrassed.

“Alright,” he mutters and takes out his money purse. He pays for the berries and watches as you carefully pick a single berry out of the pouch and hide it in your hands, peeking through a tiny crack between your fingers to see if the berry glows.

Levi gives a small smile at the sight. Mister Magath hit the nail on the head. You’re curious. Levi can maybe use that to his advantage.

When a shadow overtakes the marketplace for a moment and Levi looks up just to see a skysailer glide over their heads, he suddenly gets an idea.

He walks to you and grasps your arm.

“Follow me,” he says with an awkward grunt and strides off. Puzzled, you fall into step behind him as he takes you back to the carriage and orders the driver to go to the very edge of the city where a collection of small hills are situated.

Levi walks you on top of one of the hills.

“I noticed these when I was arriving to Ridawn,” Levi explains as he sits down. He looks at the way you silently stand and gape at him. He impatiently pats the grass beside him.

“Sit here,” he orders. Still having no clue what this is about, you obey.

The day is so brilliant around you. The suns are shining, the wind is very mild and the nature is alive around you.

You wrap your arms around your legs and look up at the sky.

“I love sitting in the grass. It feels very nostalgic to me,” you say, partially to fill the silence but mostly because you want Levi to know that about you.

For no particular reason.

“How do android memories even work? You remember everything that ever happened to you?” Levi asks without looking at you. For all the years he spent slaughtering android soldiers, he never really paused to learn anything about them.

“My circuits go over my experiences at downtime and sort through them. Most important ones go to long term preservation, less important ones to short-term. Insignificant ones get flushed out to make more room for new memories,” you explain.

“So it’s like human memories,” Levi summarises.

“More or less.” You shrug. Levi glances at you, now a tiny bit curious himself.

“How does it feel? Being synthetic?” Levi asks.

“Normal. I’ve never experienced anything else. How does it feel having gross-looking organs wiggling inside your body?” you shoot back and give him a small bratty smile.

Levi cracks a small grin.

“Normal. I’ve never experienced anything else,” he returns the phrase.

“Why do you hate androids, sir?” you dare to ask, encouraged by the languid atmosphere.

“I think humans were wrong. For creating androids,” Levi divulges after a moment of contemplation. He’s not looking at you.

“Why, sir?”

“Androids were made to be free labour. They were created because of human selfishness. It was a mistake.” Levi’s eyes flash with the memory of androids in rags, doing backbreaking work in mines. Androids in war zones working as soldiers. It’s all devastatingly brutal.

You hum and think it through. You get it, at least on some level. But at the same time…

“I can’t agree with you. I happen to like existing,” you reply with a shrug. “And if androids were never made, I wouldn’t. But I guess I wouldn’t be able to mourn it, either.”

Levi turns to finally look at you. He hesitates.

“Dahlia, I didn’t mean to insinuate I think you should be dead-” Levi starts, but you cut him off with a snort.

“I would hope so, otherwise you’d have no one to make you your tea,” you point out. Levi’s eyes soften a bit. Yes. The tea is very nice.

He swallows nervously and then decides to just go for it.

“Dahlia, I-”

You cut him off with a gasp and leap to your feet. Eyes widened in wonder, you watch as a skysailer glides past you towards the harbour. It’s so close you’re half convinced you could throw a rock and hit it.

Levi stays quiet as you spectate, eyes sparkling and full of child-like wonder. He decides to hold his tongue for now. He doesn’t want to interrupt your magical moment with his clumsy confession.

He still has time. At least he hopes so. That clingy guardian has kept his hands off of you, at least seemingly. Levi hopes it stays that way.

“I wonder where it’s coming from,” you muse out loud. Levi straightens his back eagerly. He happens to know.

“It’s refugees,” he says. “From Milither. The dogs from Aspero System have started carrying out sieges there.” Their main goal is to seize the power of Cassus Oasis, a desolate planet that’s filled with life gems.

However, they have seized their chances when the resistance from Milither has grown lesser and lesser and started testing the waters with Milither, the main hub of operations in the star system.

Militherians have begun to abandon ship and flee to Ridawn. As Milither’s ally, Ridawn has decided to accept them.

You nod with a thoughtful expression, quietly watching as the ship quietly slides to the harbour. You wonder how many people inside are terrified and traumatised.

You’ve never been to war, but the picture painted by books you’ve read is very grim.

You look at Levi carefully. He was there. He lived through that hell. You want to ask so bad, but you also vividly remember how he’s reacted previously when this topic has been brought up.

You briefly think of Zeke and wrinkle your nose.

What a busybody.

Just as quickly as the thought enters your mind, it escapes and you return to your curious and giddy state, turning your attention back to the skysailer.

You admire the way the gems sown into the sails glow as they carry the weight. You wonder all the places it’s been and feel a pang of jealousy.

Levi watches your expressions change on the fly and before he’s paused to think, he’s spoken up.

“Why?” he blurts out, then quietly curses himself. He’s getting into the habit of speaking before thinking. It’s no good.

“Why what, sir?” you ask, your gaze still on the vessel.

Just as you’re about to look at Levi properly, another skysailer glides past, this one departing from Ridawn.

The grass rustles underneath you as you run down the hill just a few steps, to see the skysailer closer.

You watch as it glides overhead. You watch it pass you by, on its way to lands you’ll never know, indifferent to your existence.

It’s both a wonderful and a lonely feeling.

You eventually turn back to Levi and tilt your head.

“Why what, sir?”

But unfortunately, Levi’s had the time to re-think his words and he merely shakes his head. He’s not going to potentially ruin the mood by asking why you’re the liveliest person he’s ever met despite being an android and thus technically not even alive.

“I forgot,” he lies. He doesn’t forget things.

He watches as you turn your attention back to the horizon, anticipating another skysailer to glide by. Feeling so small you feel invisible is both comforting and very unsettling.

Levi lets you enjoy your time and only when the suns start moving beneath the horizon do you recall why you’re even in Mirthport to begin with.

“Sir, your letter!” you gasp.

“It’s alright. We can simply drop it in a mailbox,” Levi calmly replies. The way your eyes sparkle is so much more important than some musty letter.

When you finally return to the city, it’s dark. The street lights have turned on and the streets have emptied of families and salespeople, leaving behind just the odd stray drunkard heading for ale and some forgery workers on their way to a long night of shovelling coal into hungry engines.

The carriage pulls to a halt at the end of the road leading to the post office. The square the office is situated on is completely empty. The quiet is a bit unnerving and even the few apartment buildings in sight are mostly dark.

Levi gets out of the carriage to walk to the mailbox. You step out just to get some fresh air. You watch him walk across the square and take the opportunity to stretch your legs a bit.

You walk a bit further away from the carriage, just to observe one of the street lights. It’s metal, a light gem shining inside.

The Postman Square is usually very lively, full of affluent people doing their daily business of sending letters to other affluent people. Seeing it empty like this is almost haunting.

A cold gust of wind hits you but you hardly feel it. Androids have very good tolerance for heat and cold, your skin doesn’t register differences in temperature as well as organics do.

Today was a lovely day. You glance at Levi’s now quite distant back and feel your gem jolt. Levi brought you here and if you were delusional, you’d think it was just to take you out.

A noise, coming from an alleyway nearby, cuts your idle thoughts. You hear sounds of struggle. Some thuds, running steps, muffled cries.

Both curious and apprehensive, you start going towards the noise when suddenly, you hear loud footsteps charging towards you.

Multiple things happen simultaneously.

An android, eyes wide in horror, scrambles out of the alleyway. His gems are fractured on both wrists and he’s staggering noticeably. His clothes are ragged and dirty. He looks to be one of the androids who live in the streets with no employment.

Another man runs out after him, a knife in his hand, his eyes pinned to the escaping figure.

They’re hardly twenty metres from you.

Startled by the knife, you turn to run away, but before you can, your shoulder is roughly grabbed and you’re yanked back.

Levi shoves you behind himself with a firm hand. You look at his back. He’s panting. He clearly sensed trouble and ran across the large square to get to you.

The man with the knife tackles the running android to the ground and without an ounce of mercy, stabs his knife into the android’s chest. He rips, opening the man’s shirt, and then digs his knife in his skin, ignoring the anguished screech from the android.

The android raises his hands, trying to push the man off, but he’s too drunk and weak from the existing gem fractures.

The assailant ruthlessly digs out the man’s life gem. You watch, eyes wide, as the orange gem, no larger than his palm, pulsates a few times and then dims out.

The android goes limp and lifeless.

Levi turns. He grabs your arm and starts dragging you away.

“Sir-”

“Be quiet, Dahlia. He hasn’t noticed us yet,” Levi says with a quiet voice. He escorts you out of the square to the awaiting carriage.

He pushes you inside, steps in after you and locks the door.

Without wasting a moment, he knocks on the wall. The driver guides the carriage to motion.

You’re in shock. You haven’t even wrapped your head around what happened. Your reflexes feel agonisingly slow.

You look at Levi with wide eyes.

“Sir, what happened-”

“That was a gem scavenger,” Levi tells you tensely, his eyes glued outside. He sees a few city guards rush past the carriage, on their way to the Postman Square. Someone must have alerted them already.

Levi rips his gaze off the brooding city you’re hastily passing through and looks at you. He looks dead serious.

“Gem scavenger?” you repeat.

“People who scavenge life gems and deal them on the black market. I saw a bunch of them in Cassius Oasis. Many raiders came to the planet just to pick out the damaged life gems from the androids we killed.” Levi looks haunted by the memory and when he looks at you, his eyes flash with something completely unforeseen.

He looks scared. Not for himself, but for you.

“That man was alive,” you say, your voice now quiet.

“Unfortunately, sometimes that doesn’t matter to the scavengers,” Levi admits.

“Why do they want damaged life gems?”

“Even when damaged, they’re valuable. They can be patched up and hooked up to black market androids. They won’t function the same as properly forged ones, but you can still get some use out of them. Simple chores, undemanding assignments and sex,” Levi explains. He looks at you again with that scared expression.

Truth is, he could maybe have saved the man. He’s a trained soldier. He might have been able to intervene and unarm the scavenger.

But he chose not to.

Because the scavenger hadn’t noticed you yet, and Levi was desperate to keep it that way. Worse even, if he failed and was taken out, there would have been nobody left to keep the scavenger from taking you next.

The moment he realised what was going on, he was met with a vivid and blood-chilling image. Of you, on your back and lifeless on the street, your gem in a scavenger’s hand to be shipped off to be hooked up on some junk metal pleasure android.

Levi reaches his hand. He’s extremely clumsy as he takes yours.

You look at him. You’re still in shock. The memory is only now sinking in, of the homeless android running for his life, looking for help that wouldn’t arrive on time.

“I will never let anything happen to you,” Levi vows, and he sounds dead serious. His usual stoic snark is gone, and he looks so genuine you glitch immediately. “I don’t care what it costs, I will protect you,” he swears.

He watches quietly as your shocked expression gives way to a wide-eyed stare. He watches as your skin prickles up on goosebumps as the words sink in.

Your gem jolts so hard you suddenly feel a bit dizzy.

“Will you let me?” he asks.

You can only manage a nod as words escape you.

You’re so in love with this man it ceased to be funny ages ago.

Chapter Text

There’s a new pattern emerging.

You jolt as you snap awake, your eyes getting used to the dim light.

It’s gotten to the point where you no longer feel surprised when you see Levi.

You observe his face. He looks unsettled, as usual. He politely keeps his gaze above your neck to not look at your scantily clad form.

“Tea again, sir?” you ask him quietly. Levi looks a bit embarrassed.

“If you’d be so kind,” he murmurs.

You nod, cursing yourself a bit. You’re in love with this geezer, of course you’d leap at the chance of making him feel better with some tea.

He leaves the room to give you privacy to get dressed and walks back to his study.

He sits down on the couch where he’s lately fallen asleep unsettlingly often with his head on your lap. He takes a shaky breath.

To be honest, lately his nightmares have been worse than usual. The nightmares about the front lines he’s somehow grown to stomach if they’re not egregiously gory or unsettling.

But since the visit to Mirthport, a new nightmare has started appearing.

In the nightmare, he’s back on Cassius Oasis. He’s alone in the desert that seems endless. He finds his way to an opening of a mine.

