Chapter Fifteen - The End of a World

It was hell on Earth.

A complete and utter disaster.

It felt as if the Titan population had doubled over the course of the winter, and they almost felt even more barbaric than before. It was like an entire fleet was dropped straight on top of them – a perfect ambush.

In just the course of four hours, over 60% of the Scout Regiment was slaughtered.

By a stroke of dumb luck, Quinn's squad was fortunate enough to avoid any casualties. Gelgar took a pretty mean fall, but they said he'd be alright after a few days of rest.

Rest.

Nothing has ever sounded more appealing to Quinn than that does right now. Her body is exhausted, her feet dragging against the dirt as the Scouts make their way through the front gates of Shiganshina. Levi doesn't seem quite as worn out as her, but his shoulders are definitely heavy. Both of them were covered head to toe in blood, dirt, and who knows what else, their horses trailing behind them in silence.

The Scouts are welcomed home with nothing but disapproval, onlookers casting a veil of shame on the entire regiment. The soldiers resembled a group of walking corpses, nearly every one of them bandaged and bloodied. Everybody in the crowd was downtrodden, and Quinn's family was no exception.

Quinn's mother pulls her in for a hug the moment she sees her, completely disregarding how filthy her clothes are. Coming up from her mother's side, Quinn's father gives her a reassuring half-squeeze.

"You guys are back awfully early." her mom remarks solemnly. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, Mom. Just exhausted, I promise."

She envelops her daughter in another small hug, then releases her and glances to where Levi is standing. He's actually closer this time, finally feeling comfortable enough to approach her family a bit closer for once. "Glad to see that you made it home safely too, dear."

Levi gives her a brief nod in return. Quinn's mother's attention shifts back to her daughter. "And Hange?"

Quinn smiles appreciatively at her mother's concern. "Hange is okay, too."

Her mom lets out a sigh of relief. "Oh, bless your hearts. I swear, one of these days you're gonna give your poor mother a heart attack–"

"Johanne," Quinn's father interjects from the side. "Come on, now. I'm sure they're in a hurry to get back to their base."

Quinn's mother begins to respond, but her words are cut short when she hears a small voice cry out from behind them.

"Quinn!"

Jericho appears from behind his parents, sniffling and sobbing as he starts to cling to his sister's side. Both her mom and dad look confused to see him. "Jericho, I thought you were taking a nap. How on Earth did you–?"

"I had a nightmare, Quinn!" Jericho cries as Quinn kneels down and wraps him in a proper hug. "The— The walls! The walls fell down and there— there were so many! They're gonna get me! Please don't let them get me!"

He's used this strategy before — making a display about being sad or scared to try to convince Quinn to stay behind a bit longer. She sighs as she rubs his back in an attempt to console him. "I've already told you, bud. They can't get to you here. Those giant walls are practically unbreakable. You're safe."

"NO!" Jericho sobs. "No, they're coming for me Quinn! You gotta b-believe me! You gotta stay here and protect me!"

"That's enough." Quinn's father gruffs out aggressively, grabbing Jericho by the arm and pulling him up on his feet. "Jericho, we've been over this before. You can't use crocodile tears to try and keep your sister here."

"B-but I'm not! The walls really–!"

"Enough!"

Her father's voice raises considerably, so much so that Quinn can feel Levi tense up next to her. She's about to intervene herself, when another voice from across the crowd starts to cry out.

"Moses! Moses!"

Moses Klein, only one of the many casualties the Scouts had suffered today. He had grown up right here in Shiganshina, just like Quinn. She never knew him personally, but she knew her family did business with his regularly.

Quinn watches as Moses' mother helplessly cradles her son's severed arm.

She'll be sure to make something nice for her.

"Oh my…" Quinn's mother sighs mournfully. "Poor Moses. Do you see what I mean, dear? Can't you see why I don't want you to end up like that?"

Jericho starts to cry even louder. "Please stay, Quinn! I don't want you to be an arm!"

Quinn grinds her teeth down to the nub, what little patience she has left quickly wavering. "I told you to stop doing that in front of him. He's just a kid, he's going to think you're being literal."

"I am being literal."

"Alright." Quinn's father butts in again, his voice lower but still assertive. "I think it's time we let them be on their way. It looks like their unit is starting to move again."

