"It's completely obvious! The Commander has feelings for you!"

"Tch. Of course he does! He has feelings for everyone, stupid." Levi spat back. "Now what exactly do you want me to know? I'm not in the best form at the moment, but I can still beat the crap out of you if you don't tell me the truth!" He glared daggers at the young man who sat in front of him. Finn gulped, knowing that Levi wasn't kidding around.

"That's not what I meant," Finn sighed, composing himself and looking straight back into the captain's eyes. If he couldn't read the signs, he was going to have to tell him, plainly and simply. "What I mean is that the Commander loves you. Like, loves you loves you." Finn looked down, scared that he might've crossed the line by explaining things to Levi.

Levi, on the other hand, let the boy's words sink in. He loved him. Erwin, Commander of the scouts, loved him. Properly. Not in a friend way. He wanted to be in a relationship with Levi.

Levi burst out laughing for the first time in ages.

"You've got to be joking!" Levi wheezed, laughing so much he thought his ribs were going to break even more. "Erwin?! That guy?! We're talking about the same person, right?!" Finn nodded, all hope in the captain seeing sense leaving him. It was a shame, though not entirely unexpected.

Finn realised that the reason Levi was so blind to Erwin's behaviour and obvious signs of affection was because he hadn't been in love before. Not properly, anyway. He wondered if anyone had ever loved him, or shown compassion to him in his life. It was unlikely, judging from the way he acted all the time, or how he acted now, for that matter.

Once Levi had stopped laughing, he swept his hair to the side and grinned.

"I appreciate you coming to talk to me. You've really brightened up my day. I hope we get to talk more when you return." Levi said happily before their conversation was interrupted by another new recruit stepping into the room.

"Sorry to disturb you, sir, but Webber is needed by Section Commander Hange. They want him to prepare himself for tonight!" The girl practically shrieked, saluting anxiously.

"Very well," Levi's expression went back to normal. "Have a good trip, Webber."

Finn stood up and made his way towards the doorway. Before he left, though, he spoke in a sad tone of voice.

"Just so you know, captain. That wasn't a joke. All I said...everything about the Commander..it's all true. I'm not a lier or a joker and I never will be. Do what you will with that information. I look forward to speaking with you when I get back." He gave Levi one more sad, serious glance and then left him in peace, the girl who'd come to get him asking 'what about the Commander? What's true?!'

Levi lay in disbelief, surrounded by silence, nothing accompanying him but a single white rose in a glass of water and Webber's last words to him swimming inside his head.

'"That wasn't a joke...It's all true...do what you will with that information..."'

All Levi could do was hope and pray that Erwin returned alive, so he could question him about Webber's accusations. He didn't know whether he wanted it to be true or not. Some little part of him, deep down inside, prayed that he did actually love him, so that someone would admit it for once.