Deviate | Levi Ackerman x OC

Ch. 2

I had no idea where I was.
The one thing I did know was that this was not the bedroom I had fallen asleep in. Where my nightstand full of mostly junk, chargers, and a lone photo of my father and I once stood was now a plain white wall and the edge of a woodgrain bed frame. My fuzzy throw and pillows were gone and in their place were flat white sheets and a grey wool blanket I had balled up in my hands. I didn't have much time to try and process my surroundings as my cheery wakeup call hummed into my back.
"You're never this difficult to get up in the morning. Are you okay?"
This person might be a stranger to me, but they were a kind and patient stranger. I couldn't avoid them forever – I don't think they'd allow me to if I wanted to. I knew I finally had to face them and tried to compose myself as best I could, turning my head to respond.

I thought my eyes were going to pop right out of my head.

The first thing I made out over my shoulder was dark brown hair piled into a messy high ponytail with bangs parted down the center. Eager brown eyes through thin oval glasses and a wide smile greeted me immediately, shrieking as we finally made eye contact. "About time! Up and at it, Sleeping Beauty. You good over there?"
I turned around the rest of the way as slowly as I could force myself to go despite wanting to jump out of my skin and they let me out of the embrace they'd been holding me in. "Yeah, I – I'm good. Just really tired."
"Really? And here I was thinking I'd gone easy on you last night," their voice trailed off as they stood up from my bed. My expression must've given away some of my bewildered thoughts because they quickly followed up with, "Game night? Remember?"
I audibly breathed a sigh relief. "Right, game night."
I sat up and pulled my still-blanketed knees to my chest. I was able to see them more clearly now that they weren't working on waking me. They wore a white button-up, black pants, and a puzzled look on their face. I knew exactly who this was, yet I couldn't bring myself to believe it. It was physically impossible.
Only one way to find out, I thought to myself.
"Hange?" I questioned and held my breath.
"Yeah?" They peered at me over the top of their glasses, eyes skeptical.
"N-Nothing," I forced out, struggling to suppress the laughter that threatened to escape me – nervous laughter was probably my least favorite anxiety symptom. "Sorry, weird dream."
They narrowed their eyes at me the slightest bit but seemed to buy it, or at least pretended to. "No worries. You do need to get up, though. It might be free time for some, but we do have that meeting with Erwin this morning."
This could not be real. It wasn't. Right?

Did a tree fall into my room during that storm last night? I've never been one for elaborate dreams but maybe the electric storm last night shocked some previously dormant part of my brain. Either way, I'd somehow woken up in a world lightyears from my everyday life into... that of one of my favorite series?

"Seriously, Stroid," Hange walked over to a dresser under the window, pulling open a couple of the drawers and throwing items of clothing at me. "You seem a little out of it. Should we get you checked out? I can get you down to medical-"
"No!" I disputed a little too quickly. "Really, I'm okay. I think I'm just a little overtired – having a hard time... Snapping back to reality."
I pulled my blanket down to reveal the same oversized t-shirt and underwear I'd put on in my bedroom last night and got into the outfit Hange had passed me. I saw a doorway across from my bed and walked into a bathroom. I splashed some water on my face and put myself together for the day. When I joined Hange again, they seemed to visibly relax as I went along with the normal morning tasks.
"That's my girl," they cooed and cupped my cheek with a grin.
Their touch was warm, and I could've melted into it. This was the most realistic dream I think I've ever had in my life. Even if it wasn't real, it brought me a kind of peace I hadn't felt in a long time already – I was going to take as much of this in as I could, even if I couldn't take it back with me.
I put my hand on top of theirs and returned the smile. "Thank you. I'm sorry for the unintentional pain-in-the-ass start to your day."
"There are far worse – I'd take this any day," they reassured me. "Ready to go?"
Right. The meeting.
"Uh, of course."

They started for the door and held it open for me. I followed along down the halls of what appeared to be the headquarters building. We passed a few people here and there who offered us warm smiles and occasional nods which Hange returned. Despite our start being a bit rocky, I soon fell into step with them and the silence between us as we walked was comfortable. I did, however, dread having to break it as I desperately needed some intel about this meeting I was walking into.
"Hey Hange," I began, trying to make it come across as naturally as possible despite being entirely clueless. "Mind giving me a refresher on what this meeting is about again?"
A deep voice from behind us chimed in, startling me a bit as I hadn't heard anyone approach. "Tch. If you don't know that, I'm not sure why we're having one at all."
Hange looked at me and rolled their eyes before turning around. "Now there's the short shot of cheer our morning was missing."
I stifled a chuckle at their remark, but the brooding man behind us didn't find it quite as amusing. I'd recognize that straight black hair and cold demeanor anywhere: the infamous Levi Ackerman. He narrowed his gray eyes and scowled at them. "And I could've gone without a sit-down with you this early in the day, Shitty Glasses, yet here we all are. Especially one that the person of honor couldn't be bothered to come even a little prepared."
What was this guy's deal? I furrowed my brows and opened my mouth to counter, but Hange put a hand up in front of me and intercepted just before I could.
"Now, now, guys; there's no time for your back-and-forth. We don't want to be late!" They grabbed hold of my hand and led me a few paces down the hall, knocking on a heavy dark oak door before us.

"Come in," a confident, calm voice instructed from the other side, to which Hange obliged. They offered me something between an encouraging and sympathetic smile while Levi forced his way past us inside.
I was feeling a lot of different things at the moment – namely anxiety at the topic of this meeting if it had anything to do with me – but irritation with that one was quickly becoming a close second.
Inside was an office where a rather large blonde man sat at a desk toward the back of the room. Along the wall opposite us were shelves filled with books of varying colors and volumes. A window behind him cast shadows along many of his features, but his icy blue eyes pierced through them with ease. Erwin Smith's presence was commanding the moment you approached him and could easily be seen as intimidating between his sheer size and how he carried himself. His stoic demeanor softened when he saw Hange enter and again when his eyes landed on me from behind them. Before I could even register what I was doing, I fell into form with both Hange and Levi as they stood at attention and offered him a salute. He nodded knowingly and extended his hand out toward us, offering the three seats in front of his desk. Levi naturally staked his claim on the furthest one from us, and I was fortunate that Hange elected to take the one in between.

It almost felt like "cheating" in a way; having somewhat prior knowledge of these people before ever formally meeting them – although it seems to some degree, I do know them. At least enough for the raven-haired man on the other end of this trio to have some sort of disdain for me.
Erwin hurriedly finished writing on a document he'd been working on when we walked in and put his hands together, visibly settling into his seat across from us. "I know doing these kinds of things during what limited downtime we get is never ideal, but the sooner we got into it, the better for us all."
Hange's expression remained their usual cheery self, while Levi looked as unamused as ever. My stomach felt like it was in my throat; I had just gotten here and already I was panicking about... Work?

Erwin turned to me with a small grin on his face, helping to soothe my nerves the slightest bit. "Astrid, I know we'd spoken privately about your position, but I thought the insight these two could provide would only aid as we navigate these next steps."
I was hoping like hell something along the way would trigger any kind of recollection in me, but no such luck. I was drowning here, but I couldn't let any of them know that. Instead, I smiled back at him, returning his kind gesture. "Absolutely, sir."