Jean and Connie deposited their Captain safely on the airship, relinquishing her care to Hange who immediately poured themself over the female.
She was unresponsive, but stable. Her heart palpitated in her chest and her breathing was laboured and wheezy.
When Levi landed on the airship and noticed the nervous looks being thrown his way he narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Springer. Where's Captain Leah?" Levi asked, trying to ignore the unsettling looks.
Connie looked distressed. "Nobody told you? She's with Hange- she's been gassed with something."
Levi had stormed to the front of the airship before Connie had even finished his sentence, worry causing his pulse to race. He threw the door open and his eyes roved the room for Leah.
He spotted her, laid back on the floor with Hange hovering nervously at her side. He moved over calmly and dropped to his knees, whipping his Scout cloak off from around his shoulders to bundle up and put behind her head to soften the floor.
"What happened." He demanded, looking the woman over. He cupped her face in his hands and examined it, noting the small cuts on her face. His hands ghosted over her body, pausing briefly at the laceration on her arm.
"She's stable- we think. Zeke said she-"
Levi's eyes snapped up to the steaming blonde man propped up against the wall. His tinted glasses fogged up in the heat, and his lack of limbs past his knees and elbows meant he was defenseless to Levi's attack.
The shorter black-haired man grabbed his collar roughly. "What the hell has your soldiers done to her!?" He roared before stamping his booted foot down on Zeke's nub of a leg.
"Yow- she's fine, Levi-"
"She doesn't look fine!" He seethed, stomping down again. Zeke let out another pained cry. Hange put a hand on Levi's shoulder and shook it gently. "Wait, I think she's waking up."
Leah was definitely stirring. Her breathing became more purposeful, but as it did, the death rattle her lungs made only grew in intensity. As Levi made his way back over to her, she let out a muffled grunt and her arms twitched.
"Wha' the..." Leah had barely croaked out the words before her lungs siezed and she was forced into a coughing fit.
She pushed herself to sit upright and she doubled over as her chest barked unhealthily. She bent her knee and rested her arm on it to support herself as every inhale she made was interrupted by a chesty cough.
Levi crouched next to her, placing a hand on her back and gently rubbing it up and down until she was through the fit. When she could breath normally again her head fell back against the wall, her eyes pricked with tears and her face flushed red from the effort.
The metallic taste of blood filled Leah's mouth and her nose scrunched up as she smacked her lips. At a second glance, the dark sleeve she'd been coughing into was dotted with dark red marks that reached all the way to the lighter skin of her hands. When her gaze lingered there for a second to long, Levi's eyes travelled down to her blood-speckled hand and gritted his teeth.
"You said she was fine. This- is not fine!" He hissed at Zeke. When Leah started coughing again, Hange could tell Levi was seconds away from lashing out at Zeke and promptly stepped in.
Simultaneously, Armin landed in the ajar doorway of their private part of the airship, fixing his attention on just outside as moments later he reached down and clasped Eren's hand in his own before yanking him up into the room.
"Levi. I need you to deal with Eren." The Commander steered Levi towards the gathered teenagers and away from Zeke.
Unluckily for Eren, Levi was boiling over with anger. "Well aren't you a filthy sight. It's like you fell in a pile of shit, Eren."
"Captain Levi." At the sound of the boy's voice Leah's head perked up and her watery eyes travelled over to where he was knelt. Without much warning, Levi swung a kick at Eren's face and send him flying into the wall on the opposite side of the room.
"Levi-" Leah rasped, being cut of by a cough. He glanced over at her but quickly returned his attention to Eren.
"This takes me back, Eren." He mused, sauntering up to him as two other Scouts aimed their guns at the boy's head. Leah watched helplessly, taking in his appearance. His chocolate hair was shoulder length and unkempt, his face framed with a poor attempt at a goatee. The original red marks from being in his titan form were visible under his eyes.
While Hange was providing Leah with a drink of water, which help calm her irritated oesophagus, Levi was taking his anger out on Eren. "You have a real kick-able face, you know that? Just like that hairball brother of yours... once you're tied up I'd like to have a longer chat."
"That's alright by me." Eren drawled out, fixing his gaze on Levi's boots. "But I explained everything in the letters I wrote. Did you not understand them?" The insolence dripping from his voice as he uttered that final sentence make the room grow physically colder. He finally lifted his gaze to meet Levi's and the older male squinted his eyes in disgust.
"Tch. I know that face. I used to see it on the rotten shits I met in the underground. Never thought... I'd see it on you. Hey, cheer up. Everything went just like you wanted."
Levi took a step back to allow Eren to look over at where Zeke sat, barely visible amongst the thick steam radiating from him. Eren's eyes paused on Leah for a split second before continuing to his blonde half-brother.
