Authors Note:
I'm going to update the rating to be higher, just because of the amount of gore that will be featured this chapter. There will probably be smut later on, but for this chapter, it's just for the gore. If gore, car crashes, etc. bother you, there will be a safer summary at the bottom of the page, and you can skip this first bit of italics!
TWs for gore, car crashes, head injuries, blood, death, etc.
Lifeless eyes watched him from the passenger's seat. The seatbelt was digging into his shoulder, but he couldn't get it off to get to his friend—red hair caved in and matted with blood, it was still bleeding—surely he could stop it. Surely he could save her, if he could just get this damned seatbelt off.
"Farlan—where's your knife?"
There was no answer. Disoriented, it took Levi a moment to find the one he kept in his boot; once he was free, he realized that the car was tilted, crushed in around them—when had that happened? That wasn't important—what was important was stopping the bleeding in Isabel's head. It was difficult to reach her when the roof of the car was caved in, but he had a handkerchief in his pocket, and pressed it as best he could against the caved in skull. That was, until he realized that it was leaking a fluid that was not entirely blood. Trying not to gag, he turned to say something to Farlan in the back seat, only to be stunned into silence.
There was so much blood. Blood, and stringy, slippery organs spilling out of his friend's gut, coating the back seat that had been completely crushed. There was glass everywhere, tinted red as Farlan was dying before Levi's eyes. Most disturbing, he was desperately trying to keep his organs in his body with his hands, and Levi could only watch as the movements got slower, then stopped.
Through the ringing in his ears, he could vaguely hear sirens, and loud shouting. There was a lurch as the driver's side door was pulled at; apparently someone was trying to get in. All Levi could do was stare, as a medic finally reached in to him.
"Are you okay?"
Levi couldn't respond, trapped by the eyes of his two best friends.
"Are you okay?" the voice repeated, firm and low.
He had killed them, he shouldn't have bought a car with only one working airbag-
"Are you okay?"
Levi jerked awake, startled by the voice. "I—what?"
Above him was the same face he'd seen in the bar. Blond, well structured, and with striking blue eyes—it was surely the same man. He must have just nodded off during his lunch break, taken toward the back of the dining room—this man shouldn't have even noticed he was there. And yet, he was looking down at Levi with a concern that made his stomach roll.
"Are you okay?" he repeated one more time, voice slower this time. "You were…you looked like you were having a nightmare."
Strange, that voice was so much like the one in his dream—the man must've been calling out to him a few times before Levi had woken up. Realizing he still hadn't answered, Levi took a deep breath—enraged to find himself shaking—and looked down at his hands. Isabel's blood was no longer staining his hands, at least not physically. Finally, he looked up again, to find the blond man seeming very alarmed by his silence.
"Yeah…yeah," he muttered, rubbing at his face; he was coated in a cold sweat. Disgusting. "I must've fallen asleep. Sorry for disturbing your meal," he added, hoping the man wouldn't speak to the manager about the incident.
But the man, despite hesitating, smiled, like a beam of sunshine warming him after a cold night. "Don't worry about it," he said, patting Levi's shoulder. He must have felt the smaller man tense, because he quickly removed his hand. "I saw you earlier—you work here, right?"
Surprised the man hadn't left by now, Levi gave a short nod. What startled him even more, however, was the man putting out a hand to be shaken.
"Erwin Smith. I guess I'll be seeing you around, then?" he said, still smiling like the goddamn sun came out his ass.
Briefly, Levi shook the man's hand. His was still clammy, but enveloped in the other's much larger hand, he was grateful for the distraction. "Levi…and yeah, I guess," he echoed with a shrug. "I'm just the dishwasher."
"Well, the dishes have to be cleaned by someone," Erwin said kindly. Finally, he stood. "I'll leave you to it. I'm glad you're okay."
"Thanks…see you."
As the man walked away, Levi was cursing himself for such an awkward first conversation—the man probably thought he was insane. God only knew what he was doing in his sleep to make Erwin notice and come over—Levi didn't want to think about it. He needed a cigarette.
By the time he was let off of work, he was smoking his third just of his walk home. What he wanted was to go home, read his book, have a drink, and go to bed. Maybe he would have enough in his bank account to pay his phone bill—currently the electronic only was useful as a music device and an internet browser. Unfortunately, it seemed that even more people would be bugging him that day; when he got home, his door was already unlocked.
Normally he might've been quite alarmed—even now, he kept his hand in his pocket, where he kept a knife he always had on his person. But opening the door revealed exactly who he'd expected: his best friend, and most obnoxious doctor, Hange Zoe. They were sitting at the shabby kitchen table, eating what appeared to be fried rice mixed with ketchup.
"Hange—what the fuck are you doing?" Levi demanded, pushing the door shut with his foot. "Don't you ever call first?"
