Thank you for the feedback! Here's chapter two!
He was always the first to wake up. No matter how late he would stay up, nor how early she would go to bed, he would always find himself waking before her.
Of course he did not mind this, for in the early hours just before dawn was when he found that she looked the most at peace. Her face wouldn't be contorted into the frown, glare, or blank expression that she usually presented. It would be completely relaxed, and he more often than not found himself absorbed by her beautiful features. On those mornings he would stare at her and forget about all the pain, all the blood, all the ghosts and all the voices that plagued him. He would stare until those stunning grey eyes would flutter open and meet his, followed by a groggy smile that was so damn beautiful.
God, he misses those mornings. It feels as though it has been years since he was able to wake up to those eyes.
All he can do is dream about them, but unfortunately his mind has other ideas. Regularly he see's his comrades being ripped away from him, whether it be in the form of a titan or some other way. He hears them calling out to him, begging for him to rescue them.
It always ends the same. He never makes it to them in time. He never saves them.
First it was his old squad, then slowly the members of his new team followed. Eren, Jean, Armin, all of them, until there was only one left.
Mikasa.
However he refuses to let her die. He runs to her, faster than what feels humanly possible, but the titan behind her is too quick. It grabs her before he can get there in time. Suddenly, Levi finds himself frozen against his will. All her can do is watch.
"Levi!" She cries, "Get up! Levi!"
He tries to call out to her, but nothing comes out. He can't move, he can't speak, he can't look away.
"Levi, please!"
Mikasa! No…no!
"No!" He opens his eyes, only to slam them shut again once the intensity of the sun hits his face. "Wha-" he tries to talk, but the tubes in his mouth force him to stop. What the hell? What is this? Where the fuck am I?
"C-Corporal! You're awake!" He cracks his eyes open and sees a plump, short nurse standing over him. "Can you hear me? Oh, dear, please tell me you can hear me!"
He manages to muffle out a few sounds that resemble words, and she sighs in relief. "This is wonderful! Don't worry, sir, I'll get someone in here to get those tubes out in just a moment. J-just stay awake, ok?"
Once she is gone, he tries to remember just how he got here. He tries to sit up, but a terrible throbbing in his abdomen stops him. Then he remembers.
His gear had failed him mid flight and he'd been grabbed by a titan. It had put him in it's mouth and tried to bite down, but was killed by some other soldier before it could take his life. I must have blacked out after that…he realizes just as the doctors return to his room. Thankfully they don't waste time. Most of the tubes are removed from his body in a few minutes.
"How are you feeling, Corporal?" One of them asks with a large smile, "tired? Nauseous? Weak?"
Levi props himself up on his elbows and leans back against his pillow, taking a deep breath afterward. He does feel tired, and weak, and even a little nauseous, but worst of all he feels unbelievably filthy. Grimy, sweaty, disgusting. He can hardly keep his composure. How long has it been, he wonders, since my last shower?
"When can I…" he pauses, his throat is immensely dry and his voice comes out hoarse and almost inaudible. He clears his throat before continuing. "When can I take a shower?"
The doctor chuckles at this, "as soon as we're done checking over you, you may bathe."
"Then make this quick," Levi grunts as he pushes himself up further, pain shooting up from his abdomen, "I feel disgusting."
The doctors ask him a number of questions and check him over, starting with his wounds and temperature and ending with him having to walk around the room several times without falling, which to his surprise took a longer amount of time than he expected. Finally they finished, and as they left him they asked if it would be alright if they informed his comrades of his condition.
"Tch, go ahead," he scoffs, "I'm sure they cared a great deal." He starts to head to the shower in the corner of his room, grabbing a towel on his way.
"Oh, but they did, sir!" The little nurse informs him, "the Commander and other Squad Leaders stopped by several times, and there was this one young girl who came by almost everyday."