When Leah eventually felt strong enough to try and stand, after managing five whole minutes without coughing, Levi came to her side and offered her an arm for support.
"Hey. How long you gonna make me look at that thing?" He complained to Yelena as he inspected the cut on Leah's arm.
Leah chuckled, coughing weakly towards the end. "I think you suit it, Yelena."
"Yeah, what's your problem, Levi? Everyone else likes it."
Just then a loud bang echoed from the other end of the ship. Everyone's heads turned in that direction in curiosity, "Are they still celebrating our victory?" Levi judged, dabbing Leah's exposed arm with a damp cloth. She hissed through her clenched teeth. "Sorry." He mumbled, lightening his touch.
When the door to the room slammed open, Levi increased the pressure on the wound and Leah yelped. "Ow- Levi-"
With everyone's eyes fixed on Jean and the two young hostages that had appeared in the doorway, Levi felt self pecking Leah's lips softly. "I'm sorry. I'm almost done."
With Leah placated, he continued to clean the blood off her arm, the only one not staring at the doorway in shock. Even Leah's eyes flicked between the young girl and boy restrained by Jean. Their faced were cut, bruised and bloodied and it was obvious they'd been attacked.
Zeke gasped. "Gabi... Falco... how did you get here?"
The blonde boy, Falco, spoke up. "What about you? We thought that you were dead." He questioned in a soft tone.
The girl, Gabi, spoke next in a voice the polar opposite of the boy's. "They took you alive? But how is that possible- why would you let them??" She whined in an grating voice. Levi stepped away from Leah and discarded the bloody cloth, while Leah tugged her uniform back over her arm.
The male Captain moved over to Jean, "Who the hell are these kids?"
Rope bound each of their arms to their torso and Jean held them in place with a hand on each of their shoulders. "They somehow killed Lobov. And then used his gear to climb aboard. This one shot Sasha before we could catch her." Jean's voice shook with emotion as he glared down at the auburn-haired girl. "I- don't think she's gonna make it."
Leah's eyes widened as she let out a breath of disbelief. Armin and Mikasa charged out the room without hesitation and Leah moved after them.
"Leah, wait," Her Co-Captain snagged her wrist. "I don't think you should strain your chest just yet. They've got it covered out there."
Leah looked desperately between Levi and the door Armin and Mikasa disappeared through. If Sasha was about to die, she wanted to be there. But Levi's reasoning made sense. She would be distraught if she had to watch the girl die, and the last thing she needed was to cough up a lung.
Leah sighed and bit her lip anxiously, moving to lean her weight against the wall.
Hange re-entered the room from the steering console room just off from the one they stood in now. "Well, Zeke. It seems everything's played out just like you wanted. Wouldn't you say?"
Zeke stared unblinkingly at the kids before him. "I did make a few miscalculations. But aside from that I would."
The young girl made a sound of distress, which suggested she'd caught on about Zeke's switch in alliegence.
"Huh, wait- who are these kids?" Hange spotted them.
"Miscalculations."
After a while of arguing and people taking their anger out on each other, the door to their compartment slowly creaked open. Leah had been stood leaning against the wall in silence, her cut arm limp at her side and the other hugging across her body, her mind consumed with worry over Sasha's life and the added complication of the hostage Marleyean kids.
When a figure hung mutely in the doorway, Leah finally looked up, and judging by the look of utter disbelief on Connie's face, knew that they'd lost Sasha.
A stream of tears spilt from one of his widened eyes. "It's Sasha. She just died." His voice trembled.
Leah lifted a hand to cover her mouth, staring at Connie in shock. She couldn't believe it. How many squad members would Leah have to lose before it became too much? Everytime someone died under her watch, a little bit more of her resilience and resolution crumbled.
Breaking through the eerie silence of the airship, louder still than the engine's chugging, was a harmony of Mikasa and Armin's anguished cries.
"Connie." Eren spoke up, his voice void of emotions. "Did Sasha... leave you... any last words?"
Leah felt her legs grow weak beneath her as she slid more of her weight against the wall, her hand muffling her soft cries of heartbreak.
"She asked... for some meat."
A gasp escaped Eren, a sentiment Leah could share. One thing Leah didn't agree with was the laugh of insanity that rung from Eren's chest moments later. Between every chuckle he gulped in a shaky breath.
Noting the increasing pain and suffering on Connie's face she paced forward and pulled the tall boy into a comforting hug. He held onto Leah for dear life, his hands clinging to the back of her uniform as he sobbed into her shoulder. Her hand cradled the back of his head and her tears dropped from her glistening cheeks to dampen Connie's top.
"Eren," Jean simmered. "Sasha only died because you dragged the Scouts into this. You know that?" His voice was dangerously low and laced with poison. If words could kill, Eren would be a decomposing skeleton on the floor of the airship. Instead, he glared at the floor, his teeth gritted together and the remnants of a laugh on his features.
