Disclaimer:

I do not own Attack on Titan / Shingeki no Kyojin.

This story does not follow the original story.

_-_Present Time_-_

It had been two days since Levi woke up for the first time. To him, it felt like it had only been two hours. Falling in and out of unconsciousness he had lost all sense of time. He was healing well, the doctor had told him, but he wasn't allowed to slow down on the painkillers yet.
The medication he was given made him feel drowsy and every time he was given another dosage he would be dead to the world for at least a few hours. The doctor said it was normal, and Levi figured he should trust the man. This time when he woke up again he found a pair of piercing blue eyes looking directly at him, and by the Walls, Levi was more than happy to see the man beside him.

Of course he wouldn't ever say such a cheesy thing, so he went with his second best option.

"Stop staring at me."
Erwin smiled. "It's good to see you awake."
"How long have you been here?"
"A while, I was here yesterday too, but you were asleep."
Levi scoffs. "Are you often watching me sleep, old man? That's a bit disturbing."
"Call it what you want. It's my duty as your Commander to stay updated on your health." Erwin said.
"Oh I'm doing absolutely fucking great, thank you very much. When do I get out of here?"
"Not yet. You'll have to stay for a while longer, but we hope to have you dismissed by the end of the week." Erwin said. "You still need to heal after your surgery, but they expect you to be back on your feet soon enough. I promised them to look after you once we have you back, so don't expect to be allowed to do lots of work right away."
"I know, I didn't think so. Doesn't make it less annoying though."
Erwin nodded, but then looked down at his feet and kept quiet. Levi knew Erwin was searching for words in that big head of his.
"Just say whatever you need to say. Seriously, sometimes I worry your eyebrows will fall off when you frown like that." He joked, but Erwin didn't smile this time.

Erwin looked up. Dead serious. "Just, don't take this the wrong way." He said. "But I arranged that you'll be sleeping in my room when you get back."
Levi's eyes widened in shock. "The fuck does that come from?"
"You've been having nightmares, Levi. I don't want you to injure yourself any further in your sleep. You tend to trash about quite a bit and you are too fragile for that right now. Besides, you'll need someone to help you get dressed in the morning and everything, I figured it would be easier to be sleeping in the same room anyways." Erwin sighed. "And I also think you have been dealing with those nightmares for a long time already. You look so tired all the time, you need help."
With some effort Levi pushed himself up on his elbows. "Sleeping in the same room is a terrible idea, Erwin."
"You're not denying that you need help." Erwin said.
"Tch. Are you my therapist now, or what?"
Erwin shook his head. "I only want to help you. As for now, you should sleep. I want you dismissed as soon as possible because I need you at work."

And Erwin kept his word. By the end of that week, the doctor very reluctantly dismissed the Captain. He made Erwin promise to take good care of his injuries and to not make him deal with too much stress. Besides that, he gave him a few bottles of translucent liquid, said it was for faster healing. With it came a syringe.
Erwin took it and thanked the man, before leaving to wait in the carriage he brought to go back with. Hanji was picking Levi up, they would be here in a little bit. So Erwin got seated and waited, the small bottles he had gotten from the doctor safely in his pocket.

Now that he was on a lower dosage of painkillers Levi felt everything. Not only did he feel that he had actually been through surgery for internal bleeding, but he also felt all the rough bruises, broken ribs and his sore muscles. Soon he'd have to stop taking the pills, because it was too expensive and sparse. For now, he still had a few left and it was enough to last him through the afternoon and he decided to enjoy even the slightest numb feeling in his body. It kept the pain manageable for now.
He consciously placed one foot in front of the other, careful not to stumble as his bruised body had to adjust to being in motion again after laying down for so long. His arm was slung awkwardly over Hanji's shoulder; she was a bit too tall for this but he was grateful for the support she offered him. She had her own arm wrapped around his slim waist, holding him close against her to keep him upright. Normally he might've complained about her coming into his personal space, but he was too focused on his footing to be bothered. Besides, he was the one who had stubbornly refused to be put in a wheelchair or to walk on crutches. Imagine the humiliation once he came back to work. No. He was going to walk an he was going to do it by himself. (With a little help from Hanji.) So yeah, he knew he had no right to complain right now.
"Almost there, the carriage is right outside." She said. Her voice was as bright as always, but he sensed she was worried.
Levi didn't do as much as nod, his body felt too heavy. "Levi are you okay?" Hanji tried.
He hung his head down, unknowingly letting her support most of his weight. "I- Yes... It's the medication. It makes me feel... Odd." He mumbled.
Hanji eyed her friend. He had been a bit unsteady ever since they got him out of bed. She knew that he was hurt and that he had been getting some sort of medication that made him sleep a lot but it still was very weird to see him in such a state. He was wearing casual clothes, but nothing too sloppy. If he were to stand up a little straighter nothing gave the impression something was wrong, apart from the dark bruise high on his cheek and the dark circles underneath his eyes.
But the fact was that he had been injured pretty bad and despite being released from the hospital she was practically dragging him along as he struggled to stay upright.
She didn't like the idea of his medication messing with his body, and she didn't like that he was released from the hospital so soon. That was Erwin's doing. Needless to say she was slightly annoyed with her Commander.
"It's beyond strange to see you like this. You should've stayed in bed longer. I don't trust it."
Levi frowned. "It should be fine- Doctor said so."
With a sharp tug she hauled his arm a bit higher over her shoulder. He winced but said nothing.
"At least you won't have to take those drugs anymore once you're back at HQ. I'm sure I can fix something else that'll work just as good."
Levi forced himself to look up and glare at his friend. "Don't you dare test your freaky little science projects on me." he mumbled, trying to stay awake as the carriage and Erwin came into view.

