Be Kind (Doctor Reader x Levi Ackerman)

Chapter 39: Armistice

Suddenly, a Titan appears next to you. It was so quick and its presence so quiet, you hardly noticed it. The crown of red hair and green eyes, this Titan was undeniably Josef Olbrich.

"Josef, I'm so sorry," you choked on your tears. "I couldn't be... a good Section Commander in the end."

Josef swats at you, but you evade it with a quick pull of your trigger and wires. His green eyes are staring emptily at you, and you think he's still in there... somewhere. Begging you to help him, to save him.

Begging you to turn him back to human, to be your squad member again, and to be a doctor once more.

Begging you to let him see his sister, one last time.

"I'm so sorry, I couldn't save you," you cried and screamed. "Josef, I'm sorry. I'm sorry!"

When Josef lunges at you, you couldn't react fast enough. Or perhaps, your soul couldn't bring yourself to end his life.

You hear Levi screaming your name.

There was a flash of green and silver, and the shrill sound of slashing bladed and the cutting of flesh.

Josef falls to the ground, and his body begins to steam. Levi lands next to you, checking for injuries and shaking you back to reality.

"Fight!" Levi yells at you, the grip of his hands on your shoulders hard as steel. "You must survive, fight!"

You blinked back tears.

"I know this is insane and cruel, but our comrades are gone!" Levi grits his teeth, his fingers digging into your skin. "They've already died the moment Zeke screamed, we are not the ones killing them, you understand me?"

You quickly nodded.

"Good, fight with me, or stay behind where it's safe!" Levi releases his hands from you, and reattaches a new pair of blades into his swords.

Right. You had to fight. You promised Levi to survive and live. You silently thanked Levi for snapping you back to reality, if it weren't for him, you would've gone mentally insane in this predicament.

With tears still clinging to your eyes, you jumped to the next Titan.

It was Gabriel, he was the best at sutures and helped rescue you years ago when you were taken away by Johanne and the MPs. He was a reliable team member and a great doctor.

—

When Levi has finished dealing the blows with the last Titan, he takes off after Zeke. He tells you to bring two horses and a cart, and chase after him. You bring your Military Doctor kit and attach it to your gear, just in case.

You want to fall to the ground and cry. You want to run, scream, shout. The world is so cruel. But all you could do right now was to swallow your fear and devastation, and bring the horses and cart to Levi as instructed. You remind yourself that Levi is still alive and that he needs you, and that was all that mattered right now.

On the way to Levi, you churn out all the possibilities on why you didn't turn just like the others did. You should have been a Titan right now, but by a stroke of luck, you were still human. Despite being slightly shell-shocked at the moment, you're one hundred percent sure you drank the same wine everyone did.

Levi is an exception since he's an Ackerman, even if he did drink the wine, he's immune to it. But what about you?

Could it be because you only had a few sips while everyone else drank a full cup or more? However, you don't think quantity was the factor here, because it still contained Zeke's spinal fluid regardless. Freud only had a sip as well and he still turned.