(Levi Ackerman x OC) Melting A Frozen Heart ~ Attack on Titan

Chapter 38: Humanity's Freedom

trigger warning: brief mention of suicide.

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"Ah..." Chi sucked in a sharp breath when everyone finally dispersed, a jolt of pain tingling across every inch of her body. She gritted her teeth and crumpled to her knees, a hand over the bullet wound on her shoulder. The blood was already seeping through the white fabric of her button-up shirt. Levi encircled his arms around her shoulders; just then, he realized the gravity of her injuries. She was losing blood quickly.

"Chi!" he gasped, his eyes shooting to glare at Jean who stood guilty, holding the rifle in his trembling hands. "Sasha, get the needle and thread!"

She grabbed the supplies, but Chi shook her head vigorously, reminiscing about the people in white coats—Violet being one of them—prodding her with needles and metal tools. The memories flashed across her mind in bouts of terror. The faint memory of pain pricked her skin and she pushed Sasha's hands away when the younger girl came close.

"No!" Chi protested when Sasha neared again. "No—no needles, I mean... I'm fine!"

"You're not okay," Levi scoffed, holding her gently. "You always say that, you idiot, and you're never right."

A small smile curled on Chi's lips, a tiny glob of blood meeting its corner from a tiny gash on her cheek. "Not quite the reunion I was expecting, but I'll survive. It's not much to worry about."

"If only a certain fool hadn't been so trigger-happy," Levi growled, glaring daggers at Jean. Jean shivered and looked at the ground in shame.

Rolling her eyes, Chi shook her head. "Cut him some slack, Levi. I saw everything that happened between all of you and the Military Police earlier. Jean isn't alright, and he has every reason to not be okay. I understand why he's so tense."

"You were that hooded figure?" Mikasa asked in disbelief, her thoughts elsewhere as she stared at the bullet hole in the wooden frame. "I was wondering who it was. You finished off those other policemen, didn't you?"

"You goddamned idiot!" Levi cried, pulling away the cloth on Chi's shoulder. "Those people were skilled murderers! What the hell were you thinking, running into battle like that?"

Chi put on a cheeky smile, and though her face was smothered with dirt and blood, it was that same, warm, brilliant smile that everyone missed. They needed a healthy dose of it. "Do you really think I wouldn't have, given the choice?"

Levi breathed a pent-up sigh and managed what looked like the faintest smile for a flicker of a second. Hoisting her up into his arms, he stood, saying, "I was afraid you were going to say something else, idiot. But that's something you'd say. I truly missed these stupid answers you always gave." Chi flushed, covering her face with her hands.

"I hate it when you say these things," she said in a muffled voice as Levi carried her over to a stacked pile of hay bales, setting her down carefully.

"I don't care." He turned to the others. "Sasha, Mikasa, I need the both of you to finish tending to her wounds as quickly as possible. Please help her clean up, as well."

"No," Chi denied, clinging onto the fabric of Levi's shirt. "Can I spend some time with you for a bit? Alone, just the two of us?" She turned an even darker shade of red as the younger soldiers each caught each others' gazes and traded devilish smiles before casting winks in Chi's direction and leaving. Even Levi was surprised to hear her make such a request, but perhaps this really was what they needed.

Settling into the straws beside her once the others had disappeared from view, Levi asked quickly, "Are you alright?" He enveloped her with his arms and gently caressed every inch of skin he could; her face, her neck, and her hands, all the while dropping kisses on her forehead and the corners of her lips.