A small sigh of relief leaves Quinn's lungs once her mom finally agrees to let her go. She begrudgingly hugs her mother, and then her little brother. When Quinn goes to give her father the usual brief pat, he surprises her by pulling her in fully and wraps her in a tight hug.

"I know this is random, but I'm proud of you, kid. You're one hell of a soldier." he speaks softly enough that only she can hear it. Quinn smiles at her dad when she pulls away, and she can't help but notice just how… sad he looks.

He must've been more worried than she originally thought.

"I'll write to you guys soon, okay?"

Quinn finishes her goodbyes before the Scouts start to walk off, after another brief moment of prying Jericho off of her side. He still wouldn't get over his nightmare dilemma, no matter how many times Quinn tried to reassure him that he'd be okay.

In the end, she had to leave him by force.

The sadness on Quinn's face must be lingering, because Levi speaks up from her side just a few minutes after they pass through the inner gate.

"He'll be alright. He was probably just really freaked out by all the wounded soldiers."

"Yeah." Quinn sighs. "That whole arm thing really didn't help, either. I'm not sure what Shadis was thinking, doing all that in front of a crowd. I think he might be starting to lose his head."

Levi scoffs, but it isn't out of amusement — more like distaste. "That we can agree on."

*︎**

The trip from Shiganshina to Trost always feels ten times longer when they get back from an expedition. The Scouts had switched to riding their horseback as soon as they cleared the outskirts of the city, Quinn and Levi riding alongside each other under their usual blanket of silence. Normally, Quinn would be more than content with that – but right now, it was giving her far too much time to overthink.

'Levi doesn't flirt.'

That's what she had said.

Because of course he didn't — this is Levi we're talking about here. He was one of most cut and dry men Quinn has ever met. Out of all the time they'd spent together, not once had he ever given her the impression that he saw her as anything more than a friend. For all she knew, Levi could not like women at all — or just not like anyone, period. She knew that people like that existed – people who didn't experience any romantic or sexual attraction. It wouldn't surprise her one bit if Levi was one of them.

Hell, she could've been one herself, with how little romance has ever played a role in her life. She didn't spend her teenage years gossiping over boys and fawning over crushes – she spent them working her ass off. Even in the Cadet Corps, where teenagers would go at it like rabbits every chance they got, Quinn avoided anything romantic like the plague. As far as she was concerned, boys were a headache. Boys made things complicated. Boys would only mean more work on top of an already incredibly demanding routine.

Plus, boys were gross. Like, really really gross.

Levi wasn't anything like that, though. For one, he might just be the cleanest man in all the walls. Quinn doesn't think she's ever so much as caught him with dirt under his fingernails. Plus, not once has he ever made her feel uncomfortable – whether through a joke or a compliment or a completely unwarranted hug. She trained hand-to-hand combat with him for months and never once felt like she was put in an 'awkward' position. Most men that she'd end up being any sort of friend to would cross that line at some point or another, even just dancing on it. Quinn knew what it felt like to be hit on, and she definitely wasn't picking up on any of that from Levi.

Then Hange said what they said, and Quinn started to overthink everything.

She couldn't stop thinking about the weight of his presence as he loomed over her, looking at her through half-lidded eyes. She replayed his voice over and over again in her head — only this time, in a completely different context. Breathy, desperate context.

'Can I come? Please?'

And that pretty much ruined her life.

He couldn't have meant for it to sound like that, right?

She did tell him that if he wanted to 'come' he'd have to ask nicely, then she asked him if he would beg for it, and then he actually did it and holy shit were they actually flirting that entire time?

Ever since Hange had made that stupid comment, Quinn was slowly descending into madness. At the time, she really couldn't see what her friend was talking about. The accusation had her overthinking every little interaction she had with Levi, questioning if their banter really was a lot more provocative than she thought.

If it was, was Levi aware of it? Or was he just as clueless as she was?

She went in circles in her head for what felt like hours, before deciding that maybe her best idea moving forward would be to just… try it. Try it and see what happens.

'It', being the overly intimidating action of attempting to flirt. With Levi. With intent.

And it worked.

At least, she's pretty sure it did.

Levi had responded in kind to everything Quinn had said, every coy smile and subtle glance she sent his way — and oh boy the look on his face when she licked that pie off of her thumb had her reeling. He probably didn't know it, but at that moment, Levi's poker face was absolutely useless. Quinn knew that look – most women could spot it from a mile away.

