Silent Love, Silent Pain [Levi x OC]

26. Reconciliation

Sophie woke up after a few hours. She slept beside his bed, her head on the mattress of his bed and her hand entwined with his own. She smiled seeing his peaceful face, his body so close to her own. He was safe now, away from the fight. His wounds seemed to look better than just a couple of hours ago. That made her sigh with relief.

And just like this she started thinking about their relationship again which forced her to come to the same conclusion as yesterday - he deserved a better treatment for her. Yes, she apologized. Yes, she was now there. But it wasn't enough. She needed to show him that he can rely on her, that from now on she will be there for him like he tried to be there for her, but she deprived him of that. She was awful. She knew that she would never make up for that time when he needed her the most. Yes, she lost Furlan and Isabel. But he lost them as well. Furthermore, he lost her. And he needed her. Why otherwise would he stick around for all those months? Why would he keep on taking care of her from a distance? It must have been annoying. She would break down in his place. And he didn't break down. He was far stronger than her. It wasn't nothing new, but still - the realisation of that hit her hard. She was close to crushing when he was scolding her back in the Underground. She felt weak when he didn't value her.

That thought made her clench her fingers more to his. The sudden need to give him pain again. Need that was growing with every passing second. No. He suffered enough. More than enough. She tried to calm herself down, but her breath kept on getting shorter and heavier. She felt like choking on the air. Within a few seconds his presence became overwhelming to her senses and she let go of his hand so quickly as if his palm was burning her skin. She moved far away, trying to catch a breath. She felt a pressure in her head that kept on nagging her to come back and punch him or worse. She had to stop.

"Sophie" she heard Hange's voice. It helped her focus a little and snap back from those thoughts about Levi. Her jaw tensed when she turned into his and Hange's direction. "How's your back? You hurt yourself pretty bad as I remember" she asked and approached her. She calmed a bit when Hange stood in front of her, hiding Levi from her face. Her scent replaced his and suddenly her breath was more steady.

"I didn't check on it" she admitted, but as she thought of her mutilating she hissed, realising that the pain in her back kept on growing. "But motherfucker" she mumbled, sitting on a chair and massaging the place with her hand which caused another hiss of pain from her mouth.

"Seems like the pill I gave you stopped working. Do you still have spare ones?" she asked and she nodded, taking out the pill from her pocket.

"It's the last one"

"Alright, I'm going to give you a few more for later. I have a feeling that this pain of yours won't vanish so quickly" she said and reached into her bag for a small bottle of pills. Sophie shared that suspicion, but not only about her back pain. She thought this way of Levi as well. But she wouldn't let him know about it. She had to change for the better. She owed him that after wishing him death for so long.

Hange handed the bottle to her and she took it without a hesitation. "Thank you Hange" she smiled at her, showing her gratitude. It was also about time for her to improve her relationship with other Scouts. Yes, she tried to do that those last 6 months, but she still was cold and reserved in all of her interactions. Levi's accident helped her realise that they both needed allies in there in order to make other people care for her in the time of need. Hange seemed like a good person to show to her warmer side. If Sophie had any. She wasn't so sure of that. If she had any warmth inside she wouldn't want to punch Lev in such a state, right?

"Just take them and show me your back" she ordered and Sophie listened. She swallowed one pill and pulled her shirt up enough for Hange to examine it. "It's just bruised," she said after a thorough check. "Terribly bruised, but it will be alright within days. Week at most" she said and Sophie sighed with relief. "I can give you an ointment for that if you want"