Wings in the Dark

Chapter 23: Safe

*Levi's POV*

Considering Levi was still drained after everything that happened, he did manage to fall asleep once he got back from his late night bath. Sore muscles slightly soothed by the hot water, Levi stretched out on the couch this time, using his arm as a pillow as he set about trying to sleep, staring up at the ceiling, letting the fire slowly flicker and dim until his eyes drooped shut and he fell asleep for a few more hours.

When he woke around dawn, he felt stiff around the shoulders, having shifted in his sleep to an awkward position, apparently, or at least one that was hard on his shoulders. He sat up with a low groan, rolling his shoulders and massaging the stiff joints as he looked around the empty room, light barely filtering in through his office windows since the sun was still trying to rise above the walls. The fire had long since died, the coals not even hot anymore, and the room was utterly silent.

He was already up before Y/N, then, as he might have expected. Perhaps–he should probably check in on her and make sure she was still here and asleep, just in case she'd had a harder time sleeping than he did and it was quiet because she wasn't here.

Pulling on his jacket and starting to comb his fingers through his hair, Levi carefully opened the door to the bedroom, just to check on her and make sure she was all right. Shoulder pressed against the doorframe, his head leaned into the crack between door and frame that he'd created, peering inside the dim room to make sure she was still in there.

Her gear was stacked and haphazardly folded over by the dresser, everything except her shirt over on the dresser, which in itself was enough to tell him she was still in bed, since almost all of her clothes were folded and waiting for her. As for the woman herself, she was still in bed, the blankets twisted around her to showcase what must have been a restless sleep. The sheets weaved in and out of her legs, crossed over her waist, jumbled at her back, and only a bare corner was lying on her shoulder, stuck there by sweat. Her bare legs were sprawled out across the bed, easy enough since she was sleeping on her side, arms lying on the bed beside her as if she'd fallen asleep in the process of pulling them closer to tuck them into her chest. Her soft breathing filled the room, sounding occasionally like they might turn into soft snores more than once, but for now, it was still simply light breaths.

She was fast asleep still, looking like nothing in the world was going to disturb or wake her even if it tried. Levi leaned in the doorway, head resting against the doorframe as he simply watched her for a few moments, reassuring himself that she was okay, she was getting the rest she needed, and for now simply enjoying the brief moment of peace.

Eventually, he'd decided he'd lingered too long, and if he stayed any longer it was going to start getting creepy. So, Levi pushed away from the frame and quietly shut the door behind him, leaving his office and making sure the door was locked behind him so no one could get inside and disturb Y/N while she was asleep.

He needed to go see the others, first–Erwin had said there were a few injuries, nothing fatal, but he still needed to make sure they were okay. Afterwards, he was going to talk to Erwin and see what plans Erwin needed to discuss with him.

Rest time was over–at least for him–the nightmare the fall of Wall Maria brought was just starting.

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(Several days later)

"The Garrison is still on standby in case there's another attack. It's been a few days since Maria fell, but no one dare suggests we won't be attacked again anytime soon. Any expeditions for the Scouts are being put on hold momentarily until the situation settles enough to proceed and we have a plan. Right now, the military as a whole is focused on damage control, recovery, and staying on standby in case there's another attack, including drawing up contingency plans for each branch for future attacks. As for the expeditions, we may not be able to do them yet, but I've already started on plans to travel into Maria, and what we would be doing–setting up supply lines for a greater expedition to take back Wall Maria. No one has talked about it yet, but that needs to be a future goal, and the Scouts will undoubtedly be the ones to carry it out. For now, though, we have no way to seal the holes that were created in the walls, so we can only prepare for an eventual mission to retake the wall while we focus on what we can do for now."