Stranded | Levi x Reader

Forward

She played the next ones, some from aunts and uncles, some from long-time friends.

"(Y/N), I hope I am not the bringer of bad news, I'm sure you've been called already, but when I heard about the accident I just needed to call you right away. Don't ever hesitate to call your Auntie Carrie okay? I'm here with anything you need. Love you."

Most of the messages contained something to that effect. Finally she reached the first one, from an unknown number.

"(Y/N/L/N)? This is the Cook County Hospital. We're calling to notify you of the deaths of (M/N) and (D/N/L/N). Both of them were caught up in a car accident on the Dan Ryan Expressway. A semi-truck lost control and they were both killed on impact. Please call us back for further information."

(Y/N) let her arm drop, still clutching the phone. She closed her eyes. She felt Levi's hands take hold of her arms.

"(Y/N)." He spoke, his voice soft.

She let a few tears roll down her cheeks before letting out a shaky breath. "I'm okay."

He lifted a hand to her cheek, willing her to open her eyes and look at him. "Are you? It's okay to be upset."

She flung her arms around him, putting everything she had into the embrace. He held her there for a long time, letting her sobs dampen his shoulder. She was torn apart for the second time over the deaths of her parents. It wasn't as bad as the first time, but it still hurt. Levi rubbed circles into her back as she cried, reassuring her that she didn't need to hurt alone. He was here for her, and everyone who sent her messages was there for her too.

It'll all be okay.

~

The wake and funeral were... awkward, to say the least. Most people either ignored Levi's existence or whispered about who he was behind their backs, wondering about the story of this mysterious, dark stranger was that didn't leave (Y/N)'s side. She was reminded of the fact that his face and name was plastered all over the news not that long ago, and she wondered what kind of excuses she'd have to come up with if that topic were to surface.

Thankfully, it didn't- or it at least stayed inside people's heads.

Her boss heard the news and promptly gave them two weeks off from work, paid- so that was nice. However, it just meant she had more time to mope around and not think about her responsibilities. Levi took it upon himself to handle all of the cleaning and laundry, which left (Y/N) in a state of laziness. She filled her time with random hobbies, but mostly binge-watching anime on any streaming site she could find. Levi didn't seem all that interested in what she was watching, but he'd stay and look every once in a while to see what it was all about.

He plopped down next to her once after throwing a load of laundry in, barely paying attention to the moving pictures on the screen.

He scoffed at one of them, the character being depicted as an exaggerated version of themself for comedic effect.

She laughed and looked at him. "You know, this is how I got acquainted with you, Mr. Ackerman."

He gave her the side-eye. "Yeah? What was that like?"

She smiled. "I can remember the uproar your existence caused online... everyone either wanted to be you or be with you."

He raised a brow. "Really?" He sounded unimpressed.

"Can you blame them? You're the coolest guy out there, and you make all the ladies swoon with your dashing good looks. It's no wonder I fell for you, even if you were just lines on a page."