Strong Connections - Levi x Reader

Chapter 4

"He's right." Jean says with a worrying tone, "We haven't tried talking this out. If we just talked, we wouldn't have to kill anyone."

"It's still not too late." Hange positively adds, "We've all fought hard to be here. But at least we are talking now."

I chuckle at this and look at the group again, "Who would have imagined?" I said between laughs. "That we would all be eating around a fire like this?"

"I watched as the titan ate Marco." Reiner interjects.

"Stop talking about it." I warn him, wincing at the end from pain in my back.

"I need to say this." Reiner shakes his head and looks down, "I watched and wondered why Marco was being eaten. I flew into a rage after that and killed the titan, cursing it out." I feel my fists clench further and look away from Reiner, getting pissed off at him. Levi places his hand over mine and I sigh, moving closer to him and placing my head on his shoulder.

"Don't forgive me." Reiner continues, "I really am a worthless man..."

"Stop talking about it." Jean grits his teeth.

"I'm sorry." Reiner ignores Jean, closing his eyes and resting back. I notice the fury pass through Jean's eyes and in a split second, he lunges at Reiner, punching him across the face. I sigh and watch as people try to restrain Jean, but not before he pummels Reiner one last time.

I notice one of the child killers, Gabi grabs onto Reiner and moves him away, quietly apologising before clearing her throat and speaking up for the first time today, "Our wish was to slaughter all of you on Paradis. For the world to accept us and forgive us. That's why it was always our hope, for this Island, for the Devils to go away. And now my parents, everyone in Liberio is going to be taken away because of it. I'm sorry."

I unclench my fists, realising something I always knew but ignored: She was just doing what she was told. It doesn't justify what she did, but explains it. And if we don't succeed in stopping the rumbling, the people of the Walls will be the exact same as her.

"I know how shameless it is of me to ask but," Gabi starts, getting on her knees and lowering her head, "We need all of you to help us. Please help us."

"Please, please." Her friend Falco joins in.

I bite my lip and look away before saying, "Jean, leave them alone." He glances at me before walking away without a comment.

"He left.." Gabi mumbles in defeat.

"Will you guys shut up?" Levi states more than asks. I feel his chest rumbles as he speaks, comforting me so I lean in more. "It's late, lets sleep it off." He finishes and everyone agrees and start laying down. Levi lays me down on the makeshift bed and joins in, holding me close to his chest and wrapping his hands around my waist, avoiding my sore back.

"You're very clingy." I whisper.

He releases me a little and brings his mouth down to my ear, "Do you not like it?"

I wrap my hands around him and bury my face in his chest, "I don't mind." I hear Levi chuckle and hug me again.

"We are trying to sleep, Shorty. Stop flirting." Hange laughs and everyone joins in, the atmosphere being lighthearted again.

I feel my face heat up and Levi says, "Fuck you." before I start to fall asleep.

***

The whole group was riding on several carts, travelling to the harbour.

"Can we really rely on the Azumbito?" Someone asks. I adjust myself upright on the cart, my back aching but I try to ignore the dull pain. I definitely cannot fight in my current condition.

"What other choice do we have?" Hange answers seriously.

The Cart Titan returns from scouting ahead. They pull themselves out and shouts down to us, "The Yeagerists have captured the harbour." I click my tongue at this and she continues, "They must have gotten there first by Steam Engine. They were prepared for battle. The place was covered with soldiers in Anti-Titan Gear. They've figured out that we want to prevent the rumbling and they plan to stop us before we can."

"Well, that's not ideal." I mutter and run my hands through my hair, "But we can figure it out. We have two commanders and several titan shifters. We can fight this."

"We can." Hange agrees and changes the course of the horses dragging the carts, trying to find a more secluded place by the harbour so we can hide away from the Yeagerists.

***

Hange and Magath come down from their spy spot and inform us that the piece of shit Floch was holding the Azumbito at gunpoint. Hange sighs, "We have to kill them all at once. It's the only way to secure the ship."

I sat up against the mound we were hiding behind, feeling angry that neither myself nor Levi could fight at the moment.

"We will use the power of our titans as well as all of your weapons to do that," Annie suggests and I furrow my eyebrows at this, knowing it might backfire.

"Wait a second.." Connie interjects, staring down at Annie.

"Why? What's wrong?" She deadpans.

"An indiscriminate attack on the Harbour will cause the Azumbito to get hurt." I explain, tilting my head at Annie, knowing well that she is aware of this.

"You guys might call them distant relatives, but to us, they're enemies who attacked our homeland." Annie responds and I resist the urge to roll my eyes. You would nearly wonder why Marley has so many enemies. Almost like they are problematic.

Pieck shakes her head, "No, it'll be a problem if the Azumbito dies, Annie. Isn't that right?"

"Precisely." Onyankopon agrees, "I should be able to pilot the Flying Boat by myself. But without the Azumbito's mechanics, it's nothing more than a wingless ship. Currently, the wings are folded away. As well as that, they have to take it into a hangar, performing a service inspection and conduct flight training..."

"How long will that take?" Levi asks.

"I don't know." Onyankopon responds. I let out a ragged breath, realising that this will be a lot harder than expected.