He hears a sound inside and turns on his light gem, just to see you lying on your back, your life gem in the hands of one of his comrades. He always wakes up before he can scream.

Shrugging the memory, he takes a deep breath and instead eyes the book on the coffee table. Lately, you’ve been giving Levi night time tea and bedtime stories so often you already read through Spiralling Cosmos. Thus, you moved to another book.

This one is more action packed than the last. It’s the story of an inter-galactic vengeance. It’s quite whimsical, even for being from Mister Ackerman’s pen.

When you enter the study, carrying a cup of tea, you smile a bit at the way Levi glances at the tea, then the book, trying to hide his eagerness.

“Here you go, sir,” you say as you settle the tea down.

“You don’t have to-” Levi starts and then trails off. He still has no clue how to go about this. You’ve grown steadily closer the last few weeks, but he’s still ways off from wooing you.

Stubborn girl, you could just make the first move, Levi thinks to himself, but he knows he’s being ridiculous.

“I don’t have to what, sir?” you ask and cock your head to the side.

“Do that. Call me sir,” Levi mutters.

Your gem quietly pulsates in your chest.

“Oh?” you ask as you settle down next to Levi on the couch.

He takes the tea and sips on it, exhaling gently in obvious pleasure.

“It’s the dead of night and I’ve woken you up for the umpteenth time to make me tea. I don’t think you need to call me sir right now,” Levi grunts.

You want to kiss him so bad. Fuck.

You determinedly ignore the impulse and grab the book from the coffee table instead.

“Lie down,” you order him. Levi obeys, almost eagerly. He finishes the tea and settles down, his head placing on your lap.

“Did you iron your dress?” he asks. “It feels softer than usual.”

You did. In a love-crazed effort to make it more comfortable for him. But you’d rather die than admit to it, actually, so you merely shake your head.

Levi drops the subject and closes his eyes. You clear your throat and continue the story. The protagonist has set out to avenge her sister’s murder. The fiend is an affluent duke who assassinated the sister for pure financial gain.

The story is at a point where the main character gets romantically involved with a young man she meets at the bar who works as her informant, but the romance is short lived when he cheats on her with an android girl.

As soon as you read the scene where she catches him, Levi’s eyes snap open and he sits up. He grabs the book from you without a word, somehow feverish and a little startled.

He reads through the scene quietly. You know this book even if you only read it once. In the scene, she gives the man a sound slap and leaves, stealing his skysailer in the process.

You watch as Levi’s eyes scan over the words, turning more and more unsettled. Finally, he puts the book down. He closes his eyes and rubs his eyelids, sighing deeply.

“Sir?” you ask.

“I just told you not to call me that,” Levi mutters without opening his eyes.

“Fine. Mister Ackerman?”

Levi sighs again, clearly unhappy you’re not on first name basis yet, but he opens his eyes nonetheless.

“Sorry about that,” he says and hands you the book back.

“What was that?”

“Nothing,” Levi mutters dismissively and lies back down. You raise an eyebrow, clearly not believing him.

“...Alright,” you finally say, and Levi can practically feel you turn a bit more aloof. He gives in immediately.

“My old man put a lot of himself in that story as well,” he finally says cryptically and closes his eyes, relaxing against you. You smell so nice.

“But it doesn’t matter anymore. He’s gone, my mum’s gone,” he says.

“What do you- No,” you cut yourself off and move a hand to your mouth as you suddenly realise what he meant. “Mister Ackerman would never,” you insist.

Levi opens his eyes. He looks calm if a bit unimpressed.

“He would, and he did. Why do you think my mother left when she was so very pregnant?”

“He cheated on her?” you ask, shocked.

“With an android.”

You’re flabbergasted. It’s so at odds with the Mister Ackerman you knew.

“Is that why-” you cut yourself off. Quite rude of you to ask.

“Is that why I hate androids?” Levi accurately fills in for you. “It doesn’t help, but it’s not the only reason.”

“Right, along with the fact you think I shouldn’t have been born,” you retort, openly sassy. You still haven’t let that go.

“That’s not what I meant,” Levi sighs. “I have my qualms about how and why androids were made, but you…”

There’s suddenly a bit of tension between you.

“But me?” you repeat. Levi looks at you, eyes enigmatic and intense. He reaches his rough hand and gently cups your cheek.

“You are… Lovely,” Levi finishes. He clears his throat, embarrassed, and drops his hand. He averts his gaze with an awkward frown.

Language always escaped him. He’s quietly bitter and so incredibly jealous that his father knew how to get his feelings across.

He’d never have to resort to platitudes like “lovely”.

“I sure am,” you murmur back. “Agreeing to get up in the dead of night to make you tea and read you stories.” Despite your words, a small affectionate smile takes over your face.

You reach a slow hand and give Levi’s head a gentle stroke.

“Did you ever miss him? Ever think to visit and give him another chance to be a father?” you ask Levi. Levi looks a bit pained.

“No. I saw what his betrayal did to my mother. I doubt I’ll ever forgive him.”

“Did he apologise?”

“Did he?” Levi asks with a dark chuckle. Your hand keeps idly stroking his hair. “He sent so many letters all but grovelling. Got rid of the android mistress, too.”

“He fired her?”

“Fired her? Oh no, she wasn’t working for him. She was some showgirl from the city,” Levi scoffs. He goes quiet for a while before speaking up. “Didn’t fire her. Killed her.”

You gasp and cover your mouth, eyes wide.

“What?” you whisper, shocked. There’s no way Mister Ackerman did that. Mister Ackerman was sentimental, kind, gentle and patient. He would never-

“Threw her into a well and sealed the top,” Levi says. “Sent a long letter about it to my mother, too.”

You watch him with startled eyes. He murdered a woman for a crime he committed?

You quietly wonder how Mister Ackerman felt doing this. Was he distraught and panicking? Was he angry? Was it a calculated move?

You’d ask why Mister Ackerman evaded the law for cold-blooded murder, but you know android killings generally get swept under the rug unless there’s a human demanding justice.

Mister Ackerman most likely paid a hefty fine and was free to go.

You don’t know what to do with the new blemish on your former master’s memory. The knowledge of his past deeds is complete opposite of how you knew him.

And then, that thought gives way to something else. Something far more primal and suffocating.

You feel an intense fear of death. For the first time, it crosses your mind that you too may one day be forced to give up your life.

It never occurred to you that you might just break, or malfunction, one day, and unless there happens to be a forger nearby, you’ll just be gone.

And what awaits you then? The same void you came from, only this time you’re not coming back.

“Dahlia?”

You snap out of your morose thoughts and realise you spaced off. Your hand is paused on Levi’s hair mid-caress.

Levi’s looking at you warily.

“Are you alright?”

You give him a small smile and resume your gentle stroking. You don’t want to ruin this moment. Not when Levi’s so languid and beautiful on your lap.

“Sleep,” you tell him gently. Levi wants to argue. He wants to seize the chance and lean up to finally kiss you, but he’s fast asleep before he can.

-

Porco’s had it up to here with finding you in the master’s study with his head on your lap. It’s happened so many times he’s not even pointing it out anymore.

That doesn’t mean he doesn’t hate it with a passion, though.

He knocks on the door of your room come morning. He’s picked up the habit of coming to greet you at dawn before starting his duties.

Mostly to see if you’ve changed your mind about the kiss you shared with him during Porcelain Night.

There’s no reply. Porco lets out a long-suffering sigh and walks to the study. He knocks, just to hear Levi’s grumpy voice telling him to come in.

Porco cracks the door open. He sees you sitting on the couch, your circuits shut down.

Your head has rolled to the side and Levi, who recently woke up, has moved to sit next to you in order to let you rest your head against his shoulder.

In his hands, Levi has the book you were reading to him last night. He’s still in his night wear.

Levi looks up from his book, piercing eyes settling on Porco. His gaze turns a bit irate. He knows why Porco is here.

“May I help you?” Levi asks him.

“Why is she still in her downtime?” Porco asks, his worried eyes glued to your peacefully slumbering form.

“I always let her extend her downtime by a couple of hours if I have her serve me tea at night,” Levi says with a wave of his hand. “I do not need your services right now.”

Porco hates everything about this situation.

“Sir, with all due respect, her system cannot sustain-”

“I have consulted Hange Zoe through a letter and they have informed me there should be no harm done as long as I make sure her downtime remains the same hours wise,” Levi cuts him off firmly.

His hand subtly brushes over your arm in a possessive gesture that doesn’t escape Porco.

“Sir, it’s quite the inconvenience for Dee to constantly have to-”

“I have asked her if she dislikes our nightly teatime. She does not,” Levi dismisses him, his gaze hardening a little. Porco’s being audacious.

Levi crosses his arms and stares him down. Porco doesn’t back off.

He wants the same thing Levi does and he’s not going down without a fight.

“You are her employer, she couldn’t possibly tell you if she was-”

“Do you truly think Dahlia would go along with this for this long without snapping at least once?” Levi asks, and Porco’s deep silence tells him he’s bang on.

You are not the kind to take it lying down.

“She has not indicated she’s unhappy tending to my needs. This does not concern you,” Levi continues.

Porco looks a bit insecure. He glances at you, the way you so effortlessly fit where you are leaning on Levi, looking so peaceful and content with the situation.

“I do not need your services right now, guardian. Get back to your duties.”

“It’s a turn-off for her. Being possessive,” Porco blurts out, his temper getting the best of him. Levi cocks his chin up.

“And how do you know that?” he asks. Porco does not reply.

“And even if it was,” Levi continues, his eyes flashing with a merciless sheen, “then right back at you.”

Porco flinches like a slapped dog. His eyes gain a hurt look he immediately tries to hide furiously.

Levi watches mercilessly. He should maybe feel bad, but he doesn’t. Porco started it.

“I am not doing anything against Dahlia’s wishes. After all, cornering an intoxicated woman and kissing her is not my style,” Levi says. Porco’s eyes fly open.

“You- You saw?”

“Unfortunately,” Levi says with a sour expression. “Quite daring of you.”

“What’s it to you?” Porco asks. He looks sullen and tense, like a defiant child being scolded by his father.

“Nothing… Yet,” Levi says. You move a bit and twitch with a small moan, displaying your first signs of booting up. Levi’s eyes fill with quiet tenderness so out of character Porco wants to puke.

“Consider this a warning. Once she’s mine, I will not tolerate any grubby hands on the woman of my affections. The only reason you’re not fired is because she’s so damn attached to you.”

Porco opens his mouth, fully intent on losing his temper and telling Levi how arrogant he’s being, but before he can, your eyes open and he’s forced to silence.

You slowly blink, the sun making your eyes squint immediately.

“Sir, is it time for your lunch yet?” you ask with a sleepy murmur. Levi looks at you with patient eyes.

“Don’t worry about it, Dahlia. You’re not late yet,” he says. With a deep breath, you reluctantly peel yourself from Levi’s shoulder, so accustomed to waking up leaning on it that it no longer fazes you.

You look up, just to see Porco. He’s watching you with a deeply dissatisfied expression.

You slowly get on your feet.

“What, Porco? You look like your gaze could pierce a hole through my head,” you ask him. Behind you, Levi gives him an arrogant, almost juvenile look, fully aware Porco can’t speak his mind without stirring your ire.

“...Nothing. Just worried you’re damaging yourself with your changed downtime schedule,” Porco finally settles for muttering.

“I’ll be fine. The forger told me so,” you say. You pat Porco’s shoulder on your way out. You disappear into the corridor to put on your working clothes and head downstairs to pick up Levi’s lunch.

Porco considers reigniting the argument with Levi the moment they’re alone again but decides against it.

He’s not looking to get fired, and there’s no guarantee he won’t sock his master right in his arrogant mug.

-

It’s one of the rare mornings you wake up in your own bed. Lately, you’ve spent most nights with Levi helping him sleep and then winding down on the couch with him.

You get ready for the day and when you knock on Levi’s bedroom fifteen minutes later, you find the room empty.

The bed is done which tips you off that Levi didn’t even try to sleep there last night.

You pause for a moment to look around the room. It looks the exact same than it was when you were still serving Mister Ackerman, but it feels completely different. You think back to the information you learnt the other day and feel a small pang of hurt.

