Recall - Levi Ackerman x Fem OC (An Attack On Titan /// Shingeki No Kyojin ff)

Chapter 31 - A New Perspective

Planting his hands purposefully on the dewy grass beneath him, Levi slowly sat himself up. The action was a lot more taxing than he'd anticipated, and by the time his spine was straight he was huffing in air with great effort through bandages covering his mouth. The feeling was distressing and he wasn't sure he could quite get enough oxygen into his lungs.

As the blanket that had been covering him slid down his body, his unobstructed eye spotted with black dots. It took a minute for them to clear again, and when they did his eyes landed on Hange and Leah. They were sat around a campfire, a few meters away from where Levi was. Leah was sat in the grass, her knees hugged to her chest and her gaze fixed unblinkingly on the dancing flames.

Her face was pale causing the dark circles beneath her eyes to seem even more defined. There was no trace of laughter or joy on her face, instead a hint of wetness on her cheeks that glistened in the fire and sun light .

Hange was turned away from Levi, focused on a joint of meat hanging over the fire, rotating it obsessively on its skewer.

Levi lifted his least aching hand and rubbed his good eye, working away the accumulated sleep. "Oi, carrot-top." Levi rasped, his voice weaker and more muffled than he would've hoped.

But it was enough to get both Leah and Hange's attention. The red-head's eyes snapped to where Levi was and her posture straightened in shock. For a moment it seemed like she was staring at a ghost, the way Levi's porcelain skin seemed to glow in the light. His metallic gaze was trained on her, a tired and pained look replacing his usual deadpan.

He was alive. He'd woken up.

Leah's throat tightened and her eyes stung with tears once more as she scrambled up in the moist grass and threw herself in Levi's direction, ignoring the screaming from the wound in her shoulder.

When Leah's body collided with Levi's the pain forced all air from the ravenette's lungs. Leah's arms engulfed him, and as Levi wrapped his own around her, he felt a sob shake her chest. Every wound in his body seared at the contact, but Levi didn't care. Leah was crying, and he was going to comfort her. He held onto her as tightly as he could, but his muscles were exhausted already.

Abruptly, Leah pulled back, her breathing hissing through her gritted teeth. The look on her face was that of a wild animal. Her face contorted with fury, her bloodshot eyes so angry that Levi froze in place, his hands resting on her hips. All her sadness had dissolved as she lifted her hands and shoved them against Levi's bare chest.

Levi's arms shot out behind him to keep him upright, only barely succeeding. "You asshole!" She cried, her shoulders trembling. "What were you thinking!? I thought you were going to die!" Her voice quickly choked up with tears and her body collapsed in on itself. Leah crumbled to her knees, folding over herself as she sobbed into her hands. Levi's gaze softened.

"Leah, be careful!" Hange had called out, as soon as the woman's outburst had begun. The Commander moved over, placing a hand on Leah's back and looking up at Levi.

"Three-eyes." Levi croaked in greeting.

"It's good to have you with us again, Levi." Hange replied, a much better hold on their emotions than Leah. Both turned to Leah as her crying softened.

"I'm sorry." Levi whispered.

"You should be." She sniffed, wiping the tears from her face. She slowly rose from the ground, "I've never been more worried. I thought you were leaving me to deal with Hange alone." Levi let out a chuckle of relief when Leah's lips curled into a smile, but the laugh never quite reached his eyes.

"Anyway, let's-"

Hange cut themselves off when suddenly the trio were teleported elsewhere. The sky was dark and everything cast in a blue hue by a beacon of light in the distance. "What the fu-" Beneath their feet was sand.