He stops. A girl? Could it be Mikasa?…"Did she, now?" He asks without looking at her. "I wonder who that could be…"
"I don't believe I ever caught her name, but she was tall, had black hair, grey-ish eyes, I think…maybe blue…" She trails off, "sorry, I didn't pay much attention to detail. She was from the Survey Corps, though, I did notice that. Oh, and she always wore a scarf around her neck. Weird, huh?"
She did come by after all.
"Indeed." He answers with a grin, although with his back to the short woman she can't see. "Be sure to tell her to come by." He adds, pulling his shirt off and pulling back the curtain to the shower.
XX
With the bone chilling temperature and rain pouring down with no signs of yielding, the training grounds are completely bare. No one is running laps, lifting weights, sparring with the punching bags, nothing.
Until a lone figure makes it's way out of the main building. With their face clouded with a hood, the shadow's identity is unknown. However, as they begin to punch and kick relentlessly with a technique like no other, it is easy to put a name to the figure.
Mikasa Ackerman
She punches, kicks, punches again and again until her hands go numb. Her skin is raw and threatens to bleed, but she continues her attack. She ignores the pain in her limbs and takes out all of her agony out on the punching bag. Her face is red and puffy from a combination of tears and a bitter, chilled wind. Her lips are chapped and cracked, and with every punch she bites down, drawing blood, but she keeps on fighting; focusing on the target in front of her and nothing else.
But she can still see him, hear him, feel him. No matter how hard she tries he's still there, haunting her every thought. She hasn't been able to go back to his room since that day with Sasha, which was nearly three days ago.
I can't bear to see him like that anymore
With a final blow she tears a hole in the punching bad, something she's done a few other times in the past, but this time there are no laughs or cheers from her squad mates, just the crackling thunder up above and the empty feeling that has consumed her entire being. She feels her legs becoming weaker, and turns to drag her soaked, bloody body back into the main building. There is nothing for her inside, but she knows if she's out in the rain any longer, she'll possibly get sick. Not that it matters…
"Mikasa!" She stops, wondering if she just imagined it or if she did, in fact, her someone calling out to her. After several moments of nothing but the sound of rainfall, she continues forward.
"Mikasa!"
She stops once more, only this time she looks up, frantically searching for the source of the voice. The combination of rain and thunder make it even harder to hear, but as she listens she can hear the sound of footsteps. Heavy and fast footsteps; the unmistakable sound of someone charging her.
"Mikasa? Mikasa, where are you?" She hears them again, only closer, and much more distinguishable.
"Sasha?" She calls back, "Sasha, is that you?" She feels someone grab her from behind and spin her around. It is, indeed, Sasha. She grabs Mikasa with such force that it nearly knocks her to the ground.
"Sasha, what are you-"
"He's awake!" Sasha blurts out, shaking Mikasa.
"What?" Did she hear her correctly? Impossible. Just the other day he was on his death bed, how could he possibly be-
"He's awake, Mikasa!" Sasha exclaims again, "the Corporal is awake!"
Mikasa feels her entire body go numb just before she collapses into her friends arms. Clumsily they drag themselves inside, and Sasha forces Mikasa to go back to their barracks and change into dry clothes before going to see the Corporal. She feels so weak, but the thought of seeing Levi awake and alive keeps her going. She's bruised and bloody, but nothing was going to keep her away from him.
She opens the door of her room and finds Sasha still there, standing in her soaked uniform. The auburn haired girl smiles at her gently. "Go. I won't make it awkward and follow you. Besides, I need to change out of this."
Mikasa wants to tell her how thankful she is, but no words come to mind. Instead, she smiles, and reaches out and hugs her friend. Knowing full and well how rare she does this, she trusts it will show how grateful she truly feels. Sasha is completely caught off guard, but after a few awkward moments pass she returns with a tight squeeze. Mikasa let's go and gives her one last thankful glance before jogging towards the infirmary.
Sasha watches her with a grin until Mikasa turns down the hall, out of her sight. As much as she wants to follow her friend, she knows it's best for her to go on her own. It's rare in their line of work that people find this type of happiness, and if any of them deserve it the most, it's Mikasa and Levi.