The Humanity's Strongest & The Graceful

The Expedition

A Few Minutes Before The Scouts Depart

Levi's POV:

After we entered the city of Shiganshina, I watched Tessa get off Star before guiding her out of the dual lines. I know she's trying to put on a brave front for everyone, including me, but I can tell she's about to crack. Over the past several months, I've noticed how her mood would drop as the day of the expedition drew near, which was when she would overexert herself with training. It was every day, almost till midnight. Tessa would say she was fine even when she was on the brink of exhaustion until it was the day I decided that enough was enough. It finally took Furlan, Isabel, and I to drag Tessa away from the training grounds as I threw Tessa over my shoulder while Furlan and Isabel carried her gear. The reason for us to finally say that Tessa's training was over was that she had hurt herself. We didn't know the extent of the injury; all we knew was Tessa had managed to knock the wind out of her chest, causing her to go unconscious.

Flashback

Two Weeks Ago

It was like any other day when Tessa, Furlan, Isabel, Kip, and I were in the training field, watching Tessa set a new record for me to beat. I leaned against a tree, smiling at how fast Tessa would change her movements before acing her strike with Kip by my feet as Isabel and Furlan watched from above. We watched Tessa go in for a backflip attack, one of her signature moves, only to lose her footing, making her hit her head on the limb, knocking her out, and causing her to fall, "Tessa!" I yelled as I quickly pushed off the tree to catch her. It felt like time was racing past me as I tried to capture her in time. When I saw Tessa lose her footing before knocking herself out, I swore my heart stopped. I snapped out of my thoughts for Tessa's frail body to fall into my arms, and I quickly realized she wasn't breathing, "Please, don't go. I just got you back, Tess." I whisper as I bring us to the ground. Panic enveloped my soul as I looked at Tessa's lifeless body, causing my legs to weaken before I cradled Tessa to my chest. My entire life could burn away if I didn't see Tessa breathing or moving her delicate fingers across my rough hands because Tessa is my light, hope, and everything good I've longed for.

I hold Tessa's hand to my chest as tears finally escape me, "Tessa if you can hear me. I need you to wake up," I whisper before kissing her hand, "Please, Angel. I need you to open those beautiful eyes of yours." I plead, not caring if Furlan and Isabel see me as weak right now instead of the strong person they know me for. There was a pause, a long agonizing delay. Until there was movement from Tessa's chest, followed by a cough, "Ow." Tessa groans. I can finally breathe as I run my fingers through her hair, making her look at me, "Hey," She whispers, "I guess I overdid it, huh?" She asks, trying to laugh, only for it to cause too much pain to her ribs. However, I don't say anything as I undo her ODM gear because my thoughts go into overdrive since I'm still trying to reel in that I almost lost her again. I continue remaining silent as I move to carry Tessa on my back, careful not to force any more pain, even though I'm on the verge of snapping, "Furlan, Isabel, will grab the ODM gear while I carry this stubborn brat back to base?" I ask in a low tone, then I hear Tessa speaking, "I'm more than capable of walking, Levi." She says before trying to wiggle free, but Isabel stops her before I can, "Don't make another move, Cat," Isabel orders, "You scared all of us because we thought you were going to die!" She admits before grabbing the gear with Fulan.

After hearing Isabel's confession, I feel Tessa freeze before she drops her head, "I'm so sorry," She whispers, and "I didn't mean to cause any of you this pain." She admits, only for me to hear soft cries as I hold onto her. From the corner of my eye, I watch Isabel walk over to us and lift Tessa's chin, "It's okay, Cat, but I think we can all agree that your training is over." She suggests, which causes Furlan to laugh before patting her head, "That's probably the smartest thing you've ever said, Isabel." He jokes, only for Tessa to cover her mouth to hide her smirk since her body was still in pain, so she resisted laughing. As Furlan and Isabel began to argue, I shook my head, walking away with Tessa still on my back. I hear Tessa sigh, yet I don't look at her, "Levi, I'm so sorry for scaring you. I-" She goes to say, but I stop her, "Tess, not right now," I answer, "We'll talk about this later. For now, rest while I carry you back to headquarters." I instruct, noticing Tessa weakly nodding before resting her head on my shoulder. Isabel and Furlan finally catch up to us after realizing that we left them.