You feel personally deceived and let down by what Mister Ackerman did to his mistress. You doubt even Mister Magath knew, he started serving Levi around the same time you were forged. You unwittingly served and adored a murderer, for decades. To think his gentleness, his patience, his warm regard for his android servants, it was all a front to hide his guilt.

You shake your head firmly. Mister Ackerman is done, and Levi's nothing like him. His care is clumsy but so genuine your life gem feels like it's being squished with a warm blanket.

You walk to the library and when you peer inside, you find Levi on the couch. He’s fast asleep, one of his father’s books opened on his chest.

He’s in his night wear, one arm behind his head. You watch him quietly for a while, hesitant to wake him up.

He hasn’t been sleeping enough lately.

Finally, you quietly walk inside the room and grab a blanket from one of the shelves by the walls. Mister Ackerman was quite cold all the time towards the end of his life and blankets are scattered around the manor as a remnant of when he still lived.

You walk to Levi and as carefully as possible place the blanket over his sleeping body.

You look at him. He’s asleep but frowning, a stark contrast to how he looks when he sleeps in your presence. Regardless, he’s gorgeous.

You quietly wonder if it’s you who grants him his peaceful sleep, but immediately shake your head. Quite cocky of you to assume.

Your gaze softens a bit. On a whim, you reach to pick up a stray strand of hair on his forehead and move it aside.

“Sleep well,” you whisper with a small smile. You turn to leave, only you feel a groggy hand grasp your wrist before you can.

You turn. Levi’s eyes are open, blinking sleepily. He looks at you calmly, something quiet and intense brewing in his eyes.

“Sir?” you ask.

“I told you not to call me that,” Levi murmurs, the sleep still evident in his voice.

“Well, only at night. It’s morning.”

“Is it, now?”

“Should I get your tea?”

“In just a moment.”

With that, he pulls you in. He woke up this morning to a feeling of overwhelming calm. Why was he so hellbent on waiting for the ‘right time’?

It’s always the right time to kiss you.

Your eyes widen, your gem jolts in your chest, making your vision glitch. It feels like everything moves in slow motion.

Levi leans up to meet you halfway, hands slipping out from under the blanket to take your waist and cup your cheek.

He kisses you, and where it took you a while to get used to the sensation with Porco, you immediately melt into it now.

You kiss him back instantly, to Levi’s immense relief, and his lips immediately get more demanding.

An embarrassingly eager moan tears out of your throat, vibrating in your mouth against his lips as he unceremoniously yanks you down, encouraged by your reaction to him finally taking what he’s been aching to for ages.

You topple on his chest, hands instinctively placing on his shoulders as you tilt your head and kiss him with desperate fervour.

It’s everything you ever wanted. Your circuits feel like they’re crackling as your life gem starts sending so much data your body struggles to keep up. You feel so many sensations and feelings at once.

Excitement, happiness, the faintest hints of arousal, a bit of confusion because you didn’t dare think your attraction to Levi would ever lead to anything. A part of you was afraid it would, but that fear was swept aside the moment your mouths collided.

Your skin is sensitive. You feel your face get more heated as your blush function kicks in. His hands feel gentle but firm as he holds you still, as his own.

One of your hands leaves his shoulder and brushes into his hair.

Throughout the whole ordeal, you only speak once.

“Sir,” you whisper against his lips, trying to regain a fraction of sensibility, but Levi’s demanding lips hush you to no further protests.

Levi’s voice is a low murmur, his tone so intimate you feel a throb somewhere completely new.

“I told you not to call me that.”

Chapter Text

Too much.

Not enough.

Time goes by in a blur, yet it also feels like lifetimes go past as you close your eyes and cling to Levi, kissing him with the kind of fervour you used to only read about.

It’s all so new to you, the heat of another person next to yours, the slight humidity in Levi’s breath as it hits your lips, the tight grip of Levi’s hands as he holds onto your waist, keeping you on top of him.

Your hands clutch his shoulders in futile search of an anchor to bring you back to reality. Your mind is a stampede of conflicting thoughts and feelings.

Your gems jolt and you feel yourself glitching with pure nerves and excitement.

Your face feels flushed, like it’s pressed against a warm porcelain cup. Your breathing remains steady as you don’t actually need the oxygen, but your body otherwise is going completely haywire.

Levi groans against your lips. He sits up and flips your positions over. You find yourself underneath him, his tongue gently prying your mouth open to take your needless breath.

This is bad. Every second you spend locked in his arms, the harder it gets to think straight. You’re being whisked away like a fallen leaf in a torrent, with no will to stop.

Your body tingles all over. You want Levi. You want his hands on your exposed skin. You want his mouth to worship you like he’s wanted you for four lifetimes.

You want his cock inside you. Ravaging you until you’re shaken to your very core, irrevocably his.

Nothing else matters. Time, space, the scorn you know you’ll get from Porco when he finds out, the everyday life of the manor.

It all fades to the background as cosmic noise.

You’re falling in love. Exhilaratingly so. And it’s dangerous.

When you feel Levi’s hand teeter just a touch too close to your chest, you force yourself to open your eyes to take in the situation and act sensibly before you end up getting dicked down by him right here in the library.

You want to, but something in your mind tells you to stop now. To figure this out.

With a gasp, you push him off. He pulls back with a foreign fire in his eyes. His chest is heaving and his gaze is fixated on you.

You see it clear as day. He wants you.

A notion that both feeds your delusions with tantalising fantasies but also makes you nervous. You don’t know how to be in love.

Plus, whatever it is that holds you back, you need to sort it out before becoming involved with Levi. Otherwise, you’d be stringing him along without a full commitment.

You would never do that to him.

“What are you doing?” you finally ask and eye him carefully. You drop the sir, just as he told you to. It would feel weird to add it now.

“Well, I was kissing you just moments ago. Now, I am observing you trying to figure out if I misread things,” Levi replies calmly. “Was this against your will? In that case I apolog-.”

“No, that’s not the issue. I wasn’t unwilling.” You let out a small sigh.

“Then what is?”

“I…” you trail off, lost for words. How do you even begin to explain the mess that is your head? You want him, of course you do, but going further than this, really tying yourself to him, the thought scares you.

And you still haven’t figured out why.

“I will be frank,” you finally speak up, aching for that customary firmness in your voice but your nerves betray you.

“By all means,” Levi replies. He leans back against the opposite armrest on the couch and crosses his arms and legs, listening to you so attentively you feel bad.

“What are your intentions when it comes to me?” you carefully ask.

“I’m courting you,” Levi replies, with no hesitation, his expression completely deadpan.

“For what?”

“What else but a relationship?” Levi replies, now allowing himself to sound a bit impatient. He thought he was being quite to the point here.

You hold your head with a small sigh.

“You don’t want to?” Levi asks.

“It’s not that. I just have… Inhibitions,” you reply, exasperated.

“And what might those be?”

“Just… Give me some time to figure things out. This is all quite sudden.”

Levi looks unhappy. To him, this has been a slow simmer to a boil, an endeavour that’s lasted the better part of the year.

“Is it because of that guardian?”

“Huh?” You look up. You honestly forgot all about Porco. “What about him?”

“He’s quite fond of you.”

“What are you saying?” you sigh dismissively.

“He kissed you.”

At that, you freeze and give Levi a wide-eyed look, like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

“How’d you-”

“I saw. Unfortunately enough,” Levi grumbles. He gives you an inquisitive look.

“Is that why?”

“No. I’m not into Porco,” you admit. “We were being drunk and foolish.”

“He sure didn’t look like it.”

“Are you jealous of him?” you slowly ask, observing the deep curve of Levi’s eyebrows as he frowns.

“Evidently.”

“Why?” you ask, your mouth gaping dumbly.

Levi sighs and reaches for you. He takes your hand and pulls it to his lips.

“Well, he did get his grubby hands on something I’m furiously trying to claim for myself,” he admits, blue-grey eyes shining at you as he kisses your hand.

Your eyes widen. Your face heats up and you jolt, pulling your hand back like Levi’s lips are burning you.

“Give me time,” you manage to utter. Levi looks at you for a moment.

“Be my guest,” he finally replies, but he seems anything but ecstatic. He doesn’t like that you’re slithering out of his grasp again. He’s afraid he’ll never catch you again if you slip away now.

But he also knows you’re someone who cannot be pressured in any way, shape or form. And ultimately, he doesn’t even want to.

“Thanks,” you murmur, having the decency to look a bit sheepish. Your indecisiveness is frustrating even yourself. It’s quite unbecoming, not to mention unfair to Levi.

But regardless, you feel like you need it. Your head’s a jumbled mess of conflicting thoughts.

“In that case, I will take the liberty of moving onto another subject,” Levi says, seamlessly pushing his advances to the back burner. So sickeningly considerate, even if his eyes flicker down to your lips more than once.

Much like Porco, Levi has realised that you can’t be controlled.

“What is it?” you ask as you slowly remember you have a whole day ahead of you. Time works in funky ways when you’re with Levi.

“Did my old man host a lot of parties here?” Levi asks.

“Every now and then, before he got too ill to mingle with others,” you reply with a shrug. “Why?”

“I want to host a ball.”

He might as well have said he’s planning to go attend a carnival.

“A ball? What for?” you ask, clearly bamboozled.

“More and more refugees from the Locuples System are arriving in Ridawn. They struggle with funding to give them food and shelter,” Levi explains. You nod. You know Levi donates a considerable amount each month.

Maybe he feels responsible, even if his part in the war was mostly defending the system people are now fleeing from.

“Would this ball be for fundraising?” you ask. Levi nods. He stands up and walks out of the library. He returns a moment later with a pile of papers you’ve seen lying around on his study a couple of times.

“Here. I’m planning a charity ball on the premises. The only problem is, I’ve never hosted a gathering of any kind.”

“So you were hoping I could help you because I assisted Mr Ackerman with his parties before,” you follow the trail of logic.

“Yes.”

“Very well. You might also want to ask Mister Magath. He took care of most practical things like arranging food and drinks. I mostly helped with decorations and setting things up,” you reply. You look at Levi for a moment.

“Are you sure you wish to do this? It’s not the only way to help, you know.”

“I am. I think…” Levi trails off with a small awkward blush on his way. He clears his throat. “I think it’s good for me.”

“How so?”

“I’m not good with people. I struggle with getting along with people and upholding relationships with them. I want to be better.”

“Huh. Quite a sudden change of heart. When you first got here I thought you’re quite insistent on being a proper hermit.”

It’s for you, to be a man worthy of you, is what Levi wants to say, but as much as he’s taken strides forward in expressing his emotions, this is still too far.

Frankly, it’s too embarrassing to say. So he settles for a small glare.

“Get my tea, Dahlia.”

-

“You WHA-”

“Quiet down, you buffoon,” you mutter. You’re in Porco’s room. You dragged him here at midday break because there’s no way on this forsaken planet you’ll talk about this where there’s even the tiniest chance Levi might hear you.

Porco looks horrified. His eyes are wide and he’s openly gaping at you, scandalised.

“Why would you kiss the master?” Porco asks, at a loss. He knew Levi was interested in you but he didn’t think you’d reciprocate.

“Technically, he kissed me,” you feel compelled to correct.

“But you liked it.”

“I did.”

“...more than you did when I kissed you?” Porco asks. You raise your head to look at him, a bit taken aback.

“That was just drunken slobbering,” you tell him. Porco feels genuinely hurt. He wants to argue but he knows that if he interjects now by confessing his feelings, your thoughts will get even more jumbled up. Porco’s not the kind to play mind games like that.

“Whatever you say, Dee,” Porco sighs with a condescending edge. “So, what now?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” you admit. Your head hurts.

“Do you like him?” Porco asks and crosses his arms, swallowing down the pained hue from his voice. He knows you don’t have anyone else to talk to unless you want to attract the nosy pair of androids from the kitchen.

Annie might let it slide but Hitch would make it her personal mission to snoop out all there is to know about it.

“I…” you trail off. “I think so.” You wince.

“I thought you hated him,” Porco says, daring to sound a bit annoyed at your wishy washy attitude.

“You saw him lounging with his head on my lap and concluded I hate him?” you quip back, not one to take the sass lying down.

“Right,” he mutters with a sour look on his face. “Well, as your dear friend,” he says, emphasising the last two words, “I’d advise you to think this through carefully. Do you really wish to be sweethearts with that grump?”

