Title: Soburin
Rating: T (Borderline M)
Summary: What a terribly unpoetic way to die. She desperately wanted to laugh at the disappointment of it all.
A/N: Written for Day Three (Force Majeure) of the second Rivamika week on tumblr.
"If we don't get out of here soon those bastards will kill us."
Sasha's words were hushed, breathless even with the adrenaline rushing through their veins. Mikasa turned towards her friend, stormy gray steadily meeting fear-filled amber. What were they supposed to do? They were stuck hiding underneath the floorboards of a tavern that had no name. Military Police were scattered everywhere above them, inspecting every possible area where someone could conceal themselves. The owner told the two women that there was a secret entrance for them to escape if the situation arose, but Mikasa was worried that they'd be caught as soon as they stuck a hand out into the chilly air. Their only other option was to fight the soldiers head on.
Tightening the shawl wrapped around her silver hair, the oriental woman finally came to a decision.
They were just going to have to risk it and leave.
"You're right. We have to go."
Sasha immediately followed after Mikasa, both crawling to the escape route and hastily pulling the loosened stones out of the way. They silently slipped through the space, hauling their rucksacks over their shoulders before resetting the rocks and disappearing into the night.
Making camp deep in the forest nearly a couple of hours later, Mikasa set about creating a fire to warm up their desensitized limbs.
Sasha tugged her newly dyed golden locks out of the hair tie, wincing slightly as she combed her fingers through the tangles. When Mikasa was finally satisfied with the size of the fire, both settled on their bedrolls.
"Do you think any of them are alive?" Sasha inquired once her friend tugged the familiar crimson scarf out of her bag. Just the sight of the tattered cloth brought back memories of their rowdy teammates. The image nearly brought a smile to her face. "I mean, we haven't heard from any of them since the incident. And that was over a year ago."
Mikasa's gunmetal eyes flashed to the blonde woman as she relieved her silver hair of its firmly held braid. "If they weren't alive those scumbags wouldn't still be looking. And they wouldn't send twenty soldiers in a building to hunt down two women."
And it just so happened that they stumbled upon a crisp wanted poster of the unhinged, titan-loving scientist they grew so fond of. The monochrome photograph of the squad leader brought hope that Levi might have survived the two-on-one battle she abandoned both of them to, but the feeling was thwarted when she realized there wasn't a poster of his own accompanying Hanji's own.
Hanji's exuberant smile in the picture haunted Mikasa for weeks following their discovery. Not merely because it reminded her of the night she left her comrades, but because it could have been an indication that most of the others might have not survived. If only she had stayed behind... then perhaps she could've somehow altered the outcome and her and Sasha wouldn't have to be alone and out on the run.
At least then they would have seen their end with their comrades, just like they were meant to be.
Mikasa suddenly cleared her throat, willing the miserable feeling away. "I'll take the first watch. Go get some rest."
—
"Say it."
His demand was whispered against her shoulder, the tips of his fingers tracing along her bare spine. She could feel the smug smirk against her skin every time she trembled.
Rolling her eyes, she finally turned to face her lover, the full effect of his affectionate stare-accompanied by the soft glow of the sunset behind him-nearly stopping her heart. It was a look he reserved only for her. And though his rare smile constantly set her insides aflutter, she thought she could never get used to the way his slate blue eyes crinkled a bit every time he shot her that secretive look.
"I love you."
And she meant it, even if he did force the three little words out of her. After a few months of sharing Levi's bed she learned that he wasn't a patient man. It was to be expected after serving in his squad for three years.
"Do you mean it?"
The gentle brush of his thumb against the outline of her lower lip heated her cheeks. Ducking her chin ever so slightly, Mikasa pressed her lips against the coarse pad of the digit.
"Of course, idiot."
He hummed as if he was satisfied with her answer, complacent smirk still in place, and began to lean forward. Her breath caught in her throat as his face inched closer, smoky eyes involuntarily drifting shut as she prepared for his intoxicating kiss. But the tender press never came. Instead he mouthed the shell of her ear, the touch immediately heating her insides and reigniting the fires of her arousal.
Damn him for figuring out her weak spot so long ago.
"Say it," she breathed, thin fingers threading into his midnight locks.
Her words halted him from moving any further down her neck. Levi lift his head to stare at the woman below him questioningly.
"What?"
"Say it," she repeated, free hand caressing his naked chest.
"I love you."
"Do you mean it?" she mocked, unable to fight back the playful smile creeping onto her features. Levi exhaled a laugh through his nose, a crooked grin tugging at his lips even though she was poking fun at him.
