The Path Back to You | Levi x OC

Chapter 8 - The Captain Returns

Levi

Levi let himself into Anya's room and found her passed out on her bed, still wearing Hange's clothes from earlier. He lit a lantern and watched her for a moment, reluctant to wake her when she looked so peaceful. However, he knew how pissed she'd be if he let her miss the meeting with the recruits. He gently nudged her arm and leant in close to her ear.
"Anya. Wake up."
Slowly, she blinked her eyes open and yawned.
"What time is it?"
"Almost eight thirty." A look of such sorrow flickered across her face that he instantly became concerned.  "What is it?"
"That means... I missed dinner."
He shut his eyes for a moment in exasperation. He should have known.
"I'm sure we can find something. I haven't eaten yet either."
"Why not?"
"I've been busy. Come on; the meeting with all the brats is starting in ten minutes."
Anya stretched and rolled off the bed. She disappeared into her bathroom, and then emerged a minute or so later looking considerably more awake and presentable. She'd tamed her wild bedhead back into a loose plait, and she'd readjusted her crumpled clothes enough to hide the fact she'd slept in them. However, a troubled look played across her face.
"I'm sorry about earlier."
"It's fine," he said. "I'm used to your crazy ideas, after all this time." She managed a not-quite-convincing smile, and so he took her hand and brought it to his lips. "I love you."
"I love you, too," she replied, stepping closer and embracing him. "I'm so glad I've got you, Levi."
He pressed his forehead to hers and met her amethyst-blue gaze, seeking to reassure her, to somehow share his strength with her.
"You'll be okay," he said.
She nodded.
"I know."
They stepped apart and went down to the dining hall, where they met with Erwin and Miche and stood there waiting for the recruits. He didn't miss the frown of concern that passed across Erwin's face each time he looked at Anya, and he wondered if he wore a similar expression when he regarded her. If he did, she either didn't notice, or she simply chose not to say anything. He hoped it was the former.
There was a knock at the door, and Erwin called for the recruits to come in. He watched as they filed into the room, one after the other, glancing around nervously. They lined up against the stone wall, and he stood in front of them with Anya to his left, and to her left were Erwin and Miche. The brats saluted, but none of them returned it. No, instead Erwin got straight to the point.
"Soldiers; at ease. You all saw the rider who helped us to escape from the Titans yesterday on our way back to the wall. We've called you here to formally introduce you." He gestured to Anya. "This is Captain Anastasya Morozova. She is one of the most talented and longest-serving soldiers in the regiment. We thought her to be dead after an Expedition into the mountains went wrong around seven months ago. However, Anastasya in fact miraculously survived and found her way back to us. We are honoured that she chooses to remain with our regiment and to continue contributing to humanity's cause. I hope you will treat her with respect and take on board any knowledge that she may share with you."
The brats exchanged wide-eyed glances with each other, though not one of them dared to utter a word. Levi noticed that some of the male recruits, namely Jean, Reiner, and Bertholdt, were checking Anya out, and he did his best not to roll his eyes. Anya took a step forward, and he could tell that she had switched into 'soldier' mode, playing the part of frosty, authoritative captain despite the fact that it was the last thing on earth she probably felt like doing. 
"I'm glad to be back," said Anya, walking up and down the line, inspecting them all. "I'm sorry that I wasn't here to welcome you to the Scouts when you joined. You've chosen to be a part of humanity's best hope against the Titans, and you should all be immensely proud of yourselves, and of your fallen comrades. No death is in vain, and we are the ones who make sure of that." She paused to let her words sink in. "If anyone has any questions concerning my experience beyond the walls, I'll do my best to answer them."
"Thank - thank you." Armin, the shy, blonde-haired boy who hung around with Eren and Mikasa had spoken. "You stopped the Titans from disrupting our formation yesterday. You're the reason we got back here."
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Armin. Armin Arlelt."
"You don't need to thank me for doing my job. But you're welcome."
He braced himself for the onslaught of questions Anya was about to receive, despite giving them all an uncharacteristically cold welcome. He suspected that she was being so distant with them due to how unsure of herself she'd been feeling since returning.
"What did you do for food?!" Sasha suddenly blurted.
"I foraged, and I hunted."
"Did you kill any Titans?!" Eren asked.
"Twenty five."
"Whoa! Incredible!"
"Didn't the gas run out in your ODM gear?" Armin asked.
"Ah, it did. Luckily the way I fight is already quite gas-conservative, so it lasted longer than I hoped."
Levi suppressed a smile. The icy façade she'd tried to hide behind was quickly melting as she got swept up in the brats' enthusiasm. One glance at Erwin told him that his friend saw the change in her, too.
"How did you kill Titans without any gas?" Reiner asked.
"With difficulty. I still had my horse, Nightmare, so one of the ways I killed them was by using his speed to ride past Titans and slice the tendons in their ankles. Once they were grounded, it was easy enough to slice off their hands before going for the nape. I just had to remember to keep my blades sharpened as much as possible."
"That's...amazing," said Jean, completely star-struck.
Levi watched and listened as recruit after recruit asked question after question. Although she enjoyed meeting them all, it was clear that she was becoming tired. He was about to interrupt when she spoke again.
"Well guys, that's all for tonight," she finally said. "Armin, Eren, Mikasa and Jean; please stay behind."
"The rest of you will go with Miche," said Erwin.
The recruits saluted, then split into their respective groups. Levi checked there were no loiterers in the corridor, then closed the door and joined the others at the table they were sitting at. After Erwin and Armin carefully explained the logic behind suspecting Annie Leonhart, Erwin launched straight into the plan that they had spent the day preparing. Needless to say, it did not go down well with Eren.