She just never thought she'd see it on him of all people.

Maybe Levi really wasn't a man made of stone. Maybe there was a small part of him that really was just… a man. A man who Quinn had nearly falling out of his chair over a bite of pie.

Talk about a power trip.

So maybe Hange was right — maybe their banter was a bit on the flirty side. It still didn't give Quinn a reason to believe it was anything more than dumb jokes.

Their friendship was still completely normal in every other aspect.

That was an answer that Quinn was perfectly content with – simple and palatable. Then Levi crushed a man's hand like it was made of paper mache, just for touching her shoulder — and he did so proudly. Unapologetically. He didn't try to sugar coat it or rationalize it for a second.

'That man touched you, so I broke his hand. That's it. That's all there is to it.'

Most people would find something like that extremely over the top — and it was — but unlike most people, it lit Quinn on fucking fire. Somehow it made a lot of sense that Levi would look his most attractive after committing aggravated assault.

It's not like Quinn hasn't always been aware that Levi was a good looking man. The fit physique, the soft black hair, the slate gray eyes that become almost hypnotic when the moonlight hits them just right — everything about him was good looking. She was made particularly aware of this on the night she drew him for the first time, hunched over at her desk in the wee hours of the morning, stubby pencil moving with abandon.

When she was finished, she had a new favorite art piece.

'You don't have a problem with that?'

'Do you?'

'Haven't decided yet.'

She'd be lying if she said she didn't think about tangling her hands into his jacket and kissing him then and there, but there was no way in hell she'd take that risk. It was like pulling teeth just to get Levi to be her friend, and she wasn't willing to throw away an entire year of trust on one stupid impulse.

It was the right choice in the end, because listening to the way Levi talked about his childhood — his mother — was way more intimate than any kiss could've been.

Quinn's reminiscing is suddenly interrupted by a sinking feeling of guilt. What right does she have to be reminiscing about something so happy at a time like this? They'd just lost over half of their entire regiment, all while practically only a stone's throw outside of Wall Maria. Who is she to be sitting here with excitement fluttering in her stomach, while everybody else's is weighed down with dread?

"You gonna make me look at that frown the entire way back?"

Levi's voice jabs at Quinn from her side, and suddenly he's all her mind can focus on again. Her mouth pulls into a half-smile, but it's all she can do to suppress a full grin. "Well it's not like anyone's forcing you to look at me."

There's a ghost of a laugh in the huff Levi lets out. "It's either that or the horse's ass."

"Wow, I'm so honored you chose me."

"You should be. It was a close call."

Quinn rolls her eyes and glares at Levi in annoyance, and it actually makes the smallest smile appear on his face. His smiles were few and far between — each of them little rarities that Quinn only had seconds to admire. But, admittedly very slowly, he seems to be smiling just a bit more.

She wonders if Levi notices just how much she stares at him when it happens.

"What are you looking at?"

Shit.

Quinn blinks a couple of times and shakes her head, turning her attention forward again. "I think I'm just tired, that's all."

"Hmph, you seemed awfully comfortable last night."

A violent blush blooms on Quinn's face as she tries to keep her composure. For a moment, she isn't sure what to say. Is he just messing with her? Or did she really get too close last night?

Quinn clears her throat and does her best to hide her worries with laughter. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that, by the way. I didn't think I would get so–"

"Don't be sorry."

Quinn's mind goes completely blank, blinking a couple times in surprise. She looks at Levi like she expects him to elaborate, but he doesn't.

"I– Okay."

She can't even bring herself to argue.

*︎**

It starts in her spine.

It's an unfamiliar warmth that originates from the base of her neck, traveling in between her shoulder blades and down the length of her back. The heat only intensifies as it spreads throughout her limbs – accompanied by an unusual sinking feeling of dread. Quinn's arms start to feel heavy, the leather lead in her hands becoming harder and harder to keep ahold of. She can feel the material slipping out of her palms, but no matter how hard she urges her fingers to tighten around it, they refuse.

Then, everything seizes up all at once. The fire in Quinn's veins turns into ice, the shards stabbing and tearing her muscles apart from the inside out. It's so intense that she doesn't even feel the impact of the ground as she topples off of her horse.

It's the worst pain she's ever felt in her life — a hundred times worse than having her flesh ripped open by the jaws of a Titan.

Then just like that, it's over.