"You monster." Jean's composure was cracking, and Leah looked over her shoulder, spreading an arm to draw him into the hug. The teenager, who was taller still than Connie, accepted it shamelessly. She held both of them close, and for those soul shattering minutes of grief, Leah was more of a mother to them than a Captain.
On returning to Paradis, the papers were updated on their 'success' in Liberio. For the Scouts who lost a close friend, it didn't feel like much of a success. There was a funeral held for Sasha and the other 8 soldiers that lost their lives in the raid, during which Leah passed on her condolences to the girl's sorrowful family. Her Mother had hugged Leah, thanking her for protecting her daughter in the Scouts.
Leah felt like she hadn't done a job worth praising considering the girl was dead.
"I don't see why I can't go with you?" Leah carped as she and Levi made their way at quickened pace towards the stables of the new Shiganshina Barracks. Levi, with an army of soldiers, had been tasked with guarding Zeke in the forest of giant trees, just outside Trost in which they'd once faced off with the Female Titan.
"Because if Eren is going to listen to anyone, it's you. And plus, you've been charmed by Zeke once. Who's to say he won't do it again?"
Leah clenched her jaw, narrowing her eyes at Levi. "He did not charm me. I had no reason to suspect he was a fucking titan." She bit back testily. When a small smirk curled up the corner of Levi's lips, Leah realised he was just winding her up and she huffed in annoyance.
"Who's to say Eren will listen to anything I have to say? He's not the same kid we were protecting all those years ago."
"Somebody needs to stay here and lead the Levi Squad." He reasoned, glancing around at the empty courtyard before slipping his hand into hers.
Leah gazed down out their intertwined hands as they walked. They were going to be apart for weeks. The whole point of keeping Zeke in the woods was to ensure he was isolated and hidden from the rebellious Eren. If the brothers got together, they'd either go along with Zeke's plan or activate the rumbling. While Leah saw their separation as a necessary precaution, she regretted being kept apart from Levi.
"I'm changing the name while you're gone. It'll be the Leah Squad." She said light-heartedly. Levi chuckled and gave her hand a squeeze. "You do that, love."
When they stepped into an alley that led them out at the stables, Leah paused, tugging her other half to stop. Levi turned to Leah, his brow raised. "What's wrong?"
"I'll miss you." She said under her breath, despite being alone in the hidden alley. Levi sent her a sympathetic smile and engulfed her in a hug. She wrapped her arms around his torso and sighed. "I'll miss you too."
Levi leaned back, looking down at her lovingly as he lifted one hand to the side of her neck. He kissed her tenderly on the lips, wanting to spend this last moment with her before he left. She'd been right about bad timing for a relationship. With everything happening with Marley, the only time they'd spent together was on business where they had to be professionals.
Every night he wanted to spend hidden away with her in her room, another consuming job was dumped on him, or in some cases, on Leah. He vowed to himself when this was all over, he'd make up for lost time.
Leah kissed him back longingly, pushing her body against his in an attempt to get as close as possible. When they pulled away Leah sighed sadly. "Are you sure you can't just take me with you? Maybe my influence on Jeagers will transfer to Zeke too?" She suggested, hope sparkling in her eyes.
Levi's laughed softly and they continued walking down the alley, his arm around her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Leah. I'll be back soon."
As the cart carrying Levi and Zeke pulled away from the stables, followed by the rest of the Scouts going with him, Leah stood by and watched. Through the glass window of the carriage, Zeke waved at her enthusiastically, an overly friendly smile present on his face that caused Leah's blood to boil.
"Aw, she's charming isn't she." Zeke sighed fondly, turning away from the window to face Levi sitting opposite him. The short male glared in aversion.
"Quite."
"You make a cute couple, you know." Zeke offered, a knowingly smile spreading across his features.
Levi's eyebrow twitched. "Sorry?" He tried to seem non-chalant, but the very fact Zeke had to gall to talk about Leah after what he did to her Brother and Mother made him burn with anger.
"Yourself and Leah. It's obvious, even if you do seem to be hiding it for some reason. Scared she could become a target as a way to take down humanity's strongest soldier?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Levi growled, his eyes burning into Zeke's head. The blonde man shrugged calmly, a smile still on his face. "Deny it all you want. Nothing gets past these old eyes." He tapped the frame of glasses.
Levi bit his tongue, realising now this was going to be a long and strenuous couple of weeks.
Leah, since she was at the military base anyway, decided to pay a visit to their currently imprisoned Eren Jeager.
"Being jailed for insubordination twice is impressive, Jeager. I must admit." She droned, walking into the underground cell unit where the guards on duty nodded to her in respect. She stood before the bars, her hands clasped behind her back. Eren sat on the floor, with his back against the cold stone wall and his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the opposite wall.
