Sage and Whiskey | Levi x OC x Jean

Chapter 5

"Rebelling?"

Karma swished the lime curtain behind her. "Visiting," she said. "Thought you could use some company." Levi was smirking beneath the bandages.

"I won't say no to company. It's pretty drab here. I prefered your place."

The bay was clean and cramped—just a twin sized bed and a medicine cabinet with a rolling tray table. The thin green curtain provided privacy but did nothing to veil the groans of wounded soldiers around them, so Karma couldn't pretend she had Levi all to herself.

An IV line dripped from a hanger.

"You smell better," Karma said. Levi scoffed a laugh.

"I've sobered up."

"How's your scarring?" Karma hadn't changed his bandages or checked his wounds before they left for HQ that morning. Levi waking up from the dead threw a hefty socket wrench in her usual care routine—a wonderful socket wrench that tightened the weakening bolts holding her life together.

"Haven't had the heart to look," he said.

"Mind if I do?"

"Knock yourself out." Levi fingered for the end of the bandages then unwound his arms and chest. No infection. Some raised keloids, but Karma was pleased to see that most of the lightning bolt stitches she'd left in had closed completely. He wouldn't need the bandages soon.

"Can I see your face?"

Levi peeled off his head wrapping. His hair was unkempt and in need of a wash. But his face was almost perfect. She had left these stitches in longer than necessary, hoping to minimize the scarring. Most of them were ready to be removed, including the one that cinched his right eye closed. She traced her thumb over the lid.

"Captain, if you want, I can take these stitches out."

"I would like to see you with both of my eyes."

A pair of angled scissors were in a drawer. She slid the blade under a stitch in his forehead, then hesitated. "Your eye looked pretty bad when you got to me. I don't know if it'll work right. I'm sorry if—"

"Don't apologize. Just cut the stitches."

With needlepoint precision, Karma nicked the train tracks of fabric and plucked out the loose strings. When she was finished, all that was left was a flat pink line streaking from his forehead to his chin. Eventually, it would turn white.

Karma traced the smooth mark, content with the result of her impromptu handiwork. From the tip of his chin, she rolled a finger across his jaw and up his cheek. But now that he was conscious she couldn't get too carried away exploring these familiar planes. She dropped her hand.

"Okay. You can open your eyes."

Levi's good eye snapped open, but the lid on the other was sticky. Karma wetted a washcloth and rubbed it along his lash line. Then Levi blinked both eyes as though expelling an eyelash. He looked at Karma, who bit her lip at the sight. The iris was pale and off-color.

"Shit." Levi rubbed his bad eye and blinked again.

"I'm so sorry—"

"Stop apologizing, Karma."

"Is it...completely blind?"

"No, but it's like looking through a beer bottle."

"I'm—" Karma stopped herself from apologizing. "That sucks," she said instead.

"Yeah." Levi clenched his half-fist. "Aren't you on duty? You should go."

"No, I requested standby—Jean sort of guilt-tripped me and this was the best compromise I could think of. The Scouts will only send me out when they need backup, and in the meantime, I can...volunteer here."