(Levi x Petra) Recovery

Chapter One, Recovery

As the light of day appeared through the blinds of a hospital room, a bleak gray began to bleed through. Instead of a nice warming yellow or the sight of a blue sky skewed between the shutters, all that shown was the color of stone. Within the drab white room made up of a bed, a table, and a single chair lay a wounded and weakened woman under a thin blanket that was tucked in on both sides. As the cold and stoney light filled parts of the room, a pair of honey-colored eyes slowly began to open. Although the eyes of this woman had woken up, her body hadn't been given the same reaction.

This woman was named Petra Ral, former member of The Scout Regiment and assigned under the squad of Captain Levi. Being put under this squad is no small feat, as each member was hand-picked by Levi himself. Whether it be for their agility, strength, intelligence, or something only seen by Levi himself, the members of this squad were the elite of The Scout Regiment. During the previous expedition outside the walls, four members of the "Levi Squad" as many called it had fought against The Female Titan. During this battle, three members were killed. Eld Gin, Gunther Schultz, and Oruo Bozad. Out of those who fought it, only Petra Ral escaped with her life, being found barely alive by Levi himself.

This series of events had replayed through Petra's mind for three months. Seeing her squadmates die in front of her had filled her with a sense of guilt that slowly ate away at her already broken body. If only she had been stronger. If only she had been faster. If only she had been a better soldier. The last words Oruo spoke to her, in particular, had stuck with her. "Petra! Pull yourself together!" If only she had been able to pull herself together, then she could have saved them. Then she could have saved herself. Then she could have saved the countless others that were killed as The Female Titan was fought in Stohess. Petra felt as if all of these deaths were blood on her already bleeding hands.

After hours of laying alone in her stiff hospital bed, she began to run out of alternative scenarios to imagine. Being in one place with limited movement for months on end only gives you so many options, and with the added guilt of feeling she could have saved her squad her mind tended to drift to ways she could have succeeded in this. Maybe she should have sent off a flare for help. Maybe she shouldn't have shut down Eren's attempt to fight The Female Titan head-on in his titan form. Before trying to think of yet another scenario where things went different her door slowly creaked open.

"Maybe it's the doctor coming to finally end my misery," she thought to herself. This was a daily wish of hers, as she thought this was the only way to end her bodily and mental suffering. Although she couldn't move her head to see who was at the door, the footsteps of a soldier's boots let her know right away that this wasn't the doctor coming to end her "state of great trouble" as it was referred to. As her body began to wake up to match her senses she was able to tilt her head just enough to see who was entering her room. She was greeted with the sight of a man slightly taller than herself holding a tray. He was wearing a gray button-up shirt with white dress pants. His raven black hair seemed to absorb the light around it, putting her full attention on him.

"Le-Levi Heichou" she mustered out. Saying this made her wince in pain, as nearly everything besides blinking and thinking of her regrets had been made difficult by her current state.

"You don't have to talk," said Levi bluntly. "I know it hurts to even greet people." Hearing Captain Levi seemingly give her sympathy was something Petra had never expected to experience.

"Maybe I am in Heaven," she thought to herself. Finally giving a good look to the tray he was carrying she saw that it contained two teacups along with a tin kettle. Levi pulled up a chair next to the neatly tucked bed after setting the tray on the table. He poured two cups of tea. The sound of this pleased Petra, as she slowly gave the first smile she had in months. She watched the steam go up as the tea was poured, and it reminded her of the days she spent with her family at a young age.

"I hope you like herbal blend," said Levi as he took a seat next to her holding a single cup. The porcelain cup had designs of birds and flowers on it. Levi placed his hand under Petra's head, feeling her Amber-colored hair between his calloused fingers. As he began to slowly lift her head she groaned and let out a hushed "ow." In a moment that would have surprised just about anyone, Levi gently set her head back down before saying "sorry Petra."

Petra had clearly shown a shocked expression upon hearing these words, and to ensure he didn't dread on causing her pain she quickly let him know she was ok. Levi paused before beginning to speak again.

"I'm going to try again, this time I'll be more careful." He once again placed a hand under Petra's head. The feeling of his hand behind her calmed Petra. The only touch she felt in the past few months was those of doctors doing their jobs. She began to feel like nothing more than a weekly item on a checklist. The touch of Levi was different. She felt warm inside, as if the sunlight from her eyes had dispersed throughout her nerves. As he carefully and slowly lifted her head she found the strength to help him a bit. When she was finally up far enough he brought the cup to her lips.

"One, two, three" spoke Levi softly. After the count of three, he tilted the cup so she could drink the tea. As the tea entered her body she felt the warmth of Levi's hand and the tea meet. Inside of her felt like it had finally woken up from a three-month-long conscious coma. Her eyes closed for the first time not out of necessity or tiredness, but instead of joy. She drank the entire cup in one go. Levi took the cup away from her lips before gently placing her head back down onto her pillow. Petra smiled. Without needing to say a word she had shown Levi her appreciation by doing this.

Levi carefully placed the cup back onto the tray before starting to drink his own tea. He sat by her bed with her for another hour. He didn't speak a word this entire time, but despite this things never felt uncomfortable or awkward. Instead, it was more of a warm tranquility that Petra was unknowingly longing for. Memories of sitting with her father outside as they watched the sky had flooded back to her like the breaking of a dam in a river. A single tear leaked from her right eye. Levi wiped it off of her face with a handkerchief he was carrying in his shirt pocket. He folded it up and placed it on the table beside the bed.

The sky changed to a pink as the sun began to set when Levi got up out of the chair he was seated in. He placed it back where it had been before. He re-tucked the blanket that Petra was laying under then proceeded to walk toward the door. Before he opened it to leave he stopped.

"Goodbye Petra," he said without turning away from the door. Levi then proceeded to leave. After he had left, Petra still staring at the door said to herself "Goodbye Heichou."