“He’s not as bad as he seems. He’s surprisingly gentle. Protective as well.”

“How touching. Well, as long as you know what you’re getting yourself into. Organics have a very different approach to relationships. Their time is limited, so they only do it where it counts. Or so I’ve been told,” Porco shrugs.

Limited time. The thought makes you still.

“When will we die, Porco?” you suddenly ask him and you sound a bit anxious. All that lives must die one day. That has to include you.

Because you’re alive.

Right?

“When we break irrevocably and no one can fix us,” Porco shrugs, not worried at all. It’s not his problem.

You sigh. Well, you’ll get more time than organics do regardless. The silver lining of being made of gems and synthetic fibre. You should be happy about that and stop worrying. But still.

“It feels odd, that we’re essentially immortal until something breaks us to the point of no return,” you muse.

“Well, that’s the case for everything. It’s not the age that gets organics, it’s getting a disease they’re too old and weak to fight.”

You suddenly remember the last moments of Mr Ackerman’s life. Indeed, that was the case.

A heaviness settles in your heart.

-

“Dahlia, open the window, please.”

Such weak and wrinkly hands, yet so warm when they take yours as you return from the window to the bed. You look into the peaceful blue eyes that used to be your whole world.

“Don’t cry,” he says and gently wipes one of your tears away. You didn’t even realise they were there.

“Sir, I-” You get choked up. Your eyes soften as you hold onto his hands tightly.

“I told you not to call me that,” he scolds gently.

It’s an endearing little inside joke. God, how long has it been since it started?

“I will never love anyone like I love you,” you promise, a futile declaration of loyalty and devotion. It won’t change anything.

Levi scoffs a bit.

“Nonsense. You’ll go on to live for another few centuries at least. Enjoy them to the fullest. Love. See things. Have all the fun you can,” he lovingly lectures you. You shake your head and hug his hand to your face, nuzzling it.

“No,” you whisper, that stubbornness that has followed you since your first booting still there in full force. Levi knows that stubbornness so well, and he’s learnt to love it from the pits of his being.

He wants to apologise for not being able to do all the things you ever dreamt of with you. His illness came quite suddenly and turned your life upside down.

But he knows it would merely insult you.

“From stars I came and to the stars I return,” Levi murmurs. He pulls you closer and kisses your forehead. “You were my everything, Dahlia.”

You close your eyes, and you thank the organics for giving you the ability to cry. If you couldn’t put these crushing feelings anywhere, you’d crumble under them like a thin layer of marble .

You watch Levi pass and for a brief moment, as you prepare for an unsettling amount of time full of solitude and heartbreak, you regret ever meeting him. Ever falling for him.

The universe only gave you a fraction of time with your soulmate. A crumb you should be grateful for, but that you now hate. All you ever wanted is gone and what remains is the maddening and lonely hum of the universe.

-

When you boot up with a jolt, you sit up for a precious moment. The memories of your dream hit you, and you immediately collapse back on the bed and curl up.

This is it. That thing that’s been gnawing in the back of your mind unidentified since your feelings for Levi materialised. The feeling that’s been slowly asphyxiating you, only you’ve been unable to understand why.

Now you know. It’s fear.

Levi will die. Far, far sooner than you do. And the pain of watching him age while you remain forever young, then eventually burying him, it scares you.

But alongside the fear of the pain of being alone, it’s the fear of his demise. The ground is a cold place to rest.

Your gem feels like it’s being squeezed until it will eventually stop moving. The thought of seeing Levi, meeting his eyes while so scared and so desperately in love makes you want to give in and never leave your bed again.

The suns come out eventually, but you’re not ready to.

-

Levi’s day starts like any other. He gets out of his bed and gets dressed. He sits down by his table to await your arrival.

His face remains stoic and unreadable, only a small flicker of annoyance crosses his features as you don’t show up on time. The first five minutes, he’s irritated, then he turns a bit worried.

He rises from his seat and strides to the door. He knocks on your door.

“Dahlia,” he calls in, voice stern but also concerned. When there’s no reply, he frowns, his hand reaching for the handle.

He opens the door just to see you still in bed, curled up but clearly awake.

“Dahlia, what’s the matter?” he asks. In your bed, you tense up. You’re late because you didn’t know how to face him.

You still don’t, so his presence bothers you.

“I… I don’t feel too well,” you murmur. Levi’s frown melts into pure worry. He sits down on the edge of the bed.

“Should I call for a forger? Are your gems alright?” he asks gently and reaches under the covers to pull out your hand so he can check your gems.

Your life gem jolts. His touch feels so good. It’s all you ever wanted, yet you also feel even more anxious now that he’s here.

“It’s alright,” you murmur. “I’m sure I’ll be alright. Just… Give me some time to rest,” you request quietly.

His hand moves to gently envelope yours. He looks at you, long and hard.

“Rest as much as you need. But if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to tell me,” Levi replies. You nod. His other hand cups your cheek.

“Your skin is hot,” he remarks.

“It’s because I’m blushing,” you reply quietly, anxious yet completely enamoured eyes looking at him as you relax under the covers.

“Why?”

“Because the man of my dreams is here,” you chuckle. You see Levi’s eyes light up with hope and he opens his mouth to say something, but you move to place your finger on his lips.

“I haven’t made up my mind yet,” you confess. “I don’t want to give you false hope.”

Levi’s obvious mirth dies down and he looks confused and a bit wary.

“Have I done something to make you hesitant?” he asks. You shake your head.

“No. This is all about me. I need to come to grips with things.”

“What things?” Levi asks. You try to evaluate your feelings and assess whether letting him know would do more harm than good.

Eventually, you decide to go for it. Test the waters a bit.

“You will die,” you murmur. “Sooner than me.”

Levi’s eyebrows quirk up at first, clearly taken aback by your words. He turns a bit thoughtful as he mulls over your word.

“Yes. I suppose I will. Though I’ve seen one too many slaughtered androids to claim that’s for certain,” he says, and a small hue of pain finds its way into his slate coloured eyes. His jaw tightens.

“Not that I would ever let that happen to you. Even if you turn me down,” he adds with steely resolve.

You smile a bit and bring his hand to your lips. You press a small kiss on his roughened hands.

“Mortality is something I struggle with,” you explain. “And the thought of losing you scares me. I’m not sure I want to live knowing I’ll lose you. So if I call it quits now…”

“You’ll hurt, but not as much,” Levi fills in. “I get it.” He doesn’t look happy, but his eyes tell you no lies. He’s seen the mortality of man up close.

So much so he no longer fears it, but were he in your shoes, he might feel hesitant as well.

You pull him in. Your lips seek his for a small kiss, as if to make sure the flame that threatened to consume you whole in the library when you first kissed him is still there.

It ignites immediately, so strong you need to all but rip yourself away from Levi’s lips.

“This feels right,” you whisper. “But the fear is still there. I know I’m asking for a lot but please give me a bit more time,” you murmur.

Levi nods. He stands up from your bed.

“Take some time off, Dahlia. Let me know when you feel better,” he says and exits.

Somehow, his patience and understanding makes you feel worse. It almost feels like the universe is rubbing it in your face what a good man you’re potentially letting off your hook.

Yet the knowledge of the cold ground waiting to embrace Levi in its moist dirt makes you feel dizzy.

A perfect man, but one that will die and depart to a place you cannot follow. It’s a steep price.

You hate yourself for hesitating, but fear does curious things to one’s mind.

Chapter Text

“Alright. I have gathered you all here for a pre-party briefing,” Levi says. He’s summoned every android in the house and lined them up in the yard.

You’re standing next to Levi, excused from lining up. After that horrific nightmare, you stayed bed-bound for a day, but no longer. Then, you got yourself back together and returned to Levi’s side.

To the others, you must look like an accomplice or a right hand. Porco gives you a suspicious squint from where he’s standing.

The androids are fidgeting nervously. They’re unaccustomed to roll calls like this.

“The party will take place in two weeks’ time. Nearly 200 people will be in attendance,” Levi says, drawing up his eyebrows.

“For the preparations, I will need field workers to clear out the front yard for catering. Stable workers need to fence off some pastures to make room for our guests’ horses and vehicles. Maids need to prepare food and drinks, house workers are in charge of decorations,” Levi lists.

You look at the way he’s holding a stack of papers, earnestly reading off of them. His other hand is hanging by his side, fidgeting with the subtlest of nerves every now and then.

You want to hold it so bad. Squeeze it and give him a knowing smile. He’s got this, you would say.

You hold yourself back. You were the one who asked for space. You can’t have your cake and eat it too.

“Guardians are to remain vigilant and ensure that the party goes in an orderly fashion. Two guardians will be stationed at the gates to check all who enter are invited,” Levi lists. “The third floor is completely off limits to everyone except myself, Mister Magath and my maid,” he adds, his eyes looking at you over the paper.

You give him a small, almost flirty curtsey and you could swear you see the corners of his mouth curl upwards into a small smile.

Being in love is fun, you think to yourself, but when you see the deep scowl on Porco’s face, the kind you would imagine to find on your father’s face should you have one, you quickly fix your eyes ahead.

He looks borderline outraged.

Levi finishes his briefing and then excuses the androids. You, he gestures to follow him back upstairs where he’s doing the final draft of his guest list. Mister Magath prepared him a dossier of all the wealthy individuals in the county.

You can feel Porco’s deeply disapproving eyes on your back as you follow Levi upstairs.

You turn to give him a small look over your shoulder. Isn’t he a ray of sunshine?

You look at Levi’s shoulders. They were tense just now but the moment he was done addressing this mass of androids he never wanted command over, they started relaxing again.

You climb up the wooden stairs to the third floor and follow Levi to his study. He gestures for you to sit across from him at his desk.

Since you asked for time, he’s been treating you as usual. You can still feel his ever-present desire for you whenever he looks at you, but for what it’s worth he never lets it seep into his words and actions.

Your eyes follow as he extends his hand to open the drawer and take out a stack of papers.

He goes through the dossiers, putting most of them on the pile on the left to send an invite. You watch him work. Outside, the birds are chirping. The androids have gone back to work, some cleaning the yard for the party, some resuming their normal duties.

It’s warm, the air is light and warm like a spring breeze. Levi looks so calm and purposeful when he’s working. That purpose not a year ago drove him forward on the battlefield.

Now, he’s like a retired fighting dog, still rough around the edges but happy and relaxed.

“Stop looking at me like that, Dahlia,” Levi calmly comments without looking up from his papers.

“Like what?” you ask. You didn’t even realise you were staring at him.

“Like you’re aching for a kiss,” Levi replies without a moment’s hesitation. You feel your face flush.

“I-I beg your pardon,” you reply, trying to sound sassy but if anything, you sound a bit flustered. You give him a small glare, but the way he calmly and quite sexily pulls up his eyebrow makes you crack a smile.

“Okay. Maybe I am a little bit,” you finally admit.

“Is that so?”

“That so.”

“In that case, why didn’t you just ask?”

You give Levi an unimpressed look.

“I just asked for more time. It would be quite shameless of me to whine for kisses while I haven’t even made up my mind yet.”

Levi hums.

“Very well then,” he shrugs and goes back to his papers. You release a slow exhale, wiping aside the small feeling of disappointment.

You should hold your horses and not gobble him down whole before making up your mind. Not only would it be unfair to him, you’re also afraid you’ll lose all reason if you give in now.

Levi resumes work. He shuffles through the pile of papers, just to stop at one dossier. His eyes move over the text. He frowns deeply.

“What is it?” you ask him and tilt your head.

“The Yeager kid,” Levi grunts. You blink.

“The younger one?”

“Both of them have expressed they’d like to attend.”

“Why would that douchebag blondie want to come to gather money for refugees he helped dispatch?” you ask him, thoroughly confused. It makes no sense.

“Hell if I know, but he’s pledged a large sum for the invite alone,” Levi mutters.

“Do you think he’s planning to attend just to be a menace to you?”

“I’m more worried he’ll disrupt the event,” Levi sighs.

“How much is he pledging?”

“A notable amount.”

“Can you only admit the younger Yeager kid?”

