AN: Chapter 23! This is a continuation of the last chapter. Enjoy.
...
Levi
I stand as rigid as a statue as the small child wraps her arms around me.
Shit… what do I do?
My heart thumps wildly as I feel as if I'm under attack. It's the same sensation from when I first arrived at the orphanage and the children kept trying to climb all over me, and I start gasping for air.
Instinctively, I reach for my blade, but then my hand stops when I hear that small voice.
"No… no crying… big brother."
Something swells inside of my chest next, and I squeeze my eyes hard, trying to fight off this sudden sensation.
No… no one has called me brother since…
Ah, fuck it. No one else is in the room. No one has to see me succumb to weakness.
I drop to my knees and scoop Tilly up in my arms, and she grips tight hold of my neck.
"No… no cry…" she mutters again.
"I... I won't... I can be strong for you, Tilly."
She squeezes me tighter, and now we hold on to each other for a while. I've never held something so small and fragile in my life. Her body is as delicate as china, and it baffles the mind why anyone would want to lay a hand on this helpless, little creature.
No wonder she was so broken. But look at her now, hugging Humanity's Strongest.
"I'm… so sorry about what those monsters did to you down in that awful place. I use to battle monsters every day, but really I should have been stopping the monsters who'd hurt you. I turned a blind eye the day I finally left. Of course, you weren't born yet, but I swore to never go back. But there were others down there suffering. Others just like you… That was why I helped the queen when she started her reign. I knew she was the one to make it all right again… but… somehow… we still missed you, sweet Tilly."
She still clutches my neck, and I'm not sure how much she actually understands, but I grip her closer, patting her dark, curly hair.
"Please forgive us, Tilly. And I promise… no one will hurt you ever again. You're finally safe."
We hold on a few moments longer. When we finally pull away, she looks me straight in the eyes.
Holy walls… this kid really is cute. I've never seen eyes so shiny and black.
She smiles, showing me those adorable dimples. "No more shit."
I chuckle. I take it she's learnt to associate the word 'shit' with the underground then. It certainly was full of shit— the literal and figurative kind.
There comes a soft whimper outside in the hall, and we both jump in alarm. I keep a suspicious eye on the door, stepping closer now. Someone gasps and rushes down the stairs, but by the time I arrive, they're already gone.
"Tch," I say.
It appears a certain queen had been eavesdropping on us all along.
…
I find Historia alone in the kitchen the next morning, gazing miserably out the window.
The children play out in the yard.
After all, today is the day we're finally leaving. Yet she doesn't shed a tear. Instead, she remains strong and resolute, and I can't help but feel proud of her again.
Our queen really has come a long way.
Though I'm not so proud of her eavesdropping… That was a private conversation between me and Tilly after all. She should know better.
I go to the pot and pour myself tea, and now I gaze out the window beside her. The children are playing in a massive pile of leaves. The gardener had just raked them all up this morning, but they only went and made a mess again.
Tch.
I'll admit it does look like fun. Little Krista makes a sudden beeline for the leaves, vanishing straight into the pile, and for a moment I think we've lost her forever. But then her little blonde head pops back up again, and she wears the biggest smile the world has ever seen.
Historia giggles, but I keep a straight face, sipping my tea.
I'm laughing on the inside.
She produces a melancholy sigh. "I'm going to miss them so much…"
"Hm," I reply.
She peers around at me, raising a brow, and I do the same to her.
"Really, is that all you've got to say, Captain? Hm?"
I narrow my eyes. "I could say the same for you, Your Majesty... There something you'd like to confess?"
She remains tight-lipped, but I don't back down.
I could happily go on all morning.
Historia caves at last (no surprises there), and peers back out the window, breathing a heavy sigh. It blows the hair away in front of her face. "Fine… I… I heard you talking to Tilly up in the nursery."
I take another casual sip of my tea. "That so…"
"Yes, and it was wrong of me to eavesdrop. What happens between you and Tilly is none of my business, Captain."
"You've got that right."
An awkward silence stretches between the two of us, and once again I sip my tea. I watch her curiously now, knowing she's dying to ask me another question.
"Well… care to share what you heard?" I say.
She shuts her eyes, breathing through her nostrils, then turns my way. "No… It's okay, Captain. I can pretend that I never heard anything. As you said, it was personal. I had no right to intrude."
Historia wraps her shawl tighter around her body as she attempts to leave, but I hold my hand out and stop her. She looks up at me surprised.
"I would very much like to hear your thoughts, Your Majesty." My voice is clipped and formal as always.