***

Anastasya

Several hours after the meeting, Anya and Levi returned to Levi's room, both of them utterly exhausted after having had a late dinner with Erwin and Hange.
"Why is Eren in such denial about the Titan being this 'Annie Leonhart'?" she asked, frowning. "All the evidence seems to point straight to her. Even his friends seem confused."
"Who knows? Maybe he loves her," Levi replied dryly as he put his clothes away.
He collapsed into the bed, and she swiftly joined him.
"How was your afternoon?" she asked.
"I spent most of it planning the operation with Erwin."
"I should have been there," she said, guilt prickling at her conscience.
"We managed. Hange told me about your trip into Trost earlier. Sounds like you tired yourself out enough this morning by convincing the entire city to support and worship the Survey Corps."
"Hange's so dramatic," she said, rolling her eyes. "I said a few things here and there, but nothing so revolutionary."
"You were probably more effective than Erwin or I would have been."
"That's not exactly a compliment. Your approach to Public Relations is... non-existent."
"Tch. What did you think of the brats?"
"I think some of them have seen a hell of a lot. It's made them mature a lot faster than the others. It's sad."
"Hopefully it means that they take missions more seriously and we have a lower casualty rate."
"Mm. That Sasha girl seems obsessed with food."
"Yeah; I thought you were bad, but she's something else."
"Hey!" she protested. She stared up at the ceiling, thoughtful. "It's good that Erwin has sent them away into the countryside while we carry out the plan. I think after we've captured Leonhart, we should break the news to them individually."
"You think there are more spies," he said, propping himself up on his elbow and gazing down at her.
"Of course, and clearly Erwin does too. After all, where the hell are the pilots of the Armoured and Colossal Titans?"
"It makes me sick, thinking we've potentially accepted those bastards into our ranks."
"How were we to know? Nothing like this has ever happened before. We've had traitors that feed information to the Military Police or the government, but nothing like this."
Levi sighed.
"As if things weren't shitty enough already. We've lost a lot of people this past year just trying to get supplies through to plug the hole in Wall Maria. We're stretched to the limit."
"Might be time for a recruitment drive, then."
Levi narrowed his eyes.
"Don't put too much stress on yourself," he told her. "If it were up to me, I wouldn't even be letting you come on the mission."
"Mm, I'm sure. I won't break though, Levi. I know I'm too thin, and I know I'm battered and bruised and there's that cut on my leg, but other than that... I'm fine."
"Are you?" he asked quietly.
She shifted uncomfortably as his stormy-blue gaze locked onto hers. She felt completely exposed.
"I... Yeah."
"Anya. You can hide your fear, you can lie all you want to everyone else, but you can't do that with me."
"I know. I just... I don't want to talk about it. I'll be all right. Really. Anyway, how are you?"
"Huh?"
"Have any of the families of your squad reached out?"
He flinched, so subtly anyone else might have missed it, but not her.
"No."
"We can go to visit them, if you want."
"I doubt there's time," he said after a slight pause.
"I suppose... I suppose that my squad's gone now, too," she said, finally voicing her fear.
He gently placed a hand on the side of her face.
"I'm sorry. Bridget and Oscar died trying to stop the Titan from getting to you on the ledge that day. We lost Mark and Tonya during an Expedition a few months ago. We were able to bring their bodies back, though. I made sure they got proper funerals."
A fresh wave of grief threatened to knock the breath out of her, and she shut her eyes for a moment. She had personally chosen all four of them for her squad, and they'd all become extremely close over time. To have finally returned home to discover that every single one of them was dead and gone... It almost crushed her.
"I... I assumed they were no longer with us when none of them made an appearance yesterday," she managed. "Hearing you confirm it, though... It just makes it more real."
"I know," he said, voice tinged with regret.
She knew that he'd been doing his best to keep himself busy, but the grief would catch up with him too, if it hadn't already. She kissed him, hoping to force it back for a little longer while also dispelling her own. Although she was more than glad to be back, she'd returned to a world full of sorrow.