Freedom: Levi Fanfiction

No matter what it takes

11

        "Pfft!" Hanji couldn't control her laughter. Earlier, Levi had joined her for a break-- and to her surprise, the raven-haired man initiated a conversation. He rolled his eyes, raising his middle finger up in the air. 

        "So... let me get this straight--" she held her giggles and tried to get serious. "She mistook your stares as some sort of evil glare?!" When she couldn't hold it anymore, Hanji guffawed at how ridiculous the situation was. Levi mumbled something under his breath and looked away, his face slightly pink in embarrassment.
 

Hanji raised a brow. "You know, I think you should fix the way you look. It's like you'd kill whoever it is you're looking at," she suggested and let out a sigh but he didn't take none of it. 

        "Like hell I'd do that. Asking you was a useless thing." He got up to leave but as he heard his name coming out of Hanji's mouth, he narrowed his eyes and slowly sat back down. 

        "Iris grew up cautious of everything and that girl overthinks a lot-- like a lot, a lot. I can't blame her for getting angry... I guess the pressure is building up that she blew a fuse-- but what she said about your friends is not okay. Trust me, she's a good person." 

Levi looked away and quietly thought about things in his head. "Yeah." He drummed his fingers upon the wooden table and made up his up. Wanting to get fresh air, Levi decided it was best to spend his free time at the rooftop of the survey corps building. When he slowly reached the top of the stairs, he saw someone familiar. It was Iris. She sat there, quiet and serene with the wind blowing against her hair. 

        "Oi." Levi walked toward her and tried his best to soften his expression. She turned around, surprised at seeing him. Even if it has only been a few seconds, the air immediately turned awkward. Her lips formed the faintest of smile and turned back around. Levi sat beside her, not bothered by the awkward atmosphere between them. It was silent for a while-- the type that isn't deafening or uncomfortable. 

Iris bit her lip, hesitating to speak. "Levi... I'm sorry-- for what I said yesterday," her voice was like a gentle caress. Hearing her apologize, Levi wanted to punch himself for blowing his own fuze yesterday. He didn't mean to call her a bitch-- not at all. But as they both held unto their emotions for the longest time, that fight released all the anger they had in each other. After the silence, the atmosphere turned comfortable. They just wanted to see the clouds move in silence. The wind danced in the air while their hair moved along its direction. He silently sighed and looked at the sight below them. 

        "Yeah..." he said gently. "T-thanks... for yesterday." Levi looked away awkwardly and drummed his fingers on his thigh. The sudden words of gratitude made her let out a soft laugh. Who knew he'd say those words? Iris thought Levi was cold and distant but hearing and seeing him being awkward made her realize he's just a human with feelings just like her.

        "You're welcome. I just did what any comrade would do," she replied in a friendly tone. Another moment of silence played in between their awkward conversation but upon seeing how Iris's face lightened up compared to earlier, Levi thought hard about a topic. 

        "It must've been hard to be a scout at a young age," he said-- but in his mind, he scolded himself for picking the worst topic out of all. He expected her to ignore the sentiment... but instead, she showed him a smile-- a sad one. 

        "Sometimes, I feel guilty for the lives my comrades lost. I was among the youngest scouts in training and now I've just realize how sad it was. I would never want my little brother to go through such things. Young children being forced into adult problems shouldn't even happen to begin with," she replied.