Fear and uncertainty flash through her big, blue eyes for a moment, but then curiosity gets the better of her now, and finally, she says, "I… never knew you had a mother…"
I stare at her deadpan and a little disappointed. "Well, I had to have come from somewhere. Babies don't just fall from the sky. You do know the stork is a myth, right, Historia?"
She makes an exasperated sound. "That's not what I meant!"
I smile just a tad. "I know… I get it… I act so cold and aloof, it's hard to forget that I'm human at times. But I can assure you that I am very much human, and I once had a mother like everyone else."
The queen blinks at me strangely. "Well… what was she like?"
I ponder for a moment. "Fiercely protective. A little overbearing, but… gentle…"
She smiles now. "That must have been nice… to have a mother who loves and protects you. As you know, I never had such a mother."
The queen glances out the window sadly again, and I think I finally understand why she acts so motherly around these kids, even at her young age — there's only an eight-year age difference between her and the eldest child after all.
She wants to give them something she never had.
"Well… she didn't deserve you, Historia. Don't ever forget that. She brought you into this world. Her job was to love and protect you. She was the one who failed, not you…"
Her mouth hangs loose as she stares at me with those huge, glistening orbs, and I have to look away lest they drive me insane.
Finally, she swallows hard, sucking in a deep, shaky breath. "Th-thank you, Captain… that's… very kind of you to say…"
I offer her a pointed look as I finish my tea, and now I swill the cup beneath the tap (like I was going to leave a dirty dish). "Well, don't forget it. Any woman would be proud to have you as her daughter—"
Historia suddenly steps up close and my heart races. I struggle to breathe as the memory of our kiss flashes through my mind, and I perspire once again.
My cravat feels like it's choking me now.
Why did I have to wear this stupid thing?
The queen catches on, widening her eyes, and now she takes a step back, keeping her gaze on me. "I… I never thanked you properly for coming to my rescue the other night, Captain. But… I just want you to know… that I don't blame you… not in the slightest. You got to me in time, and that's all that matters in the end. So please… please forgive yourself... as… as I forgive you..."
I don't look away from those shimmering blues as I swallow a lump, trying to hold back an overwhelming sensation swelling up in my chest. "You're… you're welcome… Your Majesty."
My voice is barely a whisper as I can't stop the skipping inside my chest.
She… forgives me…
Historia steps up close again, but I don't recoil this time. I just keep my gaze on her round, ocean-blue eyes.
She places a tender hand to my face, giving me a small peck on the cheek. Then she scurries out of the room like I'm a ticking bomb that's about to go off, and now she leaves me speechless by the kitchen sink.
My cheek burns where her lips touched and I reach up, placing a finger there.
I never knew a simple gesture would leave me so dumbfounded. This cruel world really doesn't deserve such a pure-heart like Historia.
I don't.
A four-legged creature enters the kitchen, and now I finally stop gawping at the spot where Historia vanished and gape at Erwin.
His blue eyes meet mine, and now he regards me like an old friend. "Meow."
He's been MIA since the night of the attack. Granted, it's pretty normal for cats to disappear for a few days, but I scoop him up in my arms, holding him up before me now.
"I don't know who or what you are… but… thank you. It seems Four Eyes was right all along. You are pretty useful, Erwin..."
The cat tapers his blue eyes and starts purring.
Well, if that isn't the cutest thing…
He likes me.
I peer left and right to make sure no one bears witness to my second moment of weakness, and now I bring the cat closer, planting a kiss between his ears.
His fur gets in my mouth and I spit.
What the… I just kissed a frigging cat. What the hell's wrong with me?
But the cat seems to appreciate my gesture, and now he purrs even louder, rubbing his face against mine.
Let's just hope he's really not my ex-commander reincarnated.
Now that would be weird.
AN: Don't you dare go shipping Levi with this cat! I'm warning you! I'll find you, I will! Okay, I won't, but it's perfectly normal for a man to love his cat.
Well, that's if the cat isn't his ex-commander reincarnated that is...
Historia... you better be aware of where babies come from... or you've got some serious explaining to do later on. Serious, serious explaining (it really was a watermelon all along, wasn't it? I knew it!)
Historia's mum was a bitch. I don't care, I'll say it. I only get sad in that scene when Kenny killed her because Historia had to watch. Poor thing.
Levi hugged a smol child. A smol child! I just can't... 😭
I think quarantine is making me crazy...
Anyway, I will post again no later than Wednesday. So look out. In the meantime, check out this video of Historia singing to a cute baby version of Levi: watch?v=fcrXcI9s3E0 I just find these on Youtube, you know. They're random, but I do love them. I hope you like them too.
CartoonPrincessSigningOff.