The doctor shrugged, grinning up at him through thick glasses. "Your phone's always turned off—and hello to you too," they chimed; the most annoying thing about his best friend was that they were always excited about something. When Hange got serious, you knew you were in trouble. "I brought you Chinese, relax."
Though Levi was scowling at them, he sighed, sinking into the seat across from them only after slipping his sneakers off. "You still could've messaged me, I've got…Facebook or whatever bullshit it is," he muttered, pulling the tray of takeout toward him; it smelled amazing. Better than anything he'd had in days.
He and Hange had met through odd circumstances. After the car crash that had left both of his friends fatally wounded, Hange had been the one at the hospital to treat him for his concussion. They'd even been able to rouse a smile out of him, by accidentally making a poop joke. Since then, they'd become close friends—no one could replace Isabel and Farlan, but they had kept Levi from falling too deep into the pit of despair. Every time he started to fall, Hange picked him back up and made him laugh, even if they were often the most annoying person in his life.
"Whatever, look, I hadn't seen you in a few days, and I got bored," Hange replied, rolling their eyes. "I missed seeing your frowny face."
That just earned Hange a middle finger, though he was balancing a forkful of his own rice in his other hand. "And I missed your shitty glasses," he deadpanned back.
Without even having to ask, Hange updated Levi on their life—some of the weird patients, the diagnoses they were working on, how their cat was doing… Eventually, they ended up asking Levi about his day; he just shrugged, mentioning falling asleep, and the man who'd woken him up. He avoided the actual dream, knowing it would just worry Hange that he was having them still. It was better for them to think he only had them occasionally, when in reality they only knew when the nightmares were bad enough that he had to call them in the middle of the night in order to calm down. One of the perks of having a talkative friend was that they could distract him when he needed it most. That, and Hange seemed to be up at all hours of the day and night.
"Erwin Smith?" Hange now repeated, peering over their glasses at him. Something seemed to have struck a cord with them.
"What is it?"
Hange hesitated, scratching at the back of their ponytail. "The name sounds familiar…I think he works at the hospital."
Levi raised an eyebrow; what a coincidence. "Really?"
"Yeah, I think so," Hange confirmed, shrugging. "He's the tall blond guy? Eyebrows like caterpillars?"
"I wouldn't describe them like that, but—"
"So he wants to see you again?" Hange interrupted; as usual, they were reading too much into a simple "see you around."
Still, when they put it like that, Levi had to admit that it did sound somewhat suggestive—but he pushed the thought away. "It's not like that, Hang," he sighed, poking at the remains of his takeout. "He's probably just happy to know someone who isn't as crazy as his coworkers," he added, kicking them lightly under the table.
Seeming unaffected, Hange grinned at him. "Too bad he met you then—ha! You'll look like a kid next to him! Not that you don't already, but—"
"Hange! We're not going out!" Levi snapped, bringing their rambling to an end with a sour glare. "I don't have time for that shit anyway…"
For a moment, Hange gave him a look of sympathy that made him want to puke. "You've gotta get out some time, Levi," they said. Then they finally stood to leave. As they gathered their things, their eyes locked on the cigarette Levi was now bringing to his lips. "You'll kill yourself with these," they added, snatching it from his hand just as he was about to light it. "Trust me, I'm a doctor."
"Well trust me, I know," Levi grumbled; he was faster than Hange, and easily reached out and swiped it back. The sympathetic look had returned. "Stop looking at me like that, or I'll wipe it off your shitty face," he muttered. "And take a shower; you stink."
"Alright, alright…" But instead Hange stepped closer, giving him a tight, one armed hug.
He'd guessed right: they did stink. They must've just gotten off a night shift, judging by the bags under their eyes. But then, they both always had those.
"Just think about what I said," they continued, before pausing, looking down at him. "You've gotta have a life outside…this." They gestured at him as they backed up: at the cigarette, at the picture frames on shelves that were still pushed down, so he could avoid seeing the faces in them.
"My life is fine the way it is." But Levi could see how little Hange believed him.
"Is it?"
Safe summary of the italics:
Levi woke up in a car after a crash, having hit his head; only his airbag had gone off, because the car was junk. Isabel, in the front seat, was fatally wounded. Levi then turned to the back seat, to find Farlan dying as well. Soon after, he started hearing sirens, and a paramedic opened his door. The medic called out to him, asking if he was alright-and then Levi woke up, realizing that the voice was actually Erwin in the restaurant asking if he was alright, because he was having a nightmare.
If this helps, I'll try do a quick summary at the end any time there's any major triggers, especially gory stuff. And if I don't, I will at the very least tag them in the beginning so you know what you're in for. Thanks for reading lovelies, and thank you for all the kind reviews!
