6. Mothers
A week has passed since the phenomenal expedition and the topic about the aberrants is still the hot topic of the brigade. Not just the Survey Corps, but also the Garrison and Military Police heard about it. It made them curious of what caused that miracle to happened? But is it even a miracle?
The soldier that Levine saved that day told his peers about what he experienced that day and rumors about Levine started spreading. Rumors that Levine has something to do with the aberrants. Hange just made that rumor seem realistic.
"Could it be that the titans are afraid of Levine?!" She keeps on muttering to herself as he pace around her office. Whenever she do experiments with Eren and just...everytime she wonder off with her thoughts and it annoys the hell out of Levine.
"You know, the Squad Leader is really pushing her theory," Connie said as they eat dinner in the mess hall and Levine clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"And it's really getting into my nerves," he said and Hazel suddenly slammed her hands on the table as she glared at Hange.
"No, Hange! I am not letting you do experiments on me!" She yelled at the latter with a very angry tone. That also got the other's attention, even Levine's.
"I-I am not going to do anything. I promise. I just want to see if--" Hazel glared intenser and points her finger at the brunette megane.
"Look, Hange. I may be a shifter, but I am still human. I live like one, I talk like one, I think like one and you know that experimenting on a human while carrying a child in her is just not right! So shut the f*ck up and leave me and my child alone!" She said and growled before stomping off the mess hall. Hange was taken aback and also feel guilty about what she asked of the blonde
The teenage cadets were also surprised by the sudden commotion and Eren sighed.
"I knew I should have told her off," he said and their attention turned to the brunette.
"What do you mean, Eren?" Mikasa asked and Eren played with his spoon.
"She's really curious of what will happened if Hazel-san transform while pregnant, but I didn't know that she'll actually ask Hazel-san to do it," Eren said and Armin's eyes widened and Levine bit on his bread.
"But wouldn't that affect Hazel-san? Something might get wrong and she might loss her child," Armin said and Jean clicked his tongue.
"Who knew that Hazel is actually concern about her child," Mikasa glared at him which scared and shock the latter.
"Any mother would hate to see her child die," she said and Levine looked at Mikasa. He honestly thought that all she cares about is Eren and Armin and hearing that from her amuses him. Don't judge the book by its cover, they say.
"What made you think that, huh?" Levine asked and they turned to him. He just look at Mikasa and the latter stared back, "There are mothers out there who just leave their child thrive in the streets and later on the child dies. What do you have to say about them?"
His question surprised the group and they went wide eyes. This topic just went overboard.
"Hey! Stop with this conversation! It's really freaking me out!" Sasha said, clutching her bread. Mikasa glared at Levine and shove a bread into his mouth, shocking him.
"Those kind of women are not fit to be called mother. If I ever met one, I'll make sure to knock some sense into them," Mikasa said and Levine glared at her, slapping her hand away from the bread. He took the bread to his hand and growled.
"Easy for you to say since you are not the one whose been abandoned!" He said with a pissed out tone before leaving the mess hall. Everyone on the table just watch him walk away and tried understanding what he said.
Not the one whose been abandoned? What does he mean by that?
After that argument, an image of Mikasa's mother with a smiling face came into her mind and same goes for Eren. Both of their mothers died trying to save them, but they still felt abandoned after their death so what difference does it make?
"Does he have a mother issue or something?" Jean asked and Connie snickered about him being a mama's boy.
Meanwhile, Levine stomped back to his room with an annoyed expression. That conversation just tick him off with no certain reason. And the last thing he said back there actually surprised him too so he stomped off before any of them ask anything.
The topic incompetent mothers abandoning their children somehow annoys him. Maybe because he never had a mother and it made him think. Why didn't he have a mother and why is the first thing he knew about this world is it's dark and cold without anyone to accompany him?
He never felt the warm embrace of the woman who carry him for nine months in her stomach or love from anyone. All he know is how to fight and survive. There was no one in this world who cared for him. Not even after he left the Underground!
He arrived in his room, slamming the door behind him and kicking the chair inside. He tried calming himself down by sitting down on the bed and running his hands around his hair with frustration.
"You should really try solving your anger management problem," the person that only he can see and hear said, leaning on the wall across him with arms and legs crossed together.
"Shut up," Levine growled and glared at the ground.
"Well, take my opinions and suggestions if you want someone to care for you. All you do is shut people out and scare them. Stop that habit of yours and try talking to Eren and the others like a normal person," he said and Levine clicked his tongue.
"Even if I do, they will just think of me as a weirdo psychopath. Like everyone else does," he said and the guy rolled his eyes walking over to Levine. He run his hand over his hair and tried tugging it, but his hand just pass through them.
"Tch, you stupid introvert. With what you are doing right now, of course they are going to think of you as a weirdo. You are talking to yourself," Levine glared at the person, but when he lifted his head, he saw nothing, but the grey cobblestoned wall. He looked around and saw the person out of sight.
He sighed and stood up, clicking his tongue. Great, he's alone again. Well, at least no one will be bothering him anynore.
