Somewhere very, very far away, you heard voices. It sounded like a woman and two men, but they were muffled by the fog in your head. As you listened, their voices got steadily louder, until you could just barely hear what they were saying. However, it was still too difficult to process their words. So you only listened.
"What do you mean, she might not make it?!"
"Captain Ackerman, please calm down."
"Like hell! I want to see her!"
"I'm afraid that's not pos–"
"Get out of my way!"
"Levi, please, stop. The doctor is just doing her job."
You felt as if you were suffocating, and you had to fight for each small, shallow breath. You couldn't move your body, but it moved on its own, sweating and shivering at the same time. You had no idea what was happening to you, and that left you terrified. It all made focusing so, so difficult. But you tried anyway.
"Captain, if you go in there, you'll be exposed. The infection is highly con–"
"Move!"
Slowly, so slowly, you recognized that voice – only that one. So many times, it had spoken to you, yelled to you, whispered to you, growled and murmured and called to you. It had both eased you awake and lulled you to sleep. It had soothed you, laughed with you, cried with you. And it was the most precious sound you had ever heard.
"L-Levi..." you tried to call out to him, but your tongue felt too heavy, just like the rest of your body. You fought desperately against it. You wanted Levi – wanted his strong arms wrapped protectively around you. Because you knew that, no matter what was happening to you right now, it would be alright if Levi was with you. Levi would keep you safe.
"Security!" the woman yelled.
"That won't be necessary, Doctor. We're leaving. That's an order, Levi."
"Le-Le..." It was no use. Something was pulling you down, further and further away. You stopped hearing his voice. You stopped hearing or feeling anything at all.
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You were going to die. And it was going to happen soon.
You were still trapped in your own body, unable to move or see. You almost couldn't breathe at all anymore, and your cold sweats had only gotten worse. The fog in your head made it impossible to think, so you only panicked.
Levi. Where was Levi? If you were going to die, you wanted him there. You wanted him to hold you. You were scared. You were alone. You didn't want to die alone.
You cried out for him in the darkness, over and over. But it was hopeless. Your screams never made it out of the void you were imprisoned in. And Levi didn't come.
You were going to die. And you were going to die alone.
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"She's been asking for him." It was that woman's voice again. She still sounded muffled, as if she were on the other side of a wall. "Not consciously, I don't think, but still..."
"Please don't tell him that," a man responded. Vaguely, you registered that this was the same man from earlier. His commanding voice seemed familiar, but you couldn't place it. You were too exhausted to try. "He'll just try harder to see her. There's only so much I can do to stop him."
"But he must understand that it's for his own safety. If he enters that room, he'll be exposed to the virus as well."
"You don't understand, Doctor. He doesn't care about his own safety. Not when it comes to her."
"I...I want..." you didn't know if those people could hear you, or if you were even managing to speak at all. In the end, it didn't matter. You were being pulled down again, and you had no strength left to fight it.
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For the first time in so, so long, your body wasn't shaking, or sweating. Your breaths came a little easier. The fog around your head had started to clear, and you could make out the sound of birds chirping somewhere nearby. A small part of your mind registered that you must be near a window.
"Now, just remember, even though the infection is gone, she is still extremely weak." That woman – the doctor – was saying. "You must stay calm around her."
"I will. I promise. Just please, let me see her."
Levi. He was here. That knowledge pushed you to open your eyes. Your eyelids still felt too heavy, but you were able to force them apart just enough to see.
The unfamiliar room was bathed in sunlight. You were lying on a small but comfortable cot, covered in crisp, white sheets. Around you, you saw a table and various pieces of medical equipment, as well as a few storage cabinets. The wall on your right had a small window, where you could indeed see a bird nesting on a branch just outside. To your left, there was a door, and on the other side...that was where the voices came from.
"Alright, Captain. You can go in."
Suddenly, the door was yanked open, and there he was.
Levi halted on the threshold. When his gaze met yours, tears pricked the corners of his eyes. "(F/n)," he rasped.
You were barely able to move your hand, but still, you reached for him. "Le...Levi," you breathed, both in relief and as a plea.
He immediately rushed to your side, letting the door fall shut behind him. He took your hand in his and gently lifted it to his face, pressing it against his cheek. "Thank God," he whispered, the tears falling from his eyes. "You're awake. You're finally awake."
"D-don't..." you stammered, your leaden tongue stumbling over the words. "Don't go. Please."
He hissed a breath, then, "I won't, (f/n). Don't worry. I won't leave you. I promise."
You sighed weakly. Somehow, those words were exactly what you needed to hear. As relief flowed through you, your body once again grew heavy.
In the back of your mind, you remembered that you had wanted something. "Levi...I want..." But you didn't know what you wanted anymore. You were suddenly too tired to finish the thought.
As your eyelids fluttered closed, Levi reached out and stroked your cheek with his fingers. "I'm here," he murmured.