“I suppose, but it might raise eyebrows. They usually attend as a unit. I’m trying to figure out which is the lesser headache: shutting him out and suffering through the gossip or letting him attend and ordering a guardian to keep a close eye on him.”

“Would he have the nerve to make a fool of himself in public if he was invited?” you ask him. Levi shrugs.

“He seems like the sort to not care. Then again, the worst he can do is be a nuisance and get kicked out. If people see him misbehave first before he’s excluded, they’re less likely to take offence,” Levi muses out loud.

“Whatever you do, be careful. He seems like he’s determined to cause you as much grief as he can,” you mutter. Levi smiles a bit.

“No one told me it feels this nice to have a beautiful woman worry about you,” he quips calmly. You’re left momentarily stunned. You never thought he’d be this capable of flirting.

“Did you use to be a womaniser?” you ask him, now a bit suspicious. Levi snorts.

“Hardly.”

“No experience whatsoever?” you ask. Levi gives you a small look.

“...very limited experience,” he finally says. “I fooled around in my teens but didn’t we all?”

“Hard to say. I didn’t have any teens,” you hum. Levi blinks, as if just realising that.

“You were forged to be an adult. Does that mean you never went through any kind of development?”

“Aside from just learning about the world, yes.”

“Must have felt weird.”

“It was normal to me. Coming to be dumber and younger than I am would have felt weird to me. I like being an adult.”

“And I wish I could go back to being a child,” Levi confesses, his voice now softer. Then, he turns his attention back to the papers. He ponders.

“I will invite him. I’ll appoint a guardian to make sure he doesn’t do anything shady and the moment he does something unsavoury, he’ll be kicked out.”

“Are people like him who worked for the military in the Aspero System frowned upon here?”

“On paper, yes. But in practice, especially if you’re rich, people are just not going to care as much. The people here have not seen war aside from the refugees now flooding in. For me…” Levi trails off and sighs deeply.

He then shrugs his shoulders and falls quiet.

“You hate him?”

“I’ve seen what they do in the Locuples System,” Levi replies with a wry smile. “They treated the androids working in the mines of Cassius Oasis like dirt. I have no hope they’re any kinder to the synthetics on the other planets.”

“What was it like? Cassius Oasis?” you ask. The largest source of life gems in your cluster of solar systems, the very place the people waging war from the Aspero System are taking over. You’ve read of it but you know very little.

“Desolate. Noisy. Cold,” Levi lists. “There’s no vegetation or cities. Just mines so deep they almost reach the centre of the planet glowing with the light of the gems. Androids work day and night in the mines and every few months, a ship from Milither arrives to take out the gems. Depending on how many the androids dug up, they get things like spare parts, books or new clothes. The planet next to it is desolate as well. Metal rings have been constructed around it to harvest the magnetic energy of its poles constantly flipping. The planet is so close you can hear the screech from the rings, day and night as they follow the constantly flipping poles.”

You listen quietly as Levi explains. His eyes get more and more faraway with each word and you can almost see him get physically transported there to relive the emptiness.

“It sounds depressing,” you murmur.

“It was hell,” Levi replies, eyes turning hollow. He swallows, clearly unsettled by the vast sea of memories in his head, each ready to grab his leg and pull him under. And if they do, he’ll sink and sink, and even when he’ll finally resurface, he’ll still feel like he’s drowning.

You watch his eyes fill with indescribable pain.

You leap to your feet and hurry to Levi’s seat. You wrap both arms around his shoulders and hug him to your chest.

“Sorry,” you whisper with a soft and vulnerable voice. “I was being inconsiderate. I shouldn’t have asked.”

Levi flinches when he’s suddenly grasped but when he feels the steady heat of your body, the familiar scent of clouddaisy soap and the quiet almost imperceptible hum of your life gem he relaxes.

His arms wrap around you and he presses his face against your chest. He’s trembling.

You stroke his hair with loving hands, kissing his forehead as he takes a shuddering breath and slowly calms down.

It’s alright. He’s not there anymore. He’s here, where he’s felt he belongs more than anywhere before.

Levi wants to tell you he loves you, but it would feel too cruel. To both himself and you. So he holds his tongue and instead lets himself be lulled into serenity by your gentle touch.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking how it would affect you if I asked,” you apologise meekly. Levi shakes his head.

“I wanted to tell you. I feel… Better,” he admits. All this he’s held inside him for years. His past in Milither with his heartbroken and withering mother, his years in the army running away from his emptiness.

He’s needed to let it out. Even if it’s little by little.

“Can I cling to you for a moment longer?” Levi asks. You smile a bit.

“As long as you’d like.”

“You need to make up your mind soon. Before I get too used to this,” Levi murmurs. He sounds playful, but real fear lurks underneath.

Even now, he knows if you turn him down and he’s forced to return to the life where you’re his maid and nothing else, it will wound him deep down.

Love can turn sour like that. Then again, if it was easy, everyone would run into it blindly and recklessly every chance they get.

Well, no matter. Levi feels at home in both the light and the darkness.

-

It’s that sobbing again. Levi hears it instantly as he awakens, his legs instinctively folding to warm up his ice cold feet under the short blanket .

Levi feels something akin to annoyance at first, but he can never stay angry with his mother for too long. He listens to the inconsolable weep and his annoyance shifts to worry.

Levi hesitates for a moment, because the house is so cold this time of year, but he eventually gathers his resolve and inches out of the bed.

He looks around his small bedroom. Little desk and bed, nothing else. His house is likewise small, sitting on a hill at the edge of the town.

Levi always secretly detested his mother for not letting his father know where they liv e . At least he could give them money to eat well and have a warm house.

Pride is a treacherous mistress.

Levi paddles through the small corridor to his mother’s bedroom. The door is ajar, light pouring through the crack.

Outside, the universe is dark and vast, the light of the city not reaching them.

Levi’s only six years old, but he already understands the pain that comes from the heart. He’s seen it with his own eyes, every day.

Levi pushes the door open. His mother sits on her moth-eaten bed, clutching her blankets and sobbing into them. When she sees Levi in the doorway, her eyes momentarily fill with pain.

Because Levi’s a spitting image of his father.

But she reels it back and instead, sighs and does what a responsible mother does. She opens her arms and lets Levi crawl into them.

Levi settles solemnly on his mother’s lap and looks up.

“Thinking of dad again?” he asks, well-meaning but his words are undeniably blunt. His mother chuckles, quietly happy he didn’t inherit his father’s tongue that could weave an ornate web with just a few sentences.

It was that tongue that enthralled her to begin with. A young and naïve woman she was, and now she regrets the day she set her eyes on the gentle and enigmatic man at the Mirthport bookstore.

“Yes, sweetheart,” Levi’s mother replies gently and shifts her hand into his hair. “I was consumed by memories. Did I wake you up? I’m sorry,” she murmurs.

“It’s fine,” Levi replies matter-of-factly. He sits still on his mother’s lap and observes. He can’t offer much more than his presence, but he’s adamant to not let his mother suffer alone.

Even if he in his childish mind detests the loss of the wealth they could be having.

“Loving is hard, Levi,” his mother tells him with a soft voice. “It’s hard to give yourself to another person and trust them to care for you.”

“Dad didn’t, right? Take care of you.”

His mother’s hand pauses as it hovers right over his forehead. She looks pained.

“No,” she finally whispers. “No, he didn’t.”

Levi watches his mother succumb to another wave of grief. Six years, yet the wound still feels as fresh as the day she left.

Two thoughts cross Levi’s mind.

He hates his father.

And when he finds the one for him, he’ll take care of that person.

-

You hear a faint buzz as your system boots up. You open your eyes and sit up. You almost start doing your morning routine there and then, but the darkness outside stops you.

You’re supposed to boot up at sunrise.

You contemplate winding down again for some more time, but something outside catches your eye. You saunter to your small window and peer outside.

The suns have not risen yet, but their glow gives the yard before you a gentle gleam promising dawn. As your eyes traverse through the yard to the barracks and stables and finally beyond to the untouched meadows behind the stables, your eyes widen.

It’s mist.

You hurry to your dresser and pull on your coat. You put on some socks and then slip on your shoes. Your steps are hasty as you leave your room and hurry down.

Ridawn is a fairly dry planet. The earth is moist and rich with nutrients, ideal for cultivating crops, but the air is dry and sunny.

It rarely rains, the water organics use to drink and cultivate their food coming mostly from the vast springs that lurk in the soil, ready to nourish those ready to go through the effort of digging deep enough.

Thus, rain is a rare occurrence and mist you’ve only managed to witness a couple of times in your life.

And for whatever reason, you feel so very drawn to it.

The air is cold. You can see your breath as you pull your coat tighter around yourself. You didn’t even bother getting properly dressed in your excitement and you have to make sure to not get your nightgown dirty.

You hurry to the meadow. The mist has condensed into dew on the grass. The little light the suns emit bounce off it, making the droplets glimmer.

“Poor man’s gold,” you murmur to yourself and chuckle. That’s what Mister Ackerman always used to call it.

You trail your fingers through the damp vegetation. The grass reaches halfway up to your knees. The meadow is full of wildflowers of different kinds. Mister Ackerman always ordered his androids to leave this place alone.

Levi never bothered to break that order.

Your eyes turn to the horizon. The endless hum of the universe is pulling back, still there as a constant reminder but slowly being taken over by local light.

Daytime is so scarce on this planet you sometimes miss the suns already when you settle in your bed for downtime.

16 hours of nighttime, 8 hours of sunlight.

The first ray of sunlight cracks through, glimmering over the horizon. It hits the field with the promise of warmth, lighting up the mist and the poor man’s gold, making the whole field suddenly sparkle so bright you have to cover your eyes.

You see the light pierce through the mist. You can see the individual, tiny droplets of water as they whisk around in the air.

You gasp at the sight, eyes dazzling with nothing but lust for life.

Life is so heartbreakingly beautiful. So much so you never want it to end.

You feel a jolt in your chest. You frown and look down. You place a hand where your life gem is, pulsating in the vault forged around it.

The gem jolts again. You look to the horizon.

It’s so bright.

The brightness is blinding you.

The suns rise to repeat the endless cycle of days and nights.

The sun explodes before your very eyes. The ground shakes beneath you.

You clutch your hands together, looking at the beautiful sight, smiling in awe.

Your knuckles white, you hold onto the gem in your hands, determined to protect it with all your being. You refuse to leave like this.

The first ray of sunshine hits you. You bask in the feeling, eyes fluttering closed.

It’s hot. You can’t breathe. The dust and heat are suffocating you as the planet gives way under you and you plummet to where you’ll never resurface from again.

You fall to your knees with a gasp. Your eyes are flickering in and out as your gem goes nuts in your chest. You glitch, your circuits zapping you with conflicting sensations and feelings.

For the shortest moment, you recall everything. Who you are, where you came from and what your role is, but just as quick as it comes, it passes and you’re left panting on the field.

The mist coils around you with the rays of light. You instantly forget all the memories and sensations you accessed, the ones that seemed to not even belong to you.

You’re left with an unsettling sense of impending doom.

Chapter Text

It’s been so long.

So long that the hustle and bustle, the smell of mouthwatering food and the loud chatter in the ballroom all feels so out of place.

You watch as guests pour in through the main doors, looking around with barely veiled curiosity as they’re aching to see what Levi has done with the place.

It’s been years since most of them were here, when Mister Ackerman was still alive and able-bodied.

To their disappointment, Levi has left most things exactly as is. He didn’t even bother to buy new ornaments. Instead, you dug out and dusted the ornaments Mister Ackerman used to use and spent a couple of afternoons hanging them around all the rooms that are open to the guests.

It’s dim outside. In the manor, red light gems have been hoisted on the walls, leading guests to the ball room. The cigar lounges are also open for use, but most people have gone in the main hall.

The ball room is dimly lit with the same light gems. Next to them, ornaments in the shape of stars, planets and moons are hung up against the white satin you had a couple of guardians hang out from the ceiling to create ambience.

The ornaments are glittering in the gentle light. By the walls, long tables have been filled with food of all kinds. Roast coated in sticky sauce, fresh produce salads, steaming hot soups, hearty casseroles, it’s all food you know organics tend to like. The sweets table is full of cakes, cut fruit and chocolate coating to dip it in.

You know Hitch and Annie were hard at work, baking and cooking for days. Today, the warm foods were prepared with the aid of five other maids.

