U̶n̶dying love ~ Levi x Reader

Chapter 21

The strangest thing happened today. I woke up after my slight coma, (I slept through the whole day AND night in one go) and after walking by a snoring Sasha I found Levi outside our door. He looked half dead, his eye bags much darker than they usually are. He was about to nod off before I put a hand on his arm. Levi jerked back into the wall behind him, mumbling something about: 'Not letting her'.
He came back to reality pretty quickly, as soon as he laid his eyes on me, he gasped and snatched my hand. We stared at each other a few moments, the scene eerily familiar to the one I woke up to in the hospital.
'Thank god you're here' he had said, and began walking to the mess hall, squeezing my hand so hard I had no choice but to follow along. It was sort of strange at first, and very quickly it became even more so.

---

There we were: squeezed together at one of the tables. When I say squeezed, I mean squeezed.
My friends didn't make my situation better, as they all sat stiff as boards around us, barely even breathing as they stared at the corporal.
But it wasn't just them. IT WAS EVERYBODY. Every. single. soul. Present in the room sat and stared at us.
The worst thing was... he didn't seem to mind. Levi sat there, eating his goddamn breakfast as if nothing was wrong.

Kill. Me

KILL. ME

"Levi..." I said and finally, he raised his head.
He quirked his eyebrow. "What?"
I motioned with my head to the tables around ours, currently filled with bodies twisted to watch us. He looked over, and Eren who was sitting at the other side of our bench darted his eyes down.
A moment passed before he spoke, during which the room had gotten impossibly quieter.
"I don't see the issue."
"Excuse me?" I gasped, sheer disbelief hanging from my voice. Did he not see how ridiculous we looked--how ridiculous he made us look? Surely, he wasn't completely oblivious, he's a corporal, captain and humanity's strongest soldier for frick's sake! That had to count for something.
Levi sighed, putting the cup he held by the rim on the table. "Alright, let's go." he said, standing up. I threw a glance at my friends before stumbling after him through the room, thankful he hadn't grabbed my hand in front of everyone. It was a small blessing, unfortunately not lessening the whispers erupting behind us as we went.
As soon as the door closed Levi's hand was back in mine. He dragged me through the corridors at a swift pace. How such a short person could gain that amount of speed was beyond me.
"Where are we going?" I panted, more breath than voice.
He took a moment to answer, not that there was much to think about with his reply.
"Away," Was all he said yet again, continuing past the cadets littering our way.

---

'Away' apparently meant to training.
Unsurprisingly, the whispers and strange looks did not stay inside. But honestly, I couldn't blame them. Levi was acting weird. Very weird.
He wouldn't let me train with anyone other than him, and it got kind of awkward when we had to do stretches together.
"Don't you have paperwork to do or something?" I pressed the words out as I reached for my toes. The discomfort did nothing to dull my growing irritation.
He clicked his tongue. "Try worrying about getting through this training session instead of my responsibilities," he said before pushing me down far enough for me to reach the ground. I grunted, feeling my hamstrings being pulled apart.
"Fuck you Levi," I groaned.
"Yeah, yeah, fuck me---wait what?"

---

It was the end of the day, and Levi was busy dragging me down the corridors again. It was fine--as fine as it could be until we got to that hallway--the one where I'd met that girl.
Panic climbed up my throat, my mouth drying up. This could be it, she could come out and see us. See me. What then? Would she go for both of us, or just me?
"Levi!" It came out sharper than I intended, the memory of what transpired last time I was in that place still fresh.
I was met with silence. The irritation that had built up during the day threatened to take over, but I didn't let it. Not yet.
"Levi, why? Why are you doing this? You've been dragging me around all over the place today." His grip on my hand tightened, but there was still no response. I swallowed the wave of anxiety washing up in my mouth, but the tone that came out was still far from neutral.
"Levi."
At last, he acknowledged my effort. "It's just..." he stopped uncomfortably close to where I'd been yesterday, his back turned to me. "Have you seen anyone suspicious lately?
"What does that have to do with anything?" My retort was sharp, although the coldness moving up my back had goosebumps rising on my skin. I wanted nothing more than to turn around and run away from this place. Still, I couldn't help but wonder: Did he know about her? Had he... also met her? Was it even her he was asking about? Was that why he was acting like that?
Questions clogged my brain, but I found my lips had gone far too dry to use, so I didn't try to ask.
Levi took a shaky breath. "Your-...uh, why don't we go somewhere else?" He shot a nervous glance back at me, one I hadn't seen on his face before. It was so utterly... intimate, so utterly vulnerable--the kind you save for a few special people.
It was for me, I realized, for the me he knew before.
I nodded, wetting my lips. If it was serious enough for Levi to be concerned--scared even, I'd probably be best off doing what he suggested.