That Heart Of Gold | Levi X Reader

chapter twenty-four

"It seems the Titan expert Hange knows everything - even more than Marley," Pieck said. It was the first time you'd heard her speak. Her voice was unexpectedly calm. "Have you seen the Founding Titan?"

Hange shook her head. "I know it's so humongous that it seems nothing can be done, so...We've got no other choice." The sudden confidence and sureness in her voice shocked you. "We've gotta put our powers together."

There was a long pause. Your fingers brushed over your rifle.

"Fine," Magath eventually said. "This seems to be our best course of action."

You sighed in relief, letting your hand fall to your side. You glanced up at Pieck, but she was already watching you. Her face wasn't worried or scared. It was serene. You narrowed your eyes at her, and her lips twitched. "Nice to meet you, too," she said softly. After regarding you for another minute, she turned to Hange. "What do you suggest for the next course of action?"

Hange spoke immediately. "Gathering our allies. She'd clearly thought this through. "We both have people on our sides that are stuck in Shiganshina with the Jaegerists. We need to get them out of the city so we can regroup and figure out our next move."

"How are we supposed to retrieve them if they're prisoners?" Magath asked, eyeing the three of you warily. "You three don't seem to be in the best shape."

"I can fight," you cut in.

Magath stared at you for a moment. "You can fight," he repeated.

Hange nodded and spoke up. "She can fight, and she's pretty damn good at it, too. You're looking at one of the best soldiers we've ever had."

"Impressive," Pieck added, and you felt your shoulders rise. "But you're injured, aren't you?"

You glanced down at your ribs and side. They were both still heavily bandaged under the shirt you were wearing. How did she know you were hurt? "I'll manage," you argued. "I can fight if I have to."

If you were speaking the truth, you had no idea if you could fight if you had to. But no one needed to know that.

Pieck hummed. "Okay."

She was extremely different compared to all the other Marleyan Titan Shifter's you'd met. Betholdt and Reiner tried to kill you all in Shiganshina, and Zeke also tried to kill you a mere few hours ago. Pieck was... surprisingly agreeable.

"Y/N," Hange suggested. "Why don't you come down from there?"

You froze. No. You didn't want to get down. Because you did't want anyone to know how bad your injury was. You didn't want Levi to know how bad your injury was. You didn't want to know how bad your injury was. If you got off your horse, you knew that you'd stumble and possibly fall. There was a dull ache in the back of your head that made you feel slighlty dizzy. If you tried to get off your horse, you knew it'd end badly.

You glanced down at Hange and sighed. She was practically pleading with you. If you didn't cooperate, Magath and Pieck would never trust you. They'd still think that you were a threat. With a sigh, you kicked one leg over your horse and slid off, gripping the saddle like a lifeline.

It wasn't bad. You still felt like shit, but better than yesterday.

Hange touched your shoulder and squeezed, telling you without words that she'd support you if you needed it. You smiled gratefully at her and nodded, telling her you were okay. She nodded back and turned to walk over to Magath so they could come up with a plan. You slowly walked over to Levi, and when you met his gaze, you shrunk in on yourself. He could always see right through you. He knew that you were downplaying your injury to decrease the amount of guilt he felt. None of this was his fault, but if you were walking around visibly injured, it would break him. And you didn't want to seem weak in front of Magath or Pieck, two people who wouldn't mind having you dead. You felt their eyes on you.