The guests are holding plates, filling them up with obvious contentment.

Levi spared no expenses with the drinks either. You see the bottles and cans of different drinks. Spritzy, lightly bubbling fruit soda, pressed and carbonated right here at the manor. Bottles of the manor’s finest wines from deep within the cellars where they’ve been gestating.

Levi must have known this is also an excellent chance to get more regular customers for his wines, too. Now that Mister Ackerman is no longer here bringing income with his writing, the winery is all you have.

In the corner is a speaker, a music gem placed behind it to broadcast some leisurely tunes. It’s much less hectic than the music you heard during Porcelain Night.

In the middle of the large ballroom is a table, a red cloth draped over it. On it is a large glass jar. It’s for donations.

The jar has already collected a good chunk of money. Seems like people are in a generous mood, wanting to make a good first impression on the new master of the manor, whom most of them have never met before.

Outside, pastures have been cleared for carriages. A few guardians man the parked vehicles. The yard is dark with just a row of red light gems framing the path to the main entrance.

Levi wants no one snooping around the barracks or stables.

But above that-

“Stay here,” Levi grunts and grabs your arm. He gently but firmly moves you back to his side. You witnessed Countess De Blanc with an empty glass and were about to guide her to the drinks stand, but Levi’s not about to let you.

He gave you a single, unwavering command for this party: stay in his sight.

“You’re being overprotective,” you murmur to him, so quietly the people flowing by in and out of the ballroom can’t hear you.

You feel his hold tighten imperceptibly.

“I’d rather be overprotective than risk anything happening,” he mutters in response. “I know it’s annoying but please bear with me.”

His hand subtly strays to comb a lock of your hair behind your ear. Your gem jolts, but before you can react he’s released you and focused his attention on the guests.

Your eyes trail over the busy hall. The guests seem to be enjoying themselves. The conversation is flowing just as easy as the drinks.

It’s a good sign.

Another guest walks in, and she immediately catches your attention.

She’s unbelievably beautiful, so much so she immediately draws in looks from other guests and androids alike.

She’s adorned in a beautiful green dress. Her waist is cinched to perfection and her long dark hair has been tied up with a beautiful ribbon.

A sparkly necklace accentuated with light gem dust hangs from her delicate neck. Her brown, doe-like eyes scan the room with well-meaning curiosity.

She looks quite familiar, but you can’t tell where you know her from.

She spots Levi standing next to you and immediately smiles widely. She gathers the hem of her dress and walks to him.

“Mister Ackerman,” she greets. Her voice has a slight rasp to it, the contrast against her polished appearance somehow making her even more intriguing.

If Levi shares the obvious sentiment of the other men here, that this woman is attractive, he doesn’t show it.

He gives her a small bow and takes her gloved hand to kiss the back of it.

“We have not met before. My name is Diane Romero. I’m the countess and heir of the Romero Estate.”

It then clicks in place. You remember her. Her father used to be well acquainted with Mister Ackerman. She’d often accompany her father to the manor for affairs, often just because she was fond of Mister Ackerman’s stories and would always try to pester him into showing her his newest manuscripts.

It’s been a good while since you last saw her. Ten years at least.

So, she grew up meanwhile. Makes sense. Organics tend to do that.

“Miss Romero,” Levi greets her. He looks polite, but he doesn’t seem all that interested in her. Miss Romero smiles a bit.

When her gaze wanders to you, she pauses. Then, she gives a delighted smile.

“Dee!” she exclaims and hurries to take your hand. “My goodness, it didn’t even cross my mind you might still be here!”

You shake her hand back.

“It’s been a while, Miss Romero,” you tell her.

“You’re serving the new master? Still the personal maid?” she asks. You nod.

“Sir saw no reason to dispose of me once he took over the manor,” you explain. Levi’s eyes turn a bit more sour. He doesn’t appreciate the way you’re talking about yourself.

“She’s irreplaceable,” Levi bluntly butts in. Miss Romero chuckles.

“Mister Ackerman used to say the very same thing. Regardless, it’s so lovely to meet you again. She was tasked with reading me stories to keep me occupied while papa was doing his business with your father,” she explains, a nostalgic smile on her face.

It feels very odd to you, how she went ahead and grew up while you’re still exactly the same. It’s unnerving.

Passage of time affects you differently from her.

“I see,” Levi nods. He’s fairly nonchalant.

“Oh, I’m holding you up. I should probably get going,” Miss Romero suddenly realises.

“Yeah, that’s probably for the- Ouch!” Levi hisses as you suddenly and out of nowhere stomp on his foot to shut him up. You give him a meaningful glance.

He shuts his mouth.

You agreed that should he be about to say something rude, you’d stop him.

Miss Romero watches, clearly amused.

“Oh no worries, Dee. I’ll be on my way for now,” she says. With a small wave, she turns and walks off. Her eyes stray back to Levi again.

You watch her eyes turn a bit contemplative and you immediately get a bad feeling.

“Sir, you should go greet more guests,” you tell him, pushing the unease to the back of your head for now.

Levi looks unhappy about the instructions, but follows regardless.

It’s almost an hour later when Zeke and Eren Yeager step inside. Each dressed quite dapper with Eren’s guardian android behind him just as always, they look around.

“Cute,” Zeke comments as his gaze moves from the corridor to the busy looking ball room. As he starts striding towards it, he immediately notices a guardian android fall into step behind him.

Ignoring it, they find their way to the ball room. Zeke marches straight to Levi and offers his hand.

“What a lovely little gathering,” he says with a pleasant smile. You don’t trust it and neither does Levi. He looks exceptionally closed off as he reluctantly returns the handshake.

“So many precautions taken, too. I didn’t know you appointed a guardian android to each guest,” Zeke continues conversationally.

“I didn’t. Just you,” Levi replies with a chilly tone. You make no move to stop him from being rude. Zeke deserves it.

“That hurts my feelings,” Zeke replies with a wide and amused grin.

“Good,” Levi grunts. Eren sighs and decides to walk away. He wants no part in this. He strides to the donation jar and drops a coin pouch inside.

It looks hefty in size.

He then strides off with Mikasa in tow, towards the food stations.

Levi and Zeke size each other up for a moment before Zeke decides it’s not worth it to start a commotion now. He joins his brother in checking out the amenities.

“Keep an eye on him. I don’t trust him,” Levi orders the guardian tasked with looking over Zeke. She nods and adjusts her rifle before going to station herself closer to Zeke.

You spend most of the early party zigzagging between the food stations, the lounge and Levi, making sure all goes without incident.

The guests seem to be enjoying themselves, despite Levi’s withdrawn mien. He keeps to himself, conversing with tight lips and general nonchalance.

Sometimes, you jump in to steer conversations for him, just to give him a breather. He seems to appreciate it.

As the suns have completely set and the light dust you spent two back-aching days meticulously sprinkling all over the floors start glowing a bit, you instruct the maids to turn down the lights a notch.

The large hall turns from festive and bright to dim and more intimate. The music shifts to a waltz and the guests need no more encouragement to steer towards the dance floor.

You watch as the gentlemen either take their dames for a dance, or scan over the single women in attendance to find a suitable partner.

You know it’s expected of Levi to join the first dance. He’s the host. You told him as much yesterday, but the dull, unreadable look he gave you in response made you nervous he would not heed the etiquette.

You glance at Levi. He’s not looking at the row of hopeful bachelorettes. He’s looking at you.

You give him the smallest shake of your head. The master of the house taking an android for a spin instead of picking a woman of high status would be gravely insulting to the women in attendance.

Levi rolls his eyes a bit. He doesn’t really care about etiquette, but he also knows that getting donations for the refugees hinges on him staying on the good graces of his guests.

He walks over to Countess Romero who happens to be the closest and offers his hand. She looks at him, a bit taken aback, but then smiles and takes the offer.

He walks her to the dance floor and they join the sea of people wafting around the dance floor as a fluid mass. You watch as Levi takes Countess Romero’s waist and then starts leading her.

He’s clearly not quite the suave and experienced dancer Countess Romero is used to, but she matches his pace quite well. You can hear her lips move as she says something to Levi.

The corners of Levi’s mouth twitch upwards, a sign of amusement.

You watch them from the sidelines. They look good together.

You feel a pang of sudden loneliness, watching Levi dance with someone else and not hating it.

It’s such a fleeting moment,. You feel like you’re suddenly outside it all, just observing the world turn without you.

You twitch as you feel someone tap you on the arm. You look over, just to see Porco standing next to you.

He’s looking at Levi and Countess Romero, clearly pleased. It gives him an opening.

“They fit each other,” he remarks. You want to punch him.

“You think so?” you ask with a short tone. He shrugs.

“Well, it’s a rich guy with a rich gal.” And unlike a rich guy with an android maid, it actually makes sense.

“Aren’t you supposed to be out guarding?”

“I’m on a break. Wanted to come check in on you.”

“Uh huh.”

“Wanna dance?”

“No.”

Not with Porco, anyway, and Levi is out of your reach for now. You watch as the song comes to an end. Levi escorts Countess Romero back to the servant she arrived with and then searches for you with his gaze.

When he sees you together with Porco, he immediately walks over.

“Everything alright?” he asks you. You give him a small smile.

“Yes. Did you have a good time?”

“It was adequate.”

Adequate. Well, that’s a notch above “tolerable” which is what you thought he’d say. You shouldn’t feel as insecure about it as you do.

Why does that wording tie your non-existent guts into knots?

You glance at Countess Romero where she’s standing with her servants. She’s talking with them, hiding half her face behind her silk fan to conceal her lips.

Her eyes trail to Levi more than once. You can read her gaze perfectly well.

She’s interested.

No, you want to protest. She’s a lovely lady, and she suits Levi, but she can’t. Because Levi’s-

Stuck in a limbo waiting for you, waiting for an answer that you haven’t even formulated yet.

That thought feels like a gut punch.

By the suns, you’re shitty. Indecisive yet possessive. It’s utterly unfair on Levi. Maybe if he-

“Dahlia?”

You snap out of your morose thoughts and look up, only to see both Levi and Porco staring at you.

“Are you alright?” Levi asks. He reaches a hand for you.

“I’m alright,” you hurry to reply, the sharp weight in your voice halting his hand, catching your urgency to keep him from touching you.

You’re out in the open. Many people are watching. You don’t want any rumours to ignite.

Levi slowly pulls his hand back.

“Very well, then.”

“I’ll go check on the premises,” you hastily add and gather the hem of your dress. You speed out of the main hall.

Levi looks after you with a frown. He ordered you to stay in his sight, but something tells him he shouldn’t run after you right now. He glances at Porco, uneasy being left alone with the guardian android he’s come to detest, but Porco’s not too keen on staying around.

“Sir,” he bows with a glacial tone and walks out to resume his rounds.

Levi’s left alone. He looks around the hall. The dance floor is filled with couples dancing, most holding each other at a respectful distance.

Dancing is more of a formality in gatherings like these.

He’s not alone for long. Countess Romero is a lot of things, but bashful is not one of them. She’s a woman of the utmost integrity, and to her transparency matters more than most.

You walk back in, having somewhat calmed yourself outside to a degree where you feel mostly in control. You just get to the door when Countess Romero walks right by you, making you pause.

The timing feels cruel. Like the universe is showing you exactly the consequence of indecisiveness.

She approaches Levi, standing up straight and her eyes clear and filled with purpose.

You pause, rooted in place as she walks to Levi. They exchange a few words. Levi’s eyebrows quirk up, the subtlest sign he’s taken aback.

Then, he nods slowly and follows her to one of the two doors that lead out of the main hall to the main corridor.

You can only thank your luck it’s not the one you’re currently standing at, staring at their backs like an idiot.

You watch helplessly as they disappear into one of the lounges.

Countess Romero must have asked to talk in private.

She’s already moving in.

She’s so decisive. That makes you feel even worse.

Why can’t you be like her?

Then again, she doesn’t have a millennia of heartbreak to weigh in the equation.

Slowly, you pull yourself to motion. You walk back out, to the porch where you just were.

The premises are dark save for the driveway. Horses are pasturing to the sides and a row of carriages has been parked nearby.

It’s quite chilly, so nobody’s out. The chattering and clinking of glasses is muted but audible from outside.