It's over before her body even finishes rolling through the dirt, Quinn coming to a rest splayed out on her back.

"Quinn!"

She can barely hear Levi's voice through the shrill ringing in her ears, but she feels him tilt her head up as he tries to get a response. "Hey! Look at me!"

Quinn's eyes finally flutter open, met with panicked shades of gray as Levi looms over her. "There you are. Don't try to get up too fast."

She couldn't even do that if she tried. Quinn's entire body felt completely limp, pushed past the point where she can retain any form. The movement in her limbs comes back very slowly.

"What happened?" Quinn slurs out, and even she's surprised at how delirious she sounds.

"You tell me. You just froze up and then fell the fuck off."

Quinn makes another meager attempt to speak, but it fades out as she makes her first attempt to stand. Levi tucks his arm securely under her shoulder, easing her the rest of the way up. "Nanaba, would you hook her horse up for me?" he asks from over his shoulder, before turning his attention back to Quinn. "We've still got a couple hours before we get back to HQ. C'mon, you're riding with me."

"I–"

"Zip it."

She makes no other attempt to protest as Levi climbs up on his horse, before helping ease her up behind him. When he speaks again, he sounds almost bashful.

"Just grab onto me if you get dizzy. I won't let you fall."

There's a brief moment of hesitation before Quinn wraps her arms around Levi's waist, her hands naturally coming to rest on his lower abdomen. The first thing she notices is the warmth radiating off of him, partially insulated under his jacket and cloak.

It isn't until Levi starts to move — and Quinn has to grip him even tighter — that she notices just how strong his abdomen feels. His muscles flex rhythmically with the gallop of his horse, separated only by the thin fabric of his shirt.

She wants to splay her hands open and feel the way his abdomen flexes against her palms, but that felt like far too brazen of a move. Quinn's hands remain partially closed in their relaxed state, feeling far too empty.

Instead, she opts for a softer approach.

She leans forward just slightly and rests her head against Levi's back, her cheek pressing against the hood of his cloak. It does help ease the swaying in her head, still feeling a bit disoriented from the fall. She stays like that for a while, savoring the opportunity to ground herself a bit and clear her head. Or at least, try to.

There's this tiny part of her brain that can't help but take notice of the leather straps running parallel down both sides of Levi's waist, the edges lingering at her fingertips.

For a moment she thinks about tucking her fingers under the straps

It's another stupid impulse that she knows she isn't going to act on — she has every intention to keep her hands put where they are. Then Levi's horse stumbles over a rock, startling her to the point that she ends up grabbing onto Levi's gear.

Quinn can feel his sharp inhale against her chest, his entire body going rigid. She immediately releases the belts as soon as she realizes.

"I'm sorry." Quinn says genuinely, close enough to Levi's ear that she knows he can hear her. Levi only gives her a dismissive shake of the head, refusing to look back at her.

He looks bashful, even from this angle.

When Quinn settles her hands again, she leaves them wide open. Levi doesn't stop her.

*︎**

Less than half an hour later, the pain in Quinn's back returns, manifesting as a deep ache this time rather than a sharp tear. All she can do is clutch onto Levi's shirt in desperation, holding her breath as the pain disperses just as quickly as it came on.

*︎**

"Alright, where are you hurt?"

Levi is already looking Quinn over before she can even step down from his horse, examining her clothes for even the smallest trace of blood.

"Levi, I'm okay, really. I probably just strained my back or something." Quinn insists with a wave of her hand. He only backs off once he's sure there's no visible injury. Aside from the exhaustion that was evident on her face, she did appear unharmed. Her back must've really just locked up on her.

Levi still makes sure to follow close behind as the Scouts start to make their way into the main hall, the crowd already starting to disperse. He rests a hand on one of Quinn's shoulders and turns her around to face him. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. I promise." Quinn insists. Levi gives her an unconvinced look, but brushes it off with a rustle of her hair.

"Go clean yourself up. Relax for a bit. I'll make tea later tonight, okay?"

Quinn smiles at him appreciatively. "Yeah, okay."

The thought of being alone with Levi did have a new layer of… anxiety to it — but maybe that was a good thing. Maybe she'll be more inclined to say something.

She's been asking herself the same question over and over again ever since her little revelation – should she say something to him?

And what the hell would that 'something' even be?

Quinn hasn't even found the time to map out her feelings in her own head. All she knows is that she likes being close to him, and wants to get even closer – closer in ways that definitely blur the line between friends and… something else.

