Taking Flight
The roar of planes brings him nothing but agony, and crowds make him uneasy. Amidst this discomfort, Levi discovers a baby bird.
Levi may not soar through the skies anymore. No 3DM gear strapped to him, the wind roaring in his ears and threading through his hair. His body no longer allows that. That sense of freedom has vanished. Yet, he's more free than he's ever been.
He doesn't have to fight to survive another day - he doesn't have the weight of the survival of Humanity resting on his shoulders - no unfulfilled promise tearing at him with every breath - no impossible choices that make him want to rip his hair out and scream.
His joints complain as he bends down. There's a baby bird at the side of the road. It's been there for a while. Tiny and vulnerable and alone, one wing bloody. Too young to even fly yet, as a lot of its feathers have yet to set it. Something about flight feathers, a bit of Hange's knowledge that was forced onto him, drifts through his brain. It warms his heart, even as it hurts. He thinks of Isabel - of the bird with the damaged wing between her hands.
The little body nestled in his palm is warm and so very fragile. Something inside him aches at that notion.
The sky's getting overcast, murky clouds rolling in and covering the endless blue of spring.
Levi doesn't know much about birds aside from the bits and pieces Hange had spouted at him during one of her rants. But Falco would know. The boy loves birds. "Heh." Levi allows a tiny smile at that.
Falco lights up when Levi shows him the bird even as his smile turns a bit unhappy the second he takes in the blood. He takes the bird from Levi carefully and puts it in a box with paper and cloth.
"We need to feed it," Falco tells him.
Levi stares at the bird that's now inside the makeshift nest. It stares back. Levi hums.
"Insects," Falco says. He walks out of the kitchen and into the garden behind the house, leaving Levi and the bird to stare at each other some more.
The bird gets stronger. Falco cares for it deeply. When Levi visits again, Gabi is encouraging it to pick up a worm as it hungrily squirms for the food to jump into its beak, screeching loudly.
As Levi sips from his tea, the bird is staring at him again, dark feathers glossy in the morning light. He scrutinizes it. "Looks healthy."
"We named it Squirmy," Gabi exclaims as she attacks her piece of fruit cake with way too much passion.
Levi makes a face and mumbles something unpleasant under his breath. But Gabi simply shrugs, stuffing her mouth with creamy cake and strawberries. "Falco's idea."
Levi gives him a look. Falco flushes a little and hides his face in his teacup.
Gabi doesn't care; she even thinks it's cute. Meanwhile, Levi considers taking the headache medicine the doctor prescribed for him.
"We should set it free," Levi says later, eying the dirty dishes by the sink, feeling the itch to clean because these brats apparently are too lazy to do it themselves.
"We should," Falco agrees. He sounds a little sad. And Levi can relate.
They set it free on a late afternoon a few days later. The air is warm, and the sky is beginning to dye red, announcing the incoming dusk.
Gabi lively tells farewell to the bird and her reminder for Squirmy to eat enough worms has Falco rolling his eyes. He hands the box to Levi and says he can set it free because he found it. Levi scoops up the bird, and it sits in the palm of his hand for a moment, warm and soft and healthy, and yet still so very fragile.
'Life is so flimsy.' The thought pops up in his brain as the bird takes off into the flaming sunset and toward freedom.
They all watch long after the bird has disappeared, hints of stars appearing in the endless expanse of sky that always manages to make Levi feel a bit breathless. 'I wish you all could see it too.' He shifts, the grass soft under his shoes. Another thought, another wish, another hurt.
"Let's go back," Levi states a bit later, feeling the chill settling in his bones, replacing the endless melancholy that always seems to be creeping up whenever it can.
They go back with the promise of hot tea and a warning to not forget the dishes another time because fucked up knee or not; Levi will kick their asses. Falco and Gabi grin, but they nod attentively, hands intertwining, leaving Levi to trail behind the youngsters slowly.
Levi can't help but smile a bit at the sight in front of him. Not that the brats will know, though. They will be scrubbing dirty plates while Levi gets to enjoy his newest tea. It's the little things.
His gaze drifts upwards, as it often does, almost without thinking. The dark sky above is dotted with countless white specks, and Levi reaffirms his decision once more.
Yeah, it's the little things.