~Chapter 22 - Guilt~
Levi rounded the tree. His steel grey eyes were hunting after its goal, which was me.
I sat on the supply wagon. The cape kept the warmth inside and warmed me up a bit. Though the sun was shining brightly, I still felt cold.
"(F/N)!" he exclaimed and rushed up to me with a relieved expression.
I didn't raise my head to look at him. I didn't deserve it. I couldn't even keep my own squad and his squad alive. Do I even deserve to be alive?
I felt his arms around me. People nearby stared at the scene and I could even hear their heart break.
Levi rarely showed any emotion. So they knew when Levi showed emotions such as relief, joy and sorrow, something big had happened.
I kept my head down, staring at my hands. We sat there in that position for a while before we were interrupted by Commander Erwin informing us that we were going to retreat.
"Come on, let's go." He said and gently pulled me away from the wagon. "Can you ride alone?"
"We are short on horses. You'll either ride together or sit on the wagon." Erwin said as he calmed his horse.
Levi nudged me, giving the question to me.
"I…I can sit on the wagon." I whispered barely audible.
"Ok." Levi replied and gave me one last hug before leading me towards a nearby wagon.
"Eren?" I gasped as I saw a body on the wagon that belonged to no other than Eren.
"He's alive, just unconscious." I looked on the side of the wagon at the direction where the voice came from.
On a horse sat a young woman with shoulder length raven black hair. She had a scar on her right cheek that must have resulted after the battle of Trost.
I grunted back a short reply as I climbed onto the wagon.
"I'll see later." Levi said as he left to Erwin.
I sat down on the wagon beside Eren. There were a few blankets in the corner and 2 barrels of gas. The 3DMG was also on the wagon.
The wagon started moving. It bounced each time it drove over a pebble or into a hole.
I pulled my knees into my chest and laid my arms around my leg. I stared at Eren's face. For once, it actually looked pain-free and peaceful.
The time rolled by. Seconds turned to minutes and minutes into hours. My eyes were always stuck on Eren's face, waiting for him to wake up.
And that moment soon arrived.
"Oh, finally came to?" The soldier that drove the wagon said.
"EREN!" Mikasa exclaimed.
"M-mikasa?" Eren stammered, still half-conscious.
He got onto his elbows and was going to get up but was stopped by Mikasa's warning glare.
"What about the female titan? What happened?" He asked.
"She got away."
"W-what? Why? What about the plan?"
"It failed. You need to rest." She replied putting the conversation to an end.
Eren was taken aback. I knew what he was thinking. It was hard to not to. I mean, they were so close to me…
I pushed the thought away. I dug my head into my arm, trying to get away from the thought of my subordinates and friends.
We reached the wall shortly after. I get the same feeling a safety just by the sight of it.
The wall slowly opened like jaws. Levi, who was a few meters in front of me, gave me a last look before we rode through the gate.
Everything was just like always. The citizens had mixed looks on their faces. Most of them were angry. Not at the titans, but at us. They felt that we cost them too much money and for what, to get eaten outside the walls?
The others showed some sympathy by staying quiet. I didn't need to look to know it. This isn't my first time returning from an expedition.
"Hey look! That's (f/n) (l/n)! I told you she's alive! You owe me a muffin!" I heard someone shout.
It's sick. People, especially kids, have invented a new game called "Who'll come back?" which goes out on betting on a soldier and then see if they return from the expedition.
"Geez, where's Petra? I thought she'd return." I heard someone else say.
I clenched my hands into fists, my nails were digging into my palms and any second, it would start bleeding.
It's not that I didn't dare scolding them for the sick game they were playing. In fact, I actually did once, I had jumped down from my horse, grabbed a hold of one of the kid that made the bet and yelled straight into his face. But the result wasn't pleasant. I got scolded by Levi and Erwin for my lack of respect to kids and immature moves and was close to get a trial in court.
I saw how Levi jumped down his horse and handed it to a nearby soldier that have been on the wagon. He was just about to walk to me when he was stopped by an old man with white hair.
"Corporal Levi! I'm Petra's father. I just wanted to have a talk with you before I find her. I'd like to start off with thanking you for taking her in and taking care of her. As a father, I'm really happy for her." He began. I saw how Levi's mood immediately sank and how his eyes darkened. "You see, my daughter sent me this letter. She wrote how honoured she felt to be able to serve you and to be for some use to you, Corporal…."