Levi doesn't come across as someone who he would ever be interested in 'something else', but he has been getting a lot closer lately. Quinn can't help but think back to just earlier that morning — about how she woke up with her face nearly buried into Levi's neck. She had apparently scooted over so much that the length of her cocooned body was threatening to press against his.

He must've taken his cravat off before they went to sleep, because the first thing Quinn saw when she opened her eyes was the bare skin of Levi's neck, mere inches away from her face. For a split second, she had to resist the urge to tilt her head up and find out what his pulse would feel like against her lips.

Like she ever would. She was too nervous to even move, knowing that Levi is an extremely light sleeper. It was all Quinn could do to keep her body still, trying her best to hide any indication that she was awake.

In the end, it didn't even matter. Levi was awake the entire time.

As soon as he noticed the slightest change in her posture, he spoke up and nearly scared the shit out of her.

'Like I said, there better not be a single drop of drool on this shirt.'

He had just been laying there, letting her sleep on him, resting his head against hers. He acted like it was completely normal for them to wake up pressed into each other like they were. Quinn did her best to match his casual attitude, but on the inside, she felt like she was spiraling.

She wants to be closer.

She needs to say something.

Even if she is completely wrong, and Levi ends up not feeling the same way, he seemed like a mature enough of a person to move past it. She could force herself to get over it, if she really had to. But if he does share the same feelings–

"The Titans have breached Wall Maria!"

The entire main hall goes quiet almost instantly. Everyone's attention snaps to the Garrison soldier who had just burst through the main doors of their headquarters.

"Shiganshina has fallen! The Titans are already making headway to Wall Rose!"

… What?

Quinn blinks a couple of times, then looks over to Levi, who looks just as surprised as she does.

"Attention all Scouts!"

The focus in the room instantly goes from the messenger, to Erwin, standing front and center of the room.

"I'm Erwin Smith, 13th Head Commander of the Scout Regiment. I need all troops to ready their gear and report to the front courtyard immediately!"

Quinn can't hear another word the man says past the ringing in her ears, the concerned chatter amongs the crowd starting to drown out in a muffled haze. Her mind goes completely blank – her brain refusing to accept the information it's taking in.

Wall Maria… breached?

How?

It's impossible.

That's impossib–

"Quinn!"

Two hands land on either of her shoulders and shake her roughly, breaking Quinn out of her trance long enough for her attention to focus on Levi's face.

"We have to go, okay?"

The soldiers around them are starting to scramble, panicked voices mixing with the sound of heavy boots and metal gear.

Go?

Go where?

Quinn still can't formulate a response, staring at Levi with empty eyes. Why would they leave? They just got back.

Why is everyone freaking out?

The hands on her shoulders move up to her face, gripping her and jerking her forward slightly.

"Get your gear and get outside. Do you hear me?"

Through the confusion, Quinn nods.

"Repeat it back to me."

"... Get my gear, get outside."

"Good." Levi nods as he releases her face. "I need to go, okay? I'll find you when I can, just follow the others and get out to the courtyard."

Quinn can only respond with another slow nod. Levi goes to walk away, but hesitates for a moment before grabbing onto her shoulders again. He pulls her even closer, tilting his head down slightly to look her dead in the eyes, his face less than a foot away from hers.

"Keep it together."

His words bring Quinn enough clarity to finally choke down the lump in her throat. "Okay."

But the moment he walks away, panic starts to claw at her throat, threatening to overwhelm her once again.

Keep it together.

Keep it together.

Keep it together.

*︎**

"Erwin!" Levi shouts as he paces down the hallway, quickly catching up to the other man. "What the hell is going on?"

The commander stops walking and turns to face Levi as he approaches.

"A breach?" Levi continues. "As in–"

"Yes." Erwin cuts his words short. "They've broken through. The Titans are inside."

Levi's eyes widen in shock, stomach falling so heavy it almost makes him throw up. "Fuck."

"We'll discuss this more later. Right now we need to move as quickly as possible. It's already been a couple of hours since the breach, we have no idea how far they've gotten already."

Hours.

Levi lets out a slow exhale through his nose. "Yes, sir."

He turns to walk away, but only makes it a couple of steps before Erwin speaks up again "One more thing,"

"What?"

"I need you to keep a close eye on Quinn."

