Titan Beauty (Levi x Reader)

54. Blood on your hands

The next day, there wasn't much time for hanging out. (y/n) had to get up early to prepare breakfast for everyone. Levi got up with her. She was standing at the kitchen counter, preparing sandwiches for breakfast and sandwiches to take on the mission. She tried to keep in mind what everyone liked on their bread, she reckoned small stuff like that made the missions a bit more bearable. Levi meanwhile set the table, though he had a slight frown on. 

(y/n) looked over her shoulder back at him. 

"What's with the scowl?" she asked. He furrowed his eyebrows some more, setting the last plate down. He ran his hand through his black hair, and walked up to (y/n), who looked confused. He stood close to her, his eyes extremely serious.

"(y/n), there's something I need to tell you. Something you need to know." he said gravely. Every bad possible thing ran through her head in an instant. 'I don't want to see you anymore', 'I've cheated on you', 'There's another', 'You never meant anything to me'. Levi saw her confused eyes turn to panic within a second.

"About us...?" she whimpered. Levi rolled his eyes, and put his large hands on her upper arms, holding her still. 

"No silly," he began, slightly frustrated. (y/n)'s shoulders dropped out of relief. She smiled skeptically at the term 'silly'. "It's about the mission today." he continued. That wiped the smile off her face. 

"What about it?" she asked softly. 

"You need to understand something. And you need to tell the others too." he spoke, and she nodded, not even knowing where he was going. "These MPs have proven to be ruthless when it comes to obtaining Eren, Historia and you. They're the ones who started with the torture, eventually killing pastor Nick. We only continued what they started. But it's safe to say that they are not afraid to use lethal force against who they view as their enemies, effectively, against us. The MPs want the scouts out of the picture, and are strongly working towards making the public feel the same way." he spoke quickly and lowly. (y/n) slowly nodded. 

"Okay... but what exactly is your point?" Levi's frown worsened, not out of irritation at her, but at what he was about to say. 

"My point, is that we're not just fighting titans anymore. We're fighting humans too. They're not going to be afraid to use lethal force, (y/n). We mustn't either, or we will lose. You and your friends will die if you don't accept this painful truth." (y/n) looked at him with wide eyes, and a dry mouth. She didn't speak for a short while. 

"What exactly... do you expect will happen on this mission?" she eventually managed so softly Levi had to read her lips to understand. 

"I don't know. But I want you-, I want everyone, to be prepared for the worst." he spoke. "So tell me. Can you do it? If you have to, can you do it?" he asked her, getting even closer. Kill others? Just-, people? (y/n) began to stammer a bit. "Tell me you can do it, (y/n)." he emphasized. She eventually swallowed the lump in her throat, and stood up a little straighter. 

"I mean... I've done it before, and I was just a kid at the time... So-., I'm sure that I could do it again,, if I-... if I have to." she tried confidently, wavering just a little.

Levi grimaced as she referred to her past. His hands seemed to automatically clench as he was reminded of the men that tried to hurt (y/n) when she was just a young girl. He made an effort to unclench his jaw, and he sighed. He pulled (y/n) into a firm hug, pressing her face against his chest as his strong arms held her tightly against him. She was taken aback, her eyes still wide, before wrapping her arms around him too and taking in his warmth.