Tough World. Tough Love. | Levi X Reader

Chapter 30: No Regrets

Firts Person POV: (Y/n)

Most of my day was spent at the nearest town. I just needed to get away from the castle, and so after breakfast, I took Athena and rode off. Now I'm back with a bag full of books and some other stuff that I bought for my room. And a little something else, too.

The moment I step out of the stables, I hear my name yelled, the voice is familiar, but tone is not so much. I know it is Levi celling for me.

"Captain," I greet, voice high.

Shit, I already sound suspicious.

"Where were you?" Levi questions as he makes it to the stables where I stand to this moment. He looks me up and down with suspicion, and then eyes the backpack, hung over my shoulder.

"I went to town," I mutter, a bit of shame creeping in. I don't even know why. Maybe the fact that the moment I get back, I'm busted, and he genuinely seems a bit worried, "But!" I rush in, "I have a good reason. I said that I wanted new books, right? I went to get them."

Levi eyes me with a dumbfounded expression. I shift my bag a bit, and a small sound comes from it. My mind becomes alert the moment I hear it.

"What was that?" Levi asks, looking at the bag on my good shoulder.

"Just books," I reply and start walking away. Levi's hand blocks my way, and I'm forced to take a step back. He looks me in the eyes as he says, "(Y/n), we both heard it. What's in the bag?"

I start biting the inside of my cheek unconsciously, but stop at once when I realized that I'd just given my lie away. I suck in a deep breath, instantly regretting it as my ribs give me pain like my leg isn't hurting enough from the day worth of walking and riding Athena around. This really was a bad idea.

"The bag, (Y/n)," Levi pulls me back to the present. I sigh and slip the bag from my shoulder and carefully place it down to not hurt what's inside.

I know Levi's eