Work Text:
Levi has come to check on the work he did yesterday on the wooden patio, but his attention gets caught in the sharp thud resonating to his ears. He scans the landscape. The grand cabin is surrounded by the forest, softly moving by the wind, welcomed in this hot summer. The sun reflecting on metal for a millisecond catches his eye.
With a natural yet precise movement, Sasha is extending her bow. Levi guesses her scapulae uniting as she opens her shoulders and slowly pulls back the bowstring. Just an additional second of focus is needed for her to release the arrow and shoot right onto a stake not less than fifty meters away.
Levi stares widely at the victorious arrow, with a cold shiver running down his spine. That woman is impressive. Her archery skills could make any man tremble in fear if she wanted to. But she remains overly kind, humble and shy.
Soon enough, Levi leans on the railing, absorbed by her practice. She has joined his squad barely weeks ago, and Levi hasn't gotten the time to make himself an opinion of her. So much has happened, and none of them could catch a breath. Until now.
The arrow misses her narrow target, and Levi slides his gaze back to her, intrigued by her pouting. She isn't frustrated or feeling weak by the small failure, and it intrigues Levi. When her fingers mindlessly play with the arrow while she takes some time to choose a new target, it hits him: archery isn't her weapon, it's her passion.
While scanning the area, her eyes fall on him and her expression tenses. Levi had been warned about Sasha being a troublemaker, but her actions under his command haven't supported that statement yet. On the contrary, she has always seemed intimidated and respectful towards him.
Sasha hesitantly waves at him with a nervous smile, which brings out a low chuckle from Levi. If she wanted, she could shoot him down right here and then. And yet she is the one with the tense shoulders.
Maybe Levi should ease her down a little.
He straightens up and makes his way to her. He has never been fond of walking on the filthy grass, but he got used to ignoring the insects and mud touching his shoes.
"Hello, Captain," Sasha smiles at him, still tense.
Levi observes her and forces a reply:
"Hi."
Her light gold eyes look around nervously before she asks:
"Do you need anything?"
Levi notices the way her hands clench on her bow.
"Yeah. Teach me."
“Huh, wha'?” she lets out, blinking.
"Teach me how to shoot," Levi repeats.
Her eyes flicker between his own, looking for a hint of a joke. But when she finally accepts the possibility that her superior wants to learn from her, it almost startles her.
"S-Sure! I can show you," she stammers. "Here."
Levi takes the bow handed to him.
Sasha clears her throat and joins her hands tightly.
"I assume you must know the basics," she says, scratching her temple.
"I don't know shit about any of this," Levi replies, observing the unfamiliar weapon he's holding.
"Oh, really?" Sasha's round face is an open book. "I thought…"
Levi stares at her.
"I'm good with blades and knives. But it's the first time I touch one of these things."
Maybe that sounded a bit disdainful, but Levi always struggles to show his admiration.
"Well, maybe you can start by extend it first, without an arrow," she suggests.
Levi looks down at the instrument, and places his hands as he saw her doing just a minute ago. Then he straightens up and strongly pulls on the bowstring.
His sharp eye catches Sasha wincing in discomfort as she sees him doing it all wrong. Maybe this was just stupid. Levi isn't made for technical weapons.
But the moment he is about to drop it, Sasha's hands meet his own to correct his grip.
"You are pulling too much, Captain!" She barely can contain her panic. "You need to be steady. This much force will make you tremble. Relax."
She goes to his side and puts one hand on his chest to gently push it back. The contact is so surprisingly soft that Levi blinks a little. She continues by softly pushing down his shoulders, silently asking him to relax them.
Then, Sasha walks to his other side and adjusts his grip on the bow. She ends by guiding his index to stretch out.
"You'll get to keep your arrow in balance like this," she says, much calmer now.
She glances at him and their eyes meet. They properly do for the first time. She finally starts looking at him as the man he is. Not some kind of superhero people imagine.
"You can stop now," Sasha says, looking away. "Don't wear yourself out, Captain."
Levi releases the tension of the bow, moving it down.
"It is tiring," he comments, already feeling the work in his muscles.
"Yes," Sasha nods. "That's why you must be relaxed in your posture, or you won’t be able to keep going for long."
A moment of silence settles in, accompanied by a soft breeze. Levi glances down at the bow still in his hands, knowing he should try again. But he realizes he doesn't care much for archery in the end. Looking back up at Sasha, at her face framed by the swaying brunette hair strands, he understands he is more intrigued by the teacher.