Levi turns back around to face his commander, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why? She'll be fine. She's more than capable–"

"Do you remember what we talked about before?"

Levi bites his tongue and nods.

"You've encountered plenty of Titans by now. Have you ever seen one that looks like it's even remotely capable of inflicting damage this severe?"

"... No."

"Exactly. We're facing something completely new, and Quinn is an asset worth keeping an eye on." Erwin explains before turning to continue down the hall. "Like I said, we'll talk about this later."

Levi doesn't respond, watching his commander walk away without a word.

What the hell does he know?

It doesn't matter right now – he needs to get moving.

He needs to find her.

*︎**

They've been fighting for sixteen hours straight.

Within the first six hours, what little remained of the Scout Regiment was cut down to the point where they were instead tasked with leading batallions of Garrison troops to help fight against the Titan's assault. They were sent out in droves, served on a silver platter as if the Titans were attending a five star buffet. Levi isn't sure how many he's killed at this point, or how many people he's watched get killed in return. They've lost so much ground in such little time. Despite humanity's best efforts, the Titans have already made it halfway into Wall Rose

Despite the disparity of the situation, Quinn didn't stop moving for a second, operating almost completely on instinct. She didn't say a word, and she didn't react to any of the carnage around her – she just kept pushing forward, cutting down the monsters with a sense of rage Levi had never seen on her before.

They've been fighting in the streets of an isolated village for nearly an hour now, trying to buy as much time as possible for the residents to evacuate. Most of the Garrison troops they were sent with have already died, leaving just a handful of Scouts trying to push the Titans out of the city. Trying, and failing.

All they've been doing since they left Wall Rose is failing.

"All troops, retreat!" Commander Erwin orders from the front. "We're unable to push any further, get out of the frontlines and regroup!"

When Erwin gives that inevitable order, Quinn speaks up for the first time since the fighting began.

"No…"

Her voice is so quiet that Levi can barely hear her.

"We can't turn back already."

"Quinn?"

She has that same shocked expression plastered on her face.

"I have to get to them."

"Quinn, we need to–"

Without any warning, the girl takes off flying down the opposite direction of the street.

"Damn it, Quinn!"

Levi starts to trail after her at full-speed, catching up to her in a matter of seconds. "Quinn, don't be stupid! We don't have the man-power to push any further!"

"No!" she shouts back immediately. "I can get to them!"

She's become completely irrational, every other thought besides getting to her family being completely thrown out the window. Just as Levi is about to respond, he hears an all too familiar rumble coming from just behind the building that Quinn is about to pass.

He barely manages to reach her in time, tackling her with his full body weight and sending them both to the ground. Before Levi gets the chance to do it himself, he sees Miche eliminate the Titan from the corner of his eye. As Levi starts to ease himself up, Quinn lets out a sharp cry of pain, her face contorting as she rolls to one side. There's a deep shade of crimson red running parallel down the outside of her thigh.

"Damn it, you idiot!" Levi chastises from above her as he examines the condition of her wound. It's deep, but there isn't any risk of her bleeding out.

Miche comes to a rest on his feet next to Levi. "What's wrong with her?"

"She sliced her entire leg open with her blade, the damn idiot. Why the hell would you try to run off like that?"

Levi's scolding seems to give Quinn just enough time to regain most of the movement in her body. She scrambles to her feet, desperate to run off again, but Levi and Miche grab ahold of both of her arms before she can make it off of the ground. It takes both of the men's efforts to stop her from ripping herself from their hold, kicking and screaming and thrashing.

"Please, you don't understand! I need to get to them! They need me!"

"For fuck's sake." Miche grunts under his breath as he tries to tighten his grip, before deciding to opt for a different approach. "Fuck this."

With one smooth chop to the back of her neck, Miche knocks Quinn completely unconscious.

"What the hell was that for?!" Levi shouts from next to him.

"Did you have any better ideas?" Miche scoffs as he drops Quinn's left arm, leaving Levi to carry her dead weight by himself. "She'll be fine, she'll just be out for a few hours – but we need to get her out of here, now."

Levi cradles Quinn's body as gently as he possibly can as the Scouts make their retreat.

*︎**

A/N: Welp, there it is! All 15 chapters that I have so far served up onto one platter. If all goes well, I'll be posting future updates on here as well as AO3 (AO3 user is sunspider) :D tysm for reading!