The man was smiling and could barely control his eager.
"….And well, anyway, as a father, I uh, I was thinking it was probably too early for me to insist she get married, you know…she's still too young to settle down and has her whole life in front of her…"
I slammed my hand over my ears, and forcefully shut my eyes. I didn't want to hear what he had to say to him. Even less, I didn't want to see the man's disappointing and heart-breaking face after he received the news.
What hurt the most was the fact that I could have done something. I could have saved her.
Eren's POV
Petra's father was still smiling, even though he saw how depressed and gloomy Levi became. I wonder if Levi's going to reveal the truth. About…them…
I felt the first tears crowd in my eyes. But I tried my best to keep it in. This was my first expedition; I have to show I'm brave enough and can serve humanity. I was humanity's last hope after all.
But the look on Squad leader (f/n)'s face was the final push for the tears.
She had covered her ears and shut her eyes after hearing the conversation between Corporal Levi and Petra's father. She had a tortured expression on her face, mixed with guilt and sorrow. I understood. Both of us lost most of our squad just a few hours ago.
I laid back on the wagon and gently placed my head on a blanket that represented my pillow. I lifted my arm and covered my mouth with it and started silently cry for myself.
Reader POV
-Time skip to a few years later-
Is this it? Are we finally free?
I stood on the cliff with Levi and Hanji, looking at the view. The titans under the cliff were all falling down like buildings in an earthquake.
My face cracked into a beaming smile. We did it. The experiment was a success!
Levi's eyes widened at our victory.
We had finally defeated the titans.
I waited for Hanji's reaction. She would always over exaggerate things every opportunity she gets; which was the reason why everybody loved her.
And just as I suspected, she fell down to her knees and roared joyfully and started laughing hysterically.
It was hard to believe that it was just yesterday we created the mixture and poured it into a lake, letting the water's cycle take care of the rest. It was raining a minute ago, the rain contained the mixture and when it landed on a titan, the process would begin.
I kept my eyes on one of the titan. It was a long but slender one and had shoulder-length brown messy hair. It was lying on the muddy ground, and whimpering.
A few minutes later, the titan started vaporizing. The whole area was filled with steam. I squinted, trying to get a better look of the titan. A minute later, when the steam has eased, I immediately looked after the place where the titan once laid.
My smile grew even wider at the sight. The titan wasn't there anymore. Instead, a young woman with messy cinnamon brown hair took its place. She had a long white dress with a brown vest; all of them were frayed due to being probably years inside the titan's body.
Several soldiers from the Survey Corps rushed to the woman and examined her. Hanji excused herself and used her 3DMG to get down to the woman to be a part with the examination.
Levi and I were the only ones left on the cliff. We viewed down the cliff under a comfortable silence. I was going to let this victory last as long as possible. For the ones that have sacrificed their lives for this moment. I was happy to pronounce that their deaths were not in vain.
I heard footsteps behind me, but didn't bother turning around. The sight of titans falling and humans returning to life was so tempting.
"Squad leader (f/n) and Corporal Levi…" It was Erwin's voice.
Levi and I ripped our eyes off of the titans and turned around to face him.
"The experiment was a success." I whispered with a smile.
He nodded and returned my smile.
"That's true. And we have defeated the titans, thanks to you two, Hanji, all the soldiers in the Survey Corps and of course the ones that have sacrificed their lives. I just wanted to come here and personally thank you three for all of your help you've given but I see that Hanji isn't here. I'll thank her in a while. However, I do not know what will happen now, so I'll have a talk with her Majesty the Queen about it."
Erwin said. He smiled one last time before he went back the way he came from.
I turned my head towards Levi. Though the edges of his lips were pointing downwards, the joy and happiness showed otherwise.
I giggled and grasped his hand in mine. And together, we watched as the final titan fall to the ground. We knew that now, was the beginning of a new time with freedom and peace.
~(AN - This chapter is not as good as the rest, I'm sorry. I'm just really tired and have had a lot of events in my school. But i hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter is probably the last. Sorry for the lack of OCxLevi moments. The next chapter is mainly about that couple :D)~