Strays | Levi x OC

Chapter 5

The ceremony's end bled into celebration.

Karma stormed the dining hall, feet slamming stone, eyes tethered to the high-ranking personnel feasting at the far end of the room. She swam through air thick with alcohol and smoke. She clambered rowdy tables swaying to drinking shanties. She plowed soldiers shouting and tossing bets around an arm wrestling match. She dodged raised mugs and overflowing plates until, finally, she reached Captain Levi seated before untouched stuffing and glazed ham. She jerked his shoulder. "What the hell is your—"

"Don't you ever listen to orders?" He gripped her arm, yanking her to his level. His voice was low and sharp. Karma made no effort at discretion.

"When they make sense. You can't say I'd be a good Scout and then tell me to join a different regiment!"

The table quieted. The officers studied their interaction with narrowed eyes. Levi offered an apologetic bow. "Excuse us," he said, rising from the bench. The chatter resumed, though a few questioning eyes followed as Levi pulled Karma near the alleyway door.

She yanked free of his vise. "Why did you tell me to join the MPs? You owe me that much."

He leaned against a stone pillar. "There's no point in telling you. You never listen."

"If I'm such a nuisance, why bother saving me at Trost?"

"Your life was in danger and I'm sworn to defend humanity. Didn't leave me much choice."

"So you saved me out of obligation?"

He shrugged, studying hairlines and chinks in the stone.

"And then before graduation, there were hundreds of cadets you could've pulled aside. Why me?"

Levi's hands clenched. He glanced around for eavesdroppers. Mikasa caught his eye from across the hall. He grabbed Karma's arm and dragged her into the dingy alley. The strays scattered. The rowdy celebration muffled when he slammed and leaned against the door.

"You did it again," Karma said.

"What?"

"Pulled me aside." She crossed her arms. "I fought at Trost, I spent my gas, I faced a Titan. God, Levi, what more could I have done?"

He rubbed his temple. "It's not what you did at Trost. It's what I did."

"What you did?"

"Don't be dense, Karma. You said yourself that you didn't scream and it sure as hell wasn't luck."

"What does that mean?"

He dragged a hand down his face. "It means I was looking for you." Then, as if to dampen the impact of his words, he added, "Keeping you alive is a real pain in the ass."

"I never asked you to keep me alive."

"That's the problem. It was my choice."

"Then punish yourself for making the wrong choice. Not me."

"The only wrong choice made was your regiment. If you would've just joined the MPs like you were supposed to, this could all finally be over."

"You aren't making sense, Captain. What could finally be over?"

"This!" His hands sliced the open air between them. Karma tried to look unaffected. She shrugged.

"There's nothing there."

Levi gripped her shoulders. "That's what I keep telling myself, but I still abandoned the regiment at Trost to find you."

"I think the word you're looking for is compassion."