Turning Page || Levi Ackerman

7: Cleaning Party

Author's note:

Song for this chapter is Colourway by Novo Amor. Or you could tune in to the series playlist  if you like. 
Happy reading!

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MARCH 846

Levi ambles through the narrow streets of Jinae, as he makes his way to Mae's house. 

A notebook is clutched tightly in his hands. And just beside that, rests The Musings of a Murder.

He's done reading it, and he can't help but see the uncanny resemblance the protagonist has to Kenny.

Sometimes he wonders where that bastard is now. He would have been a great asset in this battle against the titans. But Kenny has always been a firm believer of picking your battles wisely. And he would never be stupid enough to dedicate his heart to such a dreamlike motive, where the odds were always against him.

It was something that was drilled into Levi as well, but Levi can't help the compassion that tingles in his heart when he sees his fellow comrades. And the poor men who are crushed by the cruelty of this world.

It's been 2 months since the reclamation mission, and the harsh winters have morphed into pleasant summers. Harvest has been good this year. The prices have gone back to normal, and hotels and bars have started opening again.

People are healing slowly, at their own pace.

The Survey Corps budget has also increased a tad bit, and Erwin has planned a new expedition.

It's a small mission, to scout the area outside and locate a place to set up a supply base. Now that the food shortage is finally over, it is time to take actual steps towards the retake of Wall Maria.

Only a few elite soldiers are partaking in this one.

The effects of that massacre still linger in the halls of the headquarters, and a lot of soldiers are still not in the condition to venture outside the walls.

No one speaks out about it, but everyone knows that they are forever scarred by the deaths they witnessed that day. And the curses that were thrown their way.

The familiar red bricks of Mae's house come into sight, as Levi takes a turn into her lane.

His visits here have gotten frequent. It's a break from the serious atmosphere that usually lingers in the headquarters, where everyone looks at him with such expectations. But in her place, it's just her and her stupid questions.

Can you do a backflip?

Have your pants ever ripped while doing a stunt mid-air?

Do you think I'd be a good soldier?

Its stupid, but refreshing.

Since that day on the terrace, she has been a lot more jolly, childish even. The clinic is doing well and she's been pretty busy with it.

She smiles more often, and laughs at the silliest jokes he makes. And there have been days when she's feeling low and melancholic. But those days are getting less and infrequent.

And whenever anything is bothering her, she always tells him about it.

Levi thinks she is coping well.

A few weeks back, she gave him a duplicate pair of her house keys, because she didn't want him waiting on her porch on the days she wasn't at home. And she didn't mind Levi coming here to rest or do some work whenever he wanted to.