Angel With A Shotgun [Levi Ackerman x OC] / Attack on Titan / Shingeki no Kyojin

Code L: To No Avail

"Stop!" Levi cried, attempting to pull Xora back, but she harshly pushed him off of her once again. She staggered to her feet and wrapped her fingers around the bar of the deadlift, her brows tightly knitted, sweat dotting her forehead. With her body tightly coiled like a spring, she heaved it up once again, to her knees. Once, she lost her balance, but she caught herself and puffed in a large breath to pull the bar up.

But Xora's efforts were truly futile. She quivered when the bar rose to her hips; it was too much. With an enraged cry, she pushed the bar off and it fell to the floor with another earth-shattering bang. Xora stood, silent. Then she crumpled to her knees, staring at the bar with furious disappointment.

"Why?" she whispered, biting her lower lip. A jolt was sent through Levi when he saw a tear trickle from the corner of Xora's eye. She hunched over and slammed her fists into the floor with broken frustration. "I have to... I need to get stronger. I must! But no matter what I do, I'm the same,  and I'm weak. I must avenge them. I must protect them. But I failed, I failed, dammit! I can't change anything! Dammit! God dammit!"

Unable to speak, Levi knelt beside the woman and helped her upright, wiping her cheeks with the backs of his hands. But no matter how much he did, the tears still fell. It hurt his heart to see her oceanic irises glimmer with so many tears and so much pain. Eventually, he stopped and instead held her hands in the quietness of her sobs.

"H—how can I expect to protect you if I can't even protect them?" Xora muttered, shaking her head with pursed lips. "And I wouldn't even be able to avenge you properly..."

"I don't need protection," Levi scoffed. "There won't be any need to avenge me, you fool."

"But I can't lose any more of my comrades. I can't lose anyone. I can't lose you, of all people." Xora hung her head, her wet eyes glued to the floor between them. "Oh, please... not you. If I don't work hard, everyone will have to pay for it. I must become strong now, before everything I love turns to dust."

Levi looked at Xora for a contemplative moment before heaving a large sigh. "I hope you realize that you are not as alone as you think you are. We are all agents as well, you know, and we've trained for missions like these for years on end. We are capable of fighting, too, and you aren't the only one who wants to protect everyone around you. Don't take it upon yourself to blame yourself for things that are completely out of your control—like being unable to save everybody. Sometimes, the reality is that people die, and there's truly nothing you can do about it. In the end, nothing is absolutely your fault. Let the rest of us protect you for once, will you?"

The words seemed to hit Xora like a brick wall; she froze and took some time to swallow Levi's words, a strange new light burying itself within her eyes. With a small but solemn nod, she sniffed and scrubbed her cheeks with the backs of her hands.

"You're right," she whispered. "This is a war I can't fight alone. I need everybody. I need you, Levi."

"Of course you do," he responded with a sarcastic humor, but he couldn't suppress a rush of relief. He knew Xora had been wallowing in a pool of self-hatred since she figured out that she hadn't captured the right killer, but he didn't know that it was so intense, she would bring herself to the point of almost breaking herself.

With a sigh that seemed to suck the thickness out of the air, Levi abruptly pulled Xora against him, tightly wrapping his arms around her. They stayed that way for a long time; although Xora was sticky with sweat and covered in her own tears, Levi didn't release his hold for a single moment.

"Thank you," Levi mumbled into the skin of her shoulder. "For having a heart of gold and for caring for your comrades to such a caliber. I don't think there's anyone on the face of the planet who values my life as much as you do. And I see that. But I value yours, too, and I hope you realize that. Please understand."

There was no response from Xora. She instead clung tightly to Levi, as if the world were to fall apart at any moment. When they parted, Levi helped Xora stand. Her legs nearly gave out, but Levi hooked an arm behind her to keep her steady and pressed against him. Initially, she tried to lean away from him and walk on her own, but it was clear that she wasn't capable of that in her current state.

"I know you're no damsel in distress," Levi said exasperatedly, tightening his hold on Xora. "But seriously, you're going to fall if you don't hold onto me at least a little bit." She looked at him warily before smiling, taking a hold on his arm.

With Levi's help and an awkward hobble, Xora made her way to the upper level, freezing and pulling Levi back once they reached her room. At first, he looked at her worriedly, but the rosy color of her cheeks spoke for her.

"C—could I stay with you, tonight?" she mumbled. She wouldn't dare to meet Levi's eyes, and he barely suppressed a grin. Without a response, the two entered the captain's dark room. Once there, he eased Xora onto the bed and tossed her a towel, allowing her to wipe down her sweat-coated body. Though she desired to shower and rid herself of the dampness, she lacked the energy to do so. Rolling onto her side in the large bed, she grabbed the sheets and snuggled deeply into its crevices. They smelled of Levi's muted cleanliness.

He joined her moments later and settled into the pillows, laying flat on his back. From there he could feel fatigue begin to settle into his body, but small shuffling stirred him once more. Beside him, Xora had curled up against his side, one of her hands laying across his stomach. He smiled in the darkness and draped an arm around Xora's shoulder, pressing her closer to him. She moved and laid her head upon his shoulder, where he could feel her light breaths move across his chest.

While they basked in the cool of the dead of night, there was a strange tranquility that dangled in the air. Once, Xora pressed her lips against the bare skin of Levi's collarbone, softly and tenderly. His hand unconsciously went to her hair, where his fingers slowly and gently combed through her soft strands.

Within no time at all, he felt her breath become slow and steady, more rhythmic, reflecting against his warm skin. The sensation of having her beside him, living and breathing, was something he realized he had been lacking lately. He cherished every moment of it; these seconds, in the deep hours of the night where the world lay paralyzed, sleeping, were a treasure.

Though the fragile world seemed as though it would collapse, in this moment, Levi felt something he hadn't in a long time: peace. In the morning he would have to wake and face the dire challenges that daunted him, but that was still yet to come. The crumbling world could—must—be saved, even if in the end, it may cost something dear to him.

Allowing a breath to rumble through his chest, Levi curled onto his side and laid an arm around Xora, holding her close. It was only in moments like these where he felt he could protect her, even in the slightest. If she were awake, she would refuse that protection. The thought made the corner of Levi's lip curl. He nuzzled into Xora's hair and firmly shut his eyes, willing his body to rest, for once.

And, after only a few more seconds of the encounter with tranquility, Levi fell into a deep slumber.