"You know I do."
Before Mikasa could stop herself, she reached up to his face and traced his smile with her fingertips, memorizing the exact place his lips quirked up and the modest dimple that showed up whenever he allowed himself to display his true emotions around her.
He was so beautiful, and she so lucky to have captured the attention of the normally stoic Captain. Even now at eighteen years old she wasn't quite sure what she did that made him notice her, or even when their relationship began to change for that matter.
Levi began to dip his head to grant her a proper kiss when an ear-piercing scream and the sound of glass shattering echoed down the hallway, interrupting the pair and hurling them back into reality.
Both ran to the Commander's quarters where they were sure they heard shriek, clothing sloppily thrown on in their attempt to quickly come to his aid, only to come to an abrupt stop at the sight before them.
In Erwin's office stood Hanji and the Commander himself. But behind their blond leader was another man they've never laid their eyes on before, holding a dagger up against the taller man's throat. He had a gruesome face. Scars marred his skin and his nose was crooked from having been broken one too many times. But what was most frightening about him were his pale eyes, nearly white in contrast with his jet black hair.
He suddenly flashed the three soldiers a menacing grin, rasping, "For my brother," before he tore through Erwin's flesh and shoved his limp body onto the office floor.
Hanji was wailing and the pair that stood behind her could only stare at their slain Commander in shock. It was too hard to believe that someone as powerful as Erwin Smith could be defeated so easily, even when he was lying motionless in a pool of his own blood.
The man pointed his dagger at the three, the scarlet liquid dripping from the of the blade. "You're next, four eyes. And you too, shorty."
Levi scowled and encircled Mikasa's wrist with his hand, guiding the woman further behind him. "Get out of here. Tell everyone to leave."
Her heart shattered at the simplicity of his demand. How could he just give up on her-on them-so effortlessly? Tears sprung in her eyes, brow twitching slightly as she willed the strength to argue with him on the matter.
"What? Why? Let me fight with y-"
"This isn't up for discussion, Mikasa," he interrupted, voice sharp and demanding. "That man is Zenno. He's the one who murdered the king. Now... do as I said and get the hell out of here."
Releasing a shaking breath, she balled her hands into fists, muttering, "Don't you dare die," before she ran off.
It was the last time she ever laid eyes him.
—
When Mikasa visualized her death two years ago, she expected to be old and gray and barely able to stand when she woke up in the morning. She expected to be in the arms of her lover and for her life to flash before her eyes, briefly reliving every precious memory she held so close to her heart.
But the death she received was nothing like she imagined.
Instead she was lying face up on the damp earth, a weak hand clutching her arm as the crimson liquid trickled down and in-between her fingers. She couldn't even think, not with the poison coursing through her veins and the unbearable pain that came along with it. Her vision was burning, lungs choking for breath as she stared up into the eyes of her killer through the haze the toxin forced upon her.
The man donning the military police uniform flashed her a malevolent grin, yellow and crooked in the flickering torchlight.
"Looks like we finally got the bitch. It's a shame I couldn't have more fun with her." The criminal laughed impishly along with his friends before turning towards Sasha. "I guess I could do that with you, blondie."
The sadistic man fell out of her line of sight and Sasha's screams suddenly pierced the air. But Mikasa couldn't defend her companion as she pleaded her name, for her muscles remained rigid every time she attempted to move. And her words were stuck in her throat, preventing her from assuring Sasha that she would take care of the bastards for her.
It all seemed pointless now. Years of running from Zenno and his henchmen and when finally put in the face of a fight she could barely defend herself. How could she proudly be labeled one of humanity's strongest when she was taken down so easily by a tainted blade?
She supposed it was a stroke of luck on his part, but Mikasa refused to allow that theory to hold truth.
Everything she ever did up until this point was her own damn fault. She failed Sasha, she failed Levi, she failed her comrades, but most importantly she failed herself. Now all that was left was an empty void pressing against her chest, the heaviness emphasized by the numbness finally progressing its way to the rest of her body.
What a terribly unpoetic way to die.
She desperately wanted to laugh at the disappointment of it all.
Her eyes began to drift close, a desperate scream of her name and a flash of black and silver the last thing her unfocused vision could recall seeing before she gave in to the darkness. Her last thoughts were of her patient lover, a warm kiss touched to her unmoving blue lips before she lost all sense of the world.
A/N: I wrote too many happy fanfics for this week so I remedied that, hehe. Day Four will be coming soon! :)