Once inside, Levi slumped down on the little bench beside his friend. She was keeping an eye on him; he could feel her eyes boring into his mind.
"Levi." She said, a while after Erwin got the horses moving. "Are you sure you're well?"
He was visibly swaying as the carriage rocked over the uneven road.
"Just a bit sleepy... I'll be fine." He uttered, sliding to the side until he was leaning against the wall of the carriage. His eyes fluttered, Hanji watched closely as he -unwillingly- succumbed to restless sleep.

_-_One long ride later_-_

When Erwin hopped off his seat and went to open the door for Hanji and Levi he was greeted with a sight too adorable to ever forget. Levi was curled in on himself in the far corner of the carriage, fast asleep. Next to him with her head on his shoulder lay Hanji. She had stretched her legs to rest on the bench on the other side of the small space.
Careful not to startle the two Erwin got inside and nudged them awake. It took some effort to wake Hanji up but when she did she moved aside to let him get to Levi.
With tender touch he grabbed the Captain's shoulders and shook him a little. The younger man stirred but didn't wake.
"Levi, we're here." He said. "Get up." Once more he shook him.
Silver blue eyes shot open, suddenly two hands collided with his chest and he was being roughly shoved away. Hanji immediately jumped in between the two, quickly grabbing hold of Levi's wrists in an attempt to hold him in place.
"No! No, stop don't-" He stuttered, trying desperately to move away from them, pushing himself further into the corner whilst trying to tug his wrists free.
"Levi, It's me, calm down, you're okay!" Erwin rambled, he got closer to his friend and tried to get his attention.
He was trashing about, breath hitching as he strained his ribs.
"Look at me!" Erwin yelled, jumping forward and roughly grabbing his face in his two hands, forcing wild eyes to lock onto his own. "Stand down, soldier!" He said, a command now.
Finally Levi snapped out of it, gaze clearing and tension leaving his body. "E-Erwin?"
"Yeah, you're okay."
Slowly Hanji released his wrists, feeling guilty for squeezing so hard as she saw the red imprint of her fingers. He didn't seem to notice as his now free hands shot to his sides, clutching there, breathing heavily.
"Levi?"
"Hurt myself, my ribs- Fuck. Let's just- get going."

They took a few moments to let Levi recover from his sudden outburst, and didn't say much as they made their way from the carriage to HQ. Once again Hanji held their friend upright as they walked, causing some curious soldiers to look their way, whispering to each other right when they were out of hearing distance of the three. Humanity's strongest, terribly injured and then back within a week. Erwin wondered if he made the right choice to have him back here so soon, but he knew that Levi had an image to hold up. Without him the morale would be low and that was the last thing they needed after an expedition like the last.
He had gotten everything he needed to look after his friend. He was going to take good care of him. So why did he feel so restless?
Absentmindedly fumbling with the bottles in his pocket he led the way to his room, where he and Levi would now stay together. There was a sleeping mat laid out on the floor, and with only the slightest protest they managed to put Levi down so he could sleep some more.

Erwin told Hanji to get back to work, and decided to stay in his room instead of his office with some paperwork so he could watch over Levi.
Somewhere deep down he knew. This was going to be a long ride.

A/N:

Hello sweeties,

Once again I took long to write a new chapter. I am sorry but here you are, better late than never.
Next chapter could contain something more about Levi's past? Perhaps like, a flashback or a dream?
Perhaps an entire chapter dedicated to some horrible experience he had in the Underground?
And maybe more hurt/comfort stuff.
And what about those mysterious bottles that the doctor gave Erwin, suspicious huh?
So many ideas and so little time!

Response to reviews:

Steefwaterbutter - Thank you so much for your reviews! I love that you took some time to write one for every chapter, that's so kind of you! I so hope you like this one to because I think it's a bit of a hot mess. Next chapters will be better I think! I would like to hear what you think, and if you have any ideas of your own feel free to throw them my way!

RR - Hey! First of all, How was your field trip? Had fun? And then, oh my god how I love your reviews. You are really too sweet to me. I can't handle it. Literally can't. I read your review on the bus to work and I was smiling like an idiot the entire ride. I so hope I didn't let you down on this chapter, too! Please tell me what you think, and I'm trying to make my chapters longer. Promise. It's a bit difficult though, with the limited time I have. Either way, thank you. So much.

Have a good one!

Love,

DustyBooks