I am the place you visit when
everyone else is a shut door
and blinking neon sign
telling you to come back later.
Kat Savage
-Levi's POV-
The last thing I remember is being thrown from the neck of the abnormal titan and hitting the ground before everything faded to black.
How much time has passed? My head hurts, so does my left arm and my abdomen. I feel like I got hit by a damned carriage. But why does my right hand feel heavy and...warm?
Groaning quietly in pain, I opened my eyes and took in my surroundings without sitting up. The room was familiar in design. Somehow, someone must have found me, and we had made it back to HQ.
Slowly turning my head to the right despite the pain, I felt my eyes widen at a familiar head of dark copper hair leaned on my bed, fast asleep, her lips slightly parted and dried tear stains on her face. Her hands clutched my right hand, explaining the warmth and heaviness. Emmryn. She was paler and skinnier than she was on the expedition, and she had dark circles under her eyes that rivalled Hange's when she had stayed up 4 days straight due to her research.
My observations were cut off by a man in a white coat coming in. His face turned to one of surprise when he saw that my eyes were open. Then, his gaze went to Emmryn, and he smiled ruefully and shook his head with a sigh before turning back to me.
"Glad to see you're awake, Captain Ackerman. How are you feeling?" the man I now recognized to be one of the Scouts' doctors, asked, keeping his voice a bit low as to not wake Emmryn.
"Like shit. But I'll live," I responded, my voice slightly hoarse from disuse before asking a question in return, "How long was I out?"
The doctor chuckled at my blunt answer before replying, "8 days," my eyes widened in shock as the doctor motioned to Emmryn, "This young lady has been here almost constantly, refusing to sleep or leave your side. I'm just glad those sedatives I put in her tea finally kicked in. I tripled the dose to ensure they did." There was an unsettling smirk on his face as he all but leered at her. This triggered some kind of protective instinct in me, and I had to refrain from yelling at him.
"You drugged her?!" I all but growled as the man went to grab her shoulder. My hand immediately shot up from in between Emmryn's shocking her awake as I sat up quickly, despite the pain from my no doubt broken ribs, and backhanded the doctor. Emmryn's eyes, half-lidded, looked at me in surprise before giving me a weak, droopy smile.
"L-levi, you're awake," Emmryn slurred, her eyes cloudy as they widened in panic, "W-why do I feel so weird, L-levi?" the doctor was up at this point with a syringe in his hands and a deranged expression as he glared at me. Looking through the open door behind the doctor and caught sight of a familiar pair of shitty glasses and a head of auburn hair.
"Hange!" I yelled, grabbing her attention. Shitty glasses looked over in shock, glaring when she saw the syringe in the doctor's hand. Within seconds, she had tackled the doctor to the ground, stabbing the syringe in his hand to stab his own thigh before pressing the plunger, injecting him with what I could only assume was a sedative inside. The doctor yelled in pain, scaring Emmryn.
On instinct, I grabbed the back of her head and pulled her into my chest, blocking her view of the fight in front of us. The doctor was unconscious in minutes due to the sedative, and Emmryn's breath was labored against my chest. I looked up to see Hangr with a concerned expression.
"Oi, shitty glasses! Don't just stand there! Do you have an antidote to the sedatives that bastard gave her? He said he gave her triple the dose that was needed," I demanded, my voice remaining emotionless, despite the concern I had for the woman in my arms.
"Yeah. I'll go grab it, but she may panic when the sedative wears off so try and calm her down while I grab it alright?" Hange said, running off before I could argue, leaving me alone with Emmryn who was now trembling against my chest.
Shit! I'm no good at comforting people. Shitty glasses should know that! But… I looked down at the trembling figure in my arms and remembered the panic I felt when she went after that first titan on her own. I couldn't lose her. I remember that feeling clearly. So… I had to try and calm Emmryn down… For her sake…
"Emmryn," I said softly, getting her attention, as she looked up at me, fear evident in her clouded eyes, "I need you to trust me okay?"
"W-why? What's wrong w-with me?" she asked fearfully, her shaking getting worse, and she began to wince and whimper. I held back a growl. That bastard is gonna pay for this. A triple dosage was way too much for a woman her size. She's been through enough already without having to fear medical personnel here.
"Emmryn, listen, that bastard doctor drugged you," I explained calmly as I saw panic erupt into her features. I reached out and cupped her cheek and pulled her to me until our foreheads were touching, and her breath hitched allowing me to continue, "It's all going to be okay. I woke up before he could do anything. Hange has knocked him out and is going to get you an antidote right now. But if you don't calm down before she gives you the antidote, you're gonna have a panic attack and you're going to feel even worse. Understand?"
I felt Emmryn take a few deep breaths, her breath fanning across my skin causing my own breath to hitch. Dammit, Levi! Not now! My thoughts were interrupted by Emmryn. Her voice was small and scared yet calm and resolute.
"I understand," she said before pulling back and meeting my eyes as my hand fell from her cheek, a pleading look crossing her features, "L-Levi? Will you stay with me? Please?" Honestly, I would've stormed Wall Sina single-handedly if she asked with that look, but I couldn't admit that, so instead, I simply nodded. Relief flooded her features as she hugged me, and I held back a wince at the stabbing pain from my broken ribs.
"Ahem… I'm sorry to interrupt, but I thought I'd administer the antidote," Hange said, surprising both of us as she gave us a knowing and mischievous smile. Emmryn just buried her face in my chest and stuck out her right arm to Hange, causing my face to heat up.
"Oh Erwin's gonna love this!" Hange cackled as she quickly injected Emmryn with the antidote which apparently took effect pretty quickly as I felt her relax against me. Before she could fall, I wrapped my arm around her waist and moved her to where she was laying beside me on the bed, the only real option I had with only one working arm. This just caused Hange to laugh even louder as I angrily clicked my tongue.
"Okay so I totally ship you two, but good luck with Erwin," Hange joked as she went to lift Emmryn. As soon as she did, Emmryn whimpered and gripped onto my arm, not budging. Hange snickered at this as she went to leave the room.
"Shut up, Shitty glasses," I said, my voice low as I laid down beside the dark copper haired girl beside me, "And don't tell Erwin about… whatever the hell this. I need to talk to Emmryn first when she wakes up." Hange nodded and left, dragging the sedated doctor with her. Sighing to myself, I relaxed as Emmryn cuddled into me and for some reason, it made me feel even more calm as I drifted out of consciousness, despite the soon to be shit storm that will occur when word of this gets to Eyebrows.
Song: Fall For You by Secondhand Serenade
Edited: 03/26/2020