The heavily lit driveway makes it hard to see the stars, but you can see the dim outline of one of the moons.

You sit down on the staircase and look up with a sigh. You can see your breath evaporate into the lonely sky.

If Levi comes out of that lounge arm in arm with Countess Romero, what will you do? Will you just accept it?

I guess you have no choice. You had your chance, and you hesitated.

And even now, you can’t bring yourself to get up and fight for him. Not because you don’t love him, but because you’re scared.

Scared of both the heartbreak, and not being enough to make his short life worthwhile.

You jump a bit when you suddenly hear the stable door slam shut. Footsteps are approaching. At first, you think it’s Porco, slacking off during his patrol.

But it’s not. It’s Mikasa Ackerman.

Your eyes widen a bit. She walks to the staircase you’re sitting on. She gives you a brief glance and then moves to walk around you and ascend the few steps to the main door.

She must have been checking on their horse.

“How do you deal with it?” you slip out before you can stop yourself.

Mikasa pauses where she’s just about to grab the handle of the large mahogany door and let herself back in to where the warmth and noise are.

“Deal with what?”

“You’re together with Eren Yeager, right? Your master,” you ask her.

“...yes,” she says, sounding a bit wary despite her largely expressionless face.

“Eren will die long before you do. How do you deal with it? How does that not… Make you afraid?” Your voice gets tinier every word you speak, as if you’re realizing how pathetic you sound as you talk.

“Afraid of what?”

“Of everything. The heartbreak, burying him, mourning him, not being enough for him,” you murmur, sounding meek. You glance at her hesitantly, but there’s no judgment in her eyes. Just quiet confusion.

“Why would I be scared of a heartbreak? It’s just pain,” she replies.

“It will hurt for a long time.”

“Yeah.”

“Eren will live a fraction of your lifetime.”

“He will regardless of whether I love him or not. He will grow old no matter what I do. All I can do is make sure he dies loved and happy.”

There’s no agony to Mikasa’s tone, just simple truth.

“But you’ll live for millennia mourning him,” you point out, at a loss. How can she be so calm about it? About life and death and existence.

“And if I didn’t choose to be with him, I’d live for a millennia pining for what could have been. He’s worth more than cowardice.”

There’s the judgment, you realize. She’s seen right through you. Maybe she did the moment all the way back when she saw you run out of the manor to come to Levi’s aid when Zeke was tormenting him.

She looks at you for a moment, and you feel like a child under her heavy gaze.

“What is it that you’re truly afraid of?” she finally asks.

Without waiting for a reply, she walks back inside. There’s only so much she can give you. And, frankly, only so much she cares.

You remain where you’re sitting, now feeling a growing sense of shame.

Her question remains in your head. What are you truly afraid of?

The pain? If that was the case, you’d fear not being with him just as much, because both of the options will bring you pain.

The comfortable limbo where you could half pretend Levi’s yours now feels like it’s cut off abruptly.

You suddenly realise that what you’re afraid of is not the heartbreak. It’s the loss of meaning.

You grapple with the very concept of existence. What it means to exist in this world as a feeling and thinking being. What it means to forge a life for yourself.

And Levi feels like the answer. He fills you with meaning and light, he dulls the pain and the fear.

Yet he can only be your meaning for so long. Every organic is born with a debt to the very soil that nurtures them, and their final duty is to lay down to rest and repay that debt.

But what is your debt to the universe?

The decision is abrupt.

You shoot to your feet, as if electrocuted. Your mind fills with a newfound sense of purpose.

The fear is still there, and you suspect it will be forever, but what now propels you to action is determination.

You have been an utter fool.

Why did you waste so many precious minutes, hours, days in uncertainty? It’s just as Mikasa said. The time in the hour glass of Levi’s life will not increase nor decrease depending on your answer.

And while the inevitable heartbreak in the distant future scares you, your chest also aches at the thought of forever pining for him. As it does at the thought of him living his life unloved when you know the pits of your soul sing when he’s near.

You hurry past the guests, ignoring them. The chatter and clatter of life and festivity that you so looked forward to now means nothing to you.

You zoom past them all with increasing hurry. You rush into the lounge you saw Levi disappear in with Countess Romero, praying you’re not too late.

You yank the door open and rush inside, just to collide with someone’s chest. You look up to see Levi’s confused eyes.

“Dahlia, why on earth are you running?” he asks. His eyes flicker behind you to the corridor leading to the main hall, now worried something’s wrong.

You shove him back in and kick the door shut. You look around. Countess Romero is not here.

“What-” Levi has time to start before you have wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him down.

You kiss him with fervour.

You may live for an eternity, but you refuse to live it without this spark of warmth and light. Existence is bleak, and the universe is cold and chaotic.

Levi makes more sense than anything else ever has. The way he’s holding you, arms wrapped tight around your waist. Like he’s got you exactly where he wants you.

Levi stiffens at first, taken aback, then just rolls with the punches. He’s good at that, despite his rigid demeanour.

Levi savours the moment, then pulls back just enough to meet your eyes.

“Is this your answer, Dahlia?”

“Yes. I’m done running,” you whisper, eyes lidded and vulnerable. “Is it too late?”

Levi looks like he’s about to scoff. His hand cups your cheek, rough palm worn by a lifetime of struggle meeting the synthetic skin manufactured to perfection.

“No. I was going to wait however long it took,” Levi replies, steadfast and unwavering. A lifetime would’ve been nothing to wait for the pleasure of calling you his.

You realise, to both your horror and relief, that Levi made up his mind long ago. Nobody else was going to do. Not Countess Romero, not anyone else that may cross his path in the future.

It had to be you. If you never came, he would have walked to his grave cold and alone and had no regrets about it.

The intensity of his feelings should maybe intimidate you, but to you, right now, it fills you with purpose. You always struggled to understand why you’re alive, yet now you’re utterly alright with the thought of existing to share a handful of years with Levi.

There’s no shame in living to love.

You refuse to live in fear of the disarray weaved into the very fabric of spacetime. The universe can bring it on.

Chapter Text

You remember very little about the rest of the evening. You exited the lounge soon after you sealed your fate and bound yourself to Levi.

Levi was obviously antsy to be freed of his obligations.

Countess Romero didn’t approach Levi for the rest of the night. You caught her eyes once and from the small encouraging smile on her lips, you could tell Levi told her the reason she was rejected.

You gave her a sheepish look in return, and she shook her head shortly, her smile never wavering. Telling you not to worry about it.

You immensely like Countess Romero.

It’s well past midnight when the last of the guests finally bid their farewells and depart from the manor. The container in the middle of the ballroom is filled to the brim with money. Levi has it sealed and carried off to a safe.

The maids start cleaning up the most urgent things before they can finally go have their downtime. You had yours delayed by a few hours. The guardians do a check of the premises to make sure they are truly fully vacated.

As the servants bustle around, you ascend to the top floor with Levi. You fidget a bit at the end of the stairway.

You think feverishly how to break the silence.

“Would you like some tea, sir? I can… I can go make you some,” you offer thinly to prolong your presence. You feel warmth on your face. You don’t know how to be in love.

Levi raises a slow eyebrow at you, amused. Then, he grabs your waist. You squeak a bit as you’re yanked in and pressed against the corridor wall.

Levi leans in. His mouth finds your earlobe. You can feel his breath against the shell of your ear.

“I want you,” Levi tells you with a low voice. He’s purposeful and unapologetic. He’s not going to stall things out of trivial things like decency. Your eyes flutter a bit. His lips press a kiss right under your ear, close to the curve of your neck.

“What do you mean?” you ask with a faint voice.

“I’m telling you I want to tear off every single piece of clothing you’re wearing, toss you on my bed, mount you and worship every inch of your body that I can get my hands on,” Levi tells you. He doesn’t as much as pause. There’s no embarrassment to his voice, just a low, husky timbre that makes your skin prickle with arousal.

“Quite forward of you, sir,” you attempt to quip, but the breathiness of your voice gives you away.

Levi pulls his head up to look you in the eyes. He cups your jaw.

“No ‘sir’,” he scolds you. There’s still that low lustful undertone, but he now sounds a bit gentler. He looks deep into your eyes.

“I want you, Dahlia. But I don’t want you to feel pressured. If you’re not ready, I’ll gladly wait,” Levi promises.

Wait?

You look at Levi as if he’s gone crazy. All you’ve done is wait. And you’re done waiting.

You might not know what you’re doing, but you know what you want.

You link your finger under his chin. You trail it along his jawline to his neck. You see the way he shudders a bit from the light touch.

You lean in, eyes lidded. You arch against him.

“Fuck me,” you whisper, and that’s all Levi needs. His mouth crashes against yours. A needy moan tears from your throat, your arms fly to circle around his neck.

He grabs both of your legs and picks you up. You hold onto him as he carries you to his bedroom, away from potential prying eyes.

He slams you against the door the moment you’re inside. He groans, deepening the kiss, needy tongue pushing your lips open.

He immediately grows hard at the way your mouth opens up for him beautifully and eagerly. You rub your tongue against his, inexperienced but none the less enthusiastic.

He steals your breath, then breaks the kiss. His hands are trembling, impatient. He undoes your apron. Peels it off you. Lithe hands sneaking behind your back to undo the buttons of your dress.

He always wondered, in his deepest fantasies, how it would feel to disrobe you like this. Make sure his rough palms slide over every inch of skin revealed.

Your dress falls off you, pooling at your feet. You kick your shoes and socks off and step out of the pile of clothes, now dressed only in your undergarments.

Levi’s eyes trail over your body. You’re made of metal, intricate wires and synthetic skin, but you still look so soft and warm.

You’re just a tad nervous as you fiddle with the hem of your undershirt. You start lifting it up, only for Levi’s hands to shoot out and gently stop you.

“Let me,” he says with a low voice, his thumbs already brushing under the embroidered lace. He wants to do it for you, just as he always does in his fantasies.

Your breathing hitches, and all you can manage is a small, anticipatory nod.

His hands gently peel your undershirt off, leaving your torso bare.

Levi’s breath stutters a bit as he takes in the sight. You lick your lips, nervous at his silence.

“If… If you don’t like-” you start after a moment, only for Levi to immediately grab your waist with one hand and yank you in, the other finding one of your tits.

He cups it gently while he seals your lips into a searing kiss to cut out the nonsense leaving your lips, his mouth hungry while his hand is gentle as he touches you. He tugs on your nipple, just slightly, relieved when it earns him a soft gasp.

You’re sensitive in all the same places as an organic human would be.

Your hands dive under his jacket, pushing it off his shoulders. Levi reluctantly lets go of you just enough to shrug the garment off before his hands are back on you.

He picks you up again and carries you to the bed. You feel your back hit the soft mattress and his weight immediately follow, settling on top of you.

Your mouths collide into a nippy kiss.

“Fuck,” Levi breathes against your mouth, “you’re sexy.”

It’s the first time anyone’s said that to you, and you immediately feel your face flush. You’re not used to intimate praise like this. You’re usually called efficient. Assertive. Confident.

Maybe falsely so, because right now, you have no confidence whatsoever. You’re in uncharted territory.

Levi kisses down your jaw to your neck. His feather-light lips brush against where he can feel the steady flutter of your circuits, rapidly transferring data under your skin.

It’s almost like a pulse.

His hand still gently cupping your breast, Levi bites on your neck and then suckles on it lightly. He pulls back and pauses.

He chuckles a bit.

“What?” you ask, flushed and a little defensive. You’re feeling uncharacteristically vulnerable.

“I can’t leave a mark. I forgot you don’t have a blood flow.”

“Well excuse me,” you mutter. “Is that a problem?” You’re not used to being inspected like this. It never even occurred to you organics could do things like kiss marks.

In the books you read, you always assumed they were another name for bite marks.

Levi looks down at you, eyes so soft and loving you feel your insides do a somersault.

“Dahlia, you don’t have to be on high alert,” he tells you, a bit amused. He cups your cheek. “I’m not judging your body, or appraising it. I’m exploring and getting to know it. You’re breathtaking.”

You release a small, relatively contented chuckle and then grab his shirt.

“Fine. But you too,” you demand him. Levi easily tosses his shirt over his shoulder, baring his upper body.

