The house was quiet, as it always was, for Lewis Varga was not particularly fond of noise. Even when they were younger, he was constantly telling Blake she was too loud, claiming she was the most tumultuous child he'd ever encountered. With this in mind, she made as much racket as possible when she walked through the door that night.

"I know you're doing that on purpose," came the shout from the living room, easily carrying itself through the small house.

She said nothing as she approached her brother, who had an open newspaper resting on his lap, turning the pages with his good hand. Sitting peacefully in his chair with his reading glasses perched atop his nose was how she usually found him. This is how he occupied his time as he waited for her arrival every night.

"This your doing?" he asked, pointing to a column about a group of men who had been found slaughtered outside of a bar.

"As if," she scoffed, moving to sit in the chair across from him, "I'm not that messy."

"I see," he hummed, closing the paper,  "How was your afternoon?"

"Do you ask such casual questions to mock me?" she sighed, leaning back and closing her eyes, "It was unusual."

"Unusual?" he asked, placing his glasses on the side table, "How so?"

"Someone placed a hit on Captain Levi."

His eyes widened at that, shoulders tensing, and he gave her an incredulous look.

"I turned it down. Don't worry about it," she said, waving her hand dismissively.

He visibly relaxed at this, cocking his head at her slightly, and said, "It's difficult for me to imagine anyone wanting Captain Levi dead. He's been our greatest asset for years now."

Lewis and his admiration for those he fought alongside during his years in the Survey Corps was not lost at the same time that his limbs were. Regardless of the fact that his left arm and leg were now missing, he never once blamed his former comrades, always claiming that it couldn't have been avoided.

"I'm sure plenty of titans want him dead," she offered, tapping her fingers against the arm of her chair.

"I would imagine so, yes," he replied, chuckling softly, "I'm glad that you aren't trying to kill the captain. I don't think he would hesitate to cut you open."

"What? You don't think I could hold my own against him?"

"Absolutely not," he said with a sense of finality, his answer so quick she was almost offended.

"Maybe I'll go kill him anyway, just to prove that you're wrong," she huffed, crossing her arms.

"Let me know how that goes."

"Well, according to you, I'll die, so I won't be letting you know anything at all."

"Ah, that's true. Well, how unfortunate."

"Is he really that good?" she asked, partly because she was genuinely curious, but also because she knew how highly her brother regarded the captain, as he was always looking for the chance to brag about his fellow soldiers.

"My stories would never be able to do him any justice. I will say, however, that knowing Captain Levi and his squad would be accompanying us on expeditions gave me the luxury of thinking about what I would be having for dinner that night. I'm sure I would have died long ago if he hadn't swept in."

"Are you sure he's that good? Or do you just wanna marry him?"

"He's not the marrying type," he said, laughing, "Or maybe he is. That's beyond me. I've only ever heard mere rumors about his personal life." 

"Like what?"

"I'm not spreading lies about the captain, Bee."

"Why? I'll take them with a grain of salt. I swear to you. Besides, I doubt I'll ever have the pleasure of meeting your special captain. Just humor me."

"Fine," he huffed, looking to the ceiling and thinking, "They used to say he was a gang leader in the Underground."

"Ha!"

"Commander Smith allegedly straightened him out."

"Well, no shit. Isn't he short? The commander could just sit on him and kill him."

"Blake," he warned, eyes narrowing at her.

Okay, so no Captain Levi short jokes. She could manage.

"Anyway," he continued, "I'm not sure that any of that is true. The only thing I've heard about him that I believe is that he makes all of his subordinates get up at four in the morning to clean before they train."

"He sounds weird, Lewis."

"It doesn't make much of a difference if he is," the older man said, shrugging, "He's extended humanity's lifetime by years. I'm sure of it."

"It sounds like you're giving him too much credit."

"Only where it's due," he replied, eyes fluttering closed, "Will you help me to my room?"

"'Course I will, stupid," she mumbled, immediately walking over to him and pulling him upward, using her own body to compensate for the left side of his.

Shuffling alongside Lewis in the late hours of the night had become natural to her. She'd take him anywhere he wanted to go, whether it was to his bedroom or to the pond, where he enjoyed watching the ducks paddle along through the water. When he wanted to go longer distances or when she wasn't around, he opted for a wheelchair, but operating that alone with one arm was far from easy.

"Thank you," he told her, as he always did, when she had tucked him into bed that night.

"Sure," she replied, standing beside of him awkwardly, "Hope you have good dreams about Captain Levi."

"Ah, it seems it's time for you to get out of my room. Goodbye."

"Whatever," she snorted, "Goodnight. Don't let any rats eat you in your sleep."

"I'd be one unlucky man if that were to happen, wouldn't I?"

"You'll be one unlucky man if you don't shut your mouth and go to bed. I don't wanna deal with you in the morning when you're grumpy because you're old and easily worn out."

"Which is exactly why I told you to get out," he hummed sweetly, closing his eyes.

Pursing her lips together tightly as to keep herself from constantly buying into her older brother's teasing, she turned to leave, her own eyelids growing heavy with exhaustion.

"I love you, Bee," he said, this phrase always included in his nightly routine as well, though it always caught her off guard.

"Yeah," she replied quietly as she froze in the doorway, her back still turned to him, "You oughta. Night, Lewis."

She heard him chuckle quietly behind her, not at all bothered by her response.

Had she known that would be the last goodnight exchange they ever shared, perhaps she would have told him she loved him, too.

a/n: odasaku fc odasaku fc odasaku fc