Silent Love, Silent Pain [Levi x OC]

93. One step closer 🔥

"The whole...war?" Hange almost choked on air, her eyes widened in utter disbelief and she wasn't alone in this reaction. They all looked startled and kind of distrusting, part of them not even accepting this as a reality. Of course they wanted it to be real, but they had so much hope in them already been burnt out that it was a simple defensive reaction - they wanted to protect themselves from disappointment they faced every time they came across an obstacle in this never-ending quest for peace.

"Yes," he nodded with a wide grin across his face that he couldn't help. That smug facial expression was something involuntary as he was really proud at the moment. He took a glimpse of Nathalie who had a similar smile, her eyes shining as she stared at him in approval. Finding the much desired answers were all worth it despite the difficulty of getting it. She was worth it. Her well-being. He knew that Scouts were going to be as happy as he was just in a moment. Who wouldn't? His solution might save them all. No, no might this time. It will save them. There's no other way, right?

"Tell us," Eren said with a desperate look on his face that caught Eric off guard. It was heart-wrenching to see him being so miserable. All of them, actually. He shouldn't waste anymore time and rather just get straight to the point. But where the hell to start? He wondered and thanked his own foresightedness for telling him about his ability right away, explaining as much of it as he could. It was going to save them some time.

"I decided to check other universes. As I told you, I found so many of them already and depending on the events, the approach to the Eldian issue was different," he started.

"Did you check whether contacting other nations would help? Did they side with us?" Erwin asked, for the first time barely hiding his hopefulness and excitement. His heart was beating fast and his thoughts speeding, trying to prepare himself for anything. Alas, the look on Eric's face greatly disappointed him, putting down the sparkles of hope in his irises.

"It both happened and didn't," he slowly replied, causing Scouts to narrow their eyebrows.

"Meaning?" Levi asked and looked to the side at Sophie. She was with him this whole time, he reminded himself of that when she squeezed his hand. Was it responsible to let her hear that? He wasn't so sure. But how the hell was he supposed to tell her that? He didn't want to sound like a dick. Shit, he didn't even want to separate from her as she felt bad not so long ago. He needed to have an eye on her. What to do? He looked at Erwin, hoping that he would catch on his struggle and luckily, he did.

He realised immediately. Sophie couldn't be here. Well, not only that. She couldn't know about Eric's resolution, whatever that was. At least not until they would make sure that Tyburs can't hear and see what was going on with her. "Before we start," Erwin said, bringing everyone's attention to himself. "Nathalie, can you check on Sophie? Her stomach ached really bad and we're worried about it," he tried to sound concerned, yet informative - something he would actually act like if he was worried about her health. He had to play along in order to not make his behaviour suspicious to her.

"Is it necessary? I'd like to stay and besides, I'm feeling better now," Sophie protested.

"What kind of stomach ache are we talking about?" Nathalie cut in, ignoring Sophie's words and staring at her in a way that was giving away how determined she was to hear the answer, without avoiding it.

"It was more of a cramp, I guess," she mumbled, partially irritated and partially embarrassed. She didn't wish to discuss her medical issues with everyone in the room hearing about it. "Do we really have to do this here?" She whined.

"No, it would be better to go somewhere private," Nathalie said and after a moment of hesitation Sophie nodded, much to Levi and Erwin's relief.

"Fine," she sighed, giving up. "Please, wait for me or at least update on the stuff," she looked at Levi as she said that. He linked his eyes with her own and she caught that calming, firm look in his irises that made her a little less angry about this situation, because how could she stay mad at him for not standing up for her? If he didn't oppose it, it probably meant he was really scared about her well-being. That, or he wanted to get rid of you, the voice she tried her best to ignore, returned. She slightly winced due to that, which unfortunately only further convinced Nathalie that she needed a check up.