The corner of your mouth lifted slightly. Yes, that was what you had wanted after all – what you had wanted all this time. Levi. Just Levi.
As sleep pulled you under, Levi pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead.
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A few days later, the doctor agreed to let Levi take you home. Though you were still incredibly weak, the infection was gone. As long as you got plenty of rest and weren't exposed to any other illnesses, you would eventually get back to normal. But more than that, the hospital really just needed any space it could get for the onslaught of plague victims that were pouring in, day after day.
You still weren't able to stand on your own, so Levi had carried you out of the hospital to the carriage, and then into your house.
You immediately requested a bath, urgently wanting one after being bedridden for weeks (even though the nurses had probably washed you regularly). Of course, you required assistance, so Levi helped you undress and placed you in the tub. He sat with you, and you enjoyed his company as you relaxed, feeling so happy to finally be home.
After you were done, Levi toweled you off and helped you dress. He once again lifted you into his arms, carrying you into the bedroom. He laid you on your bed with astonishing gentleness before pulling the covers over you. Then he added two extra blankets, for good measure.
"Will you sleep with me?" you asked faintly.
Levi smirked, leaning in close to you. "I think the doctor would disapprove of so much excitement right now," he purred. "Maybe in a few weeks."
You lightly smacked his chest. "You know what I mean."
He chuckled at your small act of pouting. "Of course I'll sleep with you, brat. It's my bed, too."
You smiled softly. Even though Levi had stayed with you at the hospital, your small cot wasn't exactly big enough for him to lie down next to you. Instead, he had dozed in a chair for a few hours while you were asleep. You desperately missed the comfort of snuggling up next to him every night, of feeling his strong arms around you and hearing his heart beat beneath his chest. "Then hurry up. I'm exhausted."
After chuckling some more at your cuteness, Levi changed and got into bed with you. He delicately took you in his arms, laying your head on his chest.
"Mmm," you sighed, savoring his closeness. "Thank you for bringing me home, Levi."
"Anytime," he replied. His arms tightened around you.
Your eyelids fluttered as you drifted closer and closer to sleep. Then he murmured, almost inaudibly, "I'm just glad you got to come home."
Your eyes shot open. You used all your strength to push up on your forearms so you could look at his face.
His beautiful, grey-blue eyes were rimmed with tears as they stared back at you. So, so gently, he brushed his fingers across your cheek before cupping your face in his hand. "I thought I was going to lose you," he whispered. "And I couldn't take it. I thought we wouldn't have to worry anymore once the titans were gone. But to have survived them, to have survived all those years of fighting, only to lose you to a stupid virus now..." His breath hitched, and he squeezed his eyes shut.
"Oh, Levi," you breathed, leaning down to rest your forehead against his. "It's okay. I'm here. I survived. I promise, you don't have to worry anymore."
Levi opened his eyes to meet yours. A single tear slid down his cheek.
You tenderly brushed it away with your thumb. No longer able to hold yourself up, you delicately laid yourself on top of Levi. He didn't seem to mind – in fact, he wrapped his arm more tightly around your waist, holding you to him.
"I wanted to be with you," Levi hissed. "Before you were cured, I tried, but the doctors and Erwin, they wouldn't let me."
"I know," you crooned. "Sometimes, when I was sick, I could hear you. And I wanted you. I wanted you with me. I tried to call out for you, but...I wasn't thinking straight. I didn't know what was happening. And if I had known that being near me would put you at risk..." You sighed. "I wouldn't have wanted that, Levi. I'm glad you stayed away."
"I didn't care if I got sick," he breathed.
"I know." You brushed your fingers through his hair in a soothing gesture. "But I would've cared. I do care."
Levi's brows drew together as he looked at you. You could see it in his eyes – he was still thinking about what might have happened.
You gently pressed your lips to his. "Try not to worry about it anymore," you murmured. "We're both alive, and safe, and healthy. Or getting there, at least." The corner of your mouth twitched upward. You kissed him once more before whispering, "I'm right here, my love. You didn't lose me."
Wanting to take his sadness and worry away, you leaned into him again. This time, Levi moved with you. You exchanged tender, delicate kisses. There was nothing heated about your embrace, but that made it more intimate, in a way. You had survived, you were home, and the two of you wanted to cherish the feeling of just being together.
You kissed Levi until the last of your energy was exhausted. Sensing this, Levi pulled back. He gazed at you lovingly, all the sadness from earlier now gone. "You should get some sleep," he said softly.
"Mhm," you hummed as you returned your head to his chest, finally letting your eyelids fall closed. "Thankfully, I have a very comfortable pillow."
"Tch," he scoffed, smiling down at you.
"Love you, Levi," you murmured.
Levi gently petted your head in a soothing motion. "I love you too, brat."
It was the last thing you heard before you drifted off to sleep.