He’s incredibly toned. Your hand trails down his jaw, descending the slope of his neck, tracing the tendons between his neck and shoulders.

You lean up and press your lips between his collar bones.

“You’re gorgeous,” you murmur. His skin is a bit rough, scars here and there marking his traumatic past but you don’t mind. He’s perfect to you.

Levi’s eyes flutter. So many years he’s lived, yet after his mother passed nobody has held him this gently, loved him with this much vigour.

He lets your curious hands trek down his chest to his abdomen, your fingertips trailing the crevices of his abs. He twitches a little at the ticklish sensation.

You stop at the waist of his pants. You look up.

The smouldering fire in his gaze when he meets yours is enough to remove all doubt about whether he wants to. You unbuckle his belt and pull his pants down.

He kicks the rest of his clothes off and then takes a shuddering breath, standing on his knees on the bed before you. All of a sudden, he’s the one feeling insecure. You’ve never lain with anyone.

What if you’re put off by the way his cock is rock hard and aching for your attention?

He need not worry, though. You get on your knees to level with him, lick your lips and reach a curious hand. You wrap your fingers around his cock.

It’s warmer than you thought. You give it a testing tug.

Levi groans.

“Careful,” he breathes.

“Does this hurt?” you ask, concerned.

“No. I’m worried I’ll come before I get to fuck you,” Levi bluntly confesses. You chuckle, pleased he’s so adamant about getting to the main course, but ease your grip and slow down the pace.

“We can’t have that can we?” you murmur. “You had better hold back because I want this inside me.”

“It sure didn’t take you long to turn back into your blunt self,” Levi chuckles, just to draw in a sharp breath when you tug him harder in retaliation.

Levi cups your cheek and kisses you. His tongue pushes into your mouth, rubbing against yours to distract himself.

He holds on for a few more moments as you slowly and carefully stroke his cock, but when he places his hand over yours to stop you, you know he’s getting too close.

“Enough,” he grunts. “Come here.”

In one fluid motion, he’s rolled on top of you, grabbed your underwear and pulled it off.

He stands up on his knees and looks at your body. You’re lying on your back, staring up at him with a breathless and just a tad nervous expression.

His eyes roam, starving for the sight of you, breathing a bit erratic.

“All yours,” you whisper, as if reading his thoughts.

Levi’s eyes are dark, his abs tight as he catches your leg and brings it up to his lips. He kisses it, his gaze devouring you whole.

“It’s really hard to hold back right now,” he admits, his voice a low grunt.

“Then don’t.”

“Promise to tell me if I’m hurting you?”

“I will smack you if you do,” you promise. Levi’s mouth descends from your leg, down towards your throbbing pussy.

Your breath hitches. You’ve thought of this. Wondered how it would feel. Androids are usually very liberal with sex but you have no experience with this.

Not out of any particular desire to be chaste, you just never saw the appeal until you met Levi.

A gasp escapes your lips at the sensation. Levi gently spreads you open with his fingers and dives in. His tongue immediately finds your clit and you’re immensely glad at least one of you knows what they’re doing.

Your back arches a bit as you feel the intense sensation. It’s not an immediate, all consuming pleasure but small sparks that accumulate.

Your toes curl as he keeps going. He experiments just enough to figure out the right pressure and pace and then stays there.

His fingers hold you open, his tongue circling your clit with a steady, patient rhythm.

At first, you let out small moans. You relax into it. You close your eyes. It feels good. Your nerves are still there, but the pleasure steadily builds up, making you forget.

“Levi,” you breathe, hand dipping into his hair.

“It’s okay,” he murmurs. “I’ve got you. You can let go.” He gently moves his hands to hold your thighs, lovingly keeping them spread. His tongue works diligently, almost reverently, as he licks your pussy.

He gulps down the sight and sound of you as you moan, then gasp, then whimper. Your back jerks off the bed unwittingly, both hands sinking into his hair as you press him tighter against you on instinct and then come.

Your vision goes to static as a strong sensation shoots through your circuits. You cry out, not noticing how hard you’re holding onto Levi’s hair.

He stays still, letting you pull his hair, mouth now languidly licking you through your orgasm.

You come down with a slow exhale. You glance down and release his hair just to pet it with an apologetic wince.

“Sorry,” you murmur.

“Don’t apologise. It was sexy,” he replies with a deadpan voice.

“Do organics do the same when they come?”

“More or less.”

“Where did you learn how to do that?” you ask and raise an eyebrow.

“I told you I experimented in my teens. This was my favourite thing to do back then,” he tells you.

He grabs both of your legs and yanks you in, an amused smirk on his face as you squeak. He pulls your legs around his waist.

He’s done waiting.

He looks at you, the way you’re still hazy from your orgasm, hands resting by your head. His eyes soften.

He leans down and kisses your forehead.

“Are you ready?” he asks. You cup his jaw and look deep into his eyes.

“I was ready the day you first kissed me. I was just in denial because I was scared,” you confess. He presses your foreheads together.

Never in his life has he wanted someone just to himself like this. Never in his life has he desired like this, all-consumed by lust and affection.

You feel him prod and then slip in.

“Are you okay?” he asks, looking at you worriedly. You chuckle fondly.

“Levi, I’m an android. My first time isn’t like that of an organic. It doesn’t hurt at all.”

He releases a relieved breath and sits up on his knees, looking down at you. You wait for a few seconds and then speak up.

“So are you going to just sit there or- Oh!” you gasp as he suddenly grabs your hips with both hands and thrusts.

“Mouthy, as always,” he scolds you, but he’s smirking a bit. He kisses your calf and then puts it on his shoulder as he starts fucking you properly.

“That’s what you love about me,” you quip back with a small smile.

“Guilty as charged,” Levi grunts, fingertips pressing against your skin as he keeps moving his hips.

Just like with when Levi was eating you out, it takes a moment for the tingling sensation to come and take over.

You slide your leg off his shoulder and grab his arm.

“Come here,” you whisper. He obeys, hips this moving firmly as he leans down, one hand cupping your cheek while the other holds him up on the bed.

You wrap your legs tighter around his waist and kiss him needily.

“Love you,” you whisper into the kiss, hands sinking into his hair, messing it up even more.

You’re a high grade android so you self-lubricate very akin to how an organic would. That makes it easy for Levi to keep up his pace.

His lips move fervently against you. You can feel his hot breath against your lips, the small grunts and groans leaving his throat.

You break the kiss and pull your head back. You gently tug him in and he immediately yields, lips worshipping your neck as he fucks you.

You’re all he ever wanted.

“Bite,” you whisper. Levi lets out a small growl and then sinks his teeth into you. It stings a bit, but you don’t mind.

Your nails rake along the nape of his neck, heels of your feet greedily pushing his hips tighter against you.

“I’m coming again,” you whisper. Levi bites harder, as if to hold you still for his cock.

“Do it,” he grunts. You cry out and come, clutching his neck with both hands.

He barely needs five more thrusts to come. You feel his cum, shooting deep inside your system. His body shudders head to toe and he topples on top of you.

His teeth finally let your throat go. You reach a hand. You can feel his tooth prints.

He rests his head on your chest, hips slowly pulling back just enough so he can slip out of you.

“Are you okay?” he asks, eyes closing in bliss.

“Yes,” you reply with a patient tone. You kiss his forehead.

Such a beautiful man.

The bed is cushy underneath you, the coarse linen chafing against your back just a bit as you move. Outside, the manor has quieted down.

The servant androids have finished tidying up and have gone for downtime. Guardians patrol as always, but they don’t come up here.

You’re not naive enough to think nobody heard you, though, and news of your relationship will probably have made rounds through the barracks come morning.

“Porco is going to nag at me so much,” you sigh. Levi looks up, eyes sharp and a bit thorny, quietly scolding you for bringing him up. He turns your positions over, moving on his back and pulling you on top of his chest.

“He’s jealous,” Levi tells you. His arms wrap around your waist, holding onto you.

You already gathered this, but he’s rather possessive.

“Jealous? It’s just Porco,” you scoff. Levi glances down at you. He then links his finger under your chin and lifts it.

“You know he’s madly in love with you, right?” he asks, dead serious and eyes deeply unhappy.

You blink.

“Him? Don’t be absurd.”

“He kissed you.”

“We were both drunk,” you dismiss. You know he’s right, somewhere deep down, but you don’t want to accept it because it makes you deeply uncomfortable.

Porco was forged in the same batch as you. He always seemed more like a twin brother than a potential lover.

Levi holds your gaze until you start squirming.

“Okay, fine. I know,” you finally sigh. “I don’t like it. I never looked at him that way. He’s the closest thing to a relative I have.”

You pull your chin free and tuck your nose against his neck. You can feel his pulse.

The thought of it ever ceasing fills you with dread still, but you’re slowly getting accustomed to the fact.

Levi’s stern arms wrap around your shoulders and he pulls you in. He kisses the top of your head.

“I never thought you did. It just made me unhappy.”

“Why?” you ask, tone playful and airy because you already know. Levi tightens his hold.

“He was trying to steal away something I wanted to myself,” he mutters, quite childishly at that. You pat his arm indulgently.

“Yes, yes,” you accommodate him. “But he didn’t succeed, did he? I’ve never even looked at anyone else like I look at you. I’m picky.”

Levi grumbles something under his breath.

“And you’re not one to speak. What about Countess Romero?” you ask Levi and half-heartedly poke at his chest.

“What about her?”

“She told you she’s interested in you, did she not?”

“She did.” Levi sounds flippant about the fact.

“What did you say?”

“That I can’t reciprocate her feelings because I’m head over heels for somebody else, and nobody else will do.”

This suave motherfucker. He glances down at your awkward yet clearly enamoured expression and grins smugly.

“Did she ask who?”

“She guessed,” Levi replies, idly picking a lock of your hair and twirling it between his fingers. “Correctly at that.”

“And you didn’t deny it?”

“Why would I deny it? It’s the truth.”

“I’m just an android servant.”

“You’re not ‘just’ anything,” Levi reprimands you with a scoff, clearly thinking you’re being ridiculous.

“Rumours might break out.”

“I’m sure they already have. Good thing I don’t care. Do you?”

“...no,” you half-lie. It’s not that you care what people think about you. It’s Levi’s reputation you worry about.

His father was already known as an eccentric android lover. Levi will be compared to Mister Ackerman.

You don’t bring it up. You don’t want to sour the moment with the mention of Levi’s decidedly least favourite person.

A moment of silence befalls you. Levi lets out a thoughtful exhale. Your discussion made something occur to him.

“Do you want to quit being my servant?” Levi then asks. You glance up at him. He’s staring at the wall with a defiantly nonchalant look, trying to act like it’s all the same to him.

“Why would I?”

“Well, dating your boss can be a bit… Awkward.”

“You want me to leave the manor?” you ask. He immediately flicks your forehead gently.

“Stop that,” he scolds you.

“Then how would I even quit?”

“You’d be the mistress of the house,” he explains. Your eyebrow quirks up. Mistress of the house.

“I think I just threw up in my mouth a little,” you quip.

“Didn’t know androids can throw up. All you have in your stomach is-” Levi trails off. The image comes on so strongly then. A vacant eyed android, dead on the barren land, circuits spilling out to the ground along with the liquids that just moments ago vibrated inside his life gems.

You see Levi’s eyes turn vacant, then pained. Then, he jolts back to the present just as quickly as he drifted away.

You rub his arm soothingly. Levi takes a deep breath.

“If you want to work, I’m not going to deny that from you. Just, if you ever want to stop, I’ll take care of everything and look after you.”

“I’m not going to be a trophy wife, Levi,” you tell him. He nods. Somehow, he had an inkling. “I’ll keep working as usual. Furthermore, I’m the only one who can stomach you. You’d be miserable without me taking care of you.”

“True.”

You didn’t expect him to accept that so readily.

You hear the telltale signs of your system winding down, then.

As your eyes lid, you feel his gentle hand never ceases stroking your hair.

“My downtime,” you manage to murmur.

“Shh. I know. Rest well,” Levi tells you with a tender tone, rough thumb soothingly drawing circles on your shoulder as you drift off.

-

Millions of miles away, in another solar system, things of tectonic magnitude are being pushed into motion. The ripples will reach the entire galaxy and it’s only a matter of time before you, as you have been, cease to exist.