"You're beginning to sound like Captain Levi." He grumbled back coldly. Leah tensed her jaw and let out a curt laugh. "I'll take that as a compliment, Eren."
"It wasn't meant to be." He finally twisted his head to face Leah, his icy glare intensified by the shadow cast onto his face. "Your hair is a lot shorter now." He commented after his eyes gave Leah a once over.
She lifted a hand to her bobbed copper hair. She'd forced the haircut on herself as soon as they landed back on Paradis, and while at first she hated it, the haircut grew on her. Her hand combed through the loose waves. "Your hair's a lot longer." She replied.
Eren scoffed and looked away again, leaning forward and resting his arms on his knees. "Have you come to tell me off, Captain?" He jibed.
"I didn't. But I don't appreciate your tone, Eren." Leah's patience was running thin. In their co-captain dynamic, Levi held all their self-restraint and level-headedness.
"My bad." If he was trying to be sincere, he wasn't trying very hard.
Leah deliberated for a moment, "Unlock the cell, please." Everyone's heads swiveled to look at Leah, Eren's included.
"But Ma'am-"
"Just do it, please." She barked out the order so firmly, the soldier bowed his head and fumbled to unlock the jail cell.
When the lock clicked open, Eren made no effort to move. Instead, Leah paced forward and walked into the cell like Eren was nothing more than an innocent puppy. The cell door swung shut behind her and the guard hesitated to lock it again, until Leah nodded in approval.
She slid down the wall opposite Eren and mimicked his pose by bending her knees and resting her weight forward onto them. He looked at her with a face of suspicion and perplexity.
"What? It's not as if any of this could actually contain you." She reminded with a straight face. Eren stared at her from behind the hair fallen in front of his face. With his eyes fixed on hers, he reached up a hand, swept up his hair in his fists and tied it at the back of his head in a fashionable man-bun.
"You could get in a lot of trouble for this." He said coolly, relaxing his posture so his shoulders fell slack and one of his legs straightened out before him.
"And what do you think'll happen? Do you think they'll dismiss such a valuable veteran?" She challenged.
"I could kill you."
The sentence were direct. Not a threat, more an acknowledgement of the possibilities. The guards outside the cell shifted.
"What happened to you, Eren?" Leah said dejectedly, her eyes begging for an explanation.
He glared back. "I grew up and realised the world's not all sunshine and rainbows."
"You're still a kid. Just leave this for us to handle." She appealed, desperation evident in her voice.
"I'm nineteen. I'm not some weakling anymore." He snarled, anger prickling through his body.
"You're going to have so much blood on your hands, Eren. There's no going back from these plans. It's genocide!"
Eren slammed his fist into the stone flooring. "Stop nagging me- you're not my mom!" He bellowed darkly.
Leah was taken aback. The blow was low, especially since she cared for the boy so deeply. A scowl contorted her face as she looked away from Eren and pushed herself to stand up.
"Levi was right. You really are just a rotten shit." She hummed as she made for the door to the cell.
Eren jumped up abruptly and put himself between Leah and her escape, a rabid look on his face. Both of the guards raised their guns to point at Eren.
Leah continued forward, "Out of my way, Jeager."
"You should be scared of me." He strode towards her, the distance between them closed in no time. At the proximity, Leah realised he'd grown considerably. He'd always been slightly taller than her, but he now towered over her completely. His hand grasped a fistful of her shirt collar and hoisted her into the air, twisting to hold her against the wall.
Leah grunted in pain as her shirt suffocated her airway and the back of her head collided with the stone wall. Her vision spiralled as she blinked desperately to steady it again. "Let go of me, Eren." She choked out, not fighting back. There was no doubt the young man could over power her in a heart-beat.
"Make up your mind. Am I Eren, or am I a rotten shit?" He hissed, the toxicity in his voice profound.
"Eren!" Armin gasped as he rounded into the cell unit, Mikasa in swift pursuit.
"Eren, let go of her!" Mikasa pleaded, grabbing the bars of the cell and shaking them. Eren dropped Leah immediately and she stumbled back against the wall, her hands clawing for purchase on the concrete walls as she spluttered worryingly.
"Leah, are you okay?" Armin said in alarm. "Unlock the cell!" Mikasa ordered at the same time. The guard, under even more pressure now, scrambled to find the right key and crack the lock open.
Mikasa reached in, hooked Leah's arm and yanked her out the cell, fixing Eren a terrified look. Leah was still wheezing, her phlegmy coughs brought up spots of blood onto the palm of her hand. "Fuck." She muttered, stumbling against a wall. Armin rushed to her side, supporting her with a hand on her arm. "Goodbye, Eren." Leah snapped callously, lumbering from the room with Mikasa and Armin in tow.
(3870 words)