---
After dinner, Levi went to his room and his office is the first thing he saw after opening the door. He admire how clean and perfect the office is, but that is not really the reason why he came here. His room is in the other door inside his office and he guesses his lovely wife is in there, probably asleep of trying to dry her hair after shower.
He walked towards it and entered, seeing Hazel, laying on the bed with her back facing Levi. For some reason, he knows that she is still awake.
"Tch, you should not skip dinner like that," he said and went to the closet to get ready for bed.
"How did you know I'm still awake?" Hazel asked with her back still facing him.
"I just know and you're not a heavy sleeper anyway," Levi answered and layed beside Hazel, wrapping his arms around her waist. The latter blushed at his actions, but lead his hand to her stomach, "Four-eyes won't do that. I know she won't."
"I'm just scared, Levi," Hazel confessed and Levi looked at her, "I don't know if I can ever be a mother. I can't see myself with a child in my arms."
Upon hearing her confession, Levi buried his face into her hair and pulled the blond closer to him.
"You have your ways and I'll help you," he said and remembered his own mother. She thrive for them to survive even in just a short time and she did well in her own way. He wanted to say that to Hazel, but he just can't bring his late mother into the conversation.
"And don't worry about Hange, I'll make sure she keeps her experiments away from you," he said and heard Hazel hummed in agreement before dozing off. It took Levi a couple of hours before he fell asleep and all his consciousness disappeared to his dreamland.
---
Levi is standing with his eyes close in a dark place, so dark that you can't see anything but him. He opens his eyes and saw the dark void surrounding him, but he can feel the solid floor under him so he tried looking for other objects in the dark surrounding.
"Levi..." A very familiar voice said and it keeps on calling so he followed. The voice seems so tired and weak, but due to familiarity, he hurried his way towards it until he found a door. He slowly walks towards it and grabbed the handle. The voice called him again and it is coming from the other side of this door.
He slowly turned the knob and pushed it open, seeing another room with a lamp over a bed. The bed and the lamp are the only objects seen inside the room, but there is another person inside, laying on the bed.
It called upon him again and he walk slowly towards it. He stared at the figure seeing it has short blond hair and tired green eyes. It was Hazel. She looks very tired and pale, but from what? He noticed she is holding something in her arms and Levi stared at it. It's a small bundle of cloth wrapping a small body. An infant child.
His eyes widened as Hazel handed the baby to him. He took it in his arms and stared at its peaceful face. It has very little hair and it's the same color as his. The baby slowly opened its eyes and revealed a pair of very beautiful gray orbs. The baby looks very much like him and very familiar.
"Levi..." Another voice called and Levi looked around, searching for it. He is still holding the baby and the baby started crying so Levi looked down. It was crying loudly, but Levi heard a voice calling his name. Levi looked back to the bed, but instead of seeing Hazel, there was another woman in it.
A woman with long, dark raven dark and tired gray eyes. She looks paler than Hazel and much more skinnier that her bones can be felt just by holding her body.
Levi's eyes widened in familiarity and déjà vu. The woman stared back at him with a smile and weakly reach out for him. Her hand is about to fall when Levi swiftly caught it while still holding the baby. The woman gently smile at him and tried squeezing his hand, but is too weak to do so.
She gave him one last smile before her eyes lids fall and never opened again. Her cold bony hand felt colder as the baby's cried slowly fade. Levi looked down and saw the baby as quiet as his surrounding. Not moving and not crying. Levi's eyes widened and he let go of the woman's hand and check the child's pulse. He felt nothing. It's dead.
When he realized that, the floor under him seem to disappear and he fell into an abyss, leaving the dead bodies behind. What he thought was an endless pit had an end. He fell on his back in a thud and he grunted.
It's the dark room again.
He stood up and started looking around again for anything to help him get out of this place. He turned around and there he saw a light directly pointing on a blonde figure. Feeling scared, he ran towards it and kneeled down next to it. He lifted the body and his worries are answered, seeing it's Hazel.
She's unconscious, but still breathing. That's a good thing. He clicked his tongue and cursed under his breath. It's a nightmare. This is just one big nightmare and he hates it.
"Levi..." Another voice said and Levi turned around seeing another person behind him, but this time, it's a man. It looks just like him, but it's not him and the uneven split of hair proves it. It was Levine.
Confused at why he is here, Levi looked down at Hazel and he saw her opening her eyes, but it is not the same emerald green. It's gray. After opening her eyes for a few seconds, it then closed and her breathing stopped.
"Haze--"
"Levi..." He glared at Levine, but his eyes widened upon seeing him as a child at the age of 6 or less. His dirty clothes proves his placement in society and his long messy black hair only proves his incapability of taking care of himself, but something about him, reminds Levi of something.
"Everyone dies eventually," that's that only thing young Levine said before falling down into darkness.
---
I was like, Woah. This dream is weirder than I thought. Well, at least for me. How 'bout you guys? Is it weird or what? But yeah, Kuchel is a part of it because, well, she's Levi's mom and the mother-in-law of millions of fangirls (including me haha)
Anyway, please leave a comment or two and please vote! Thank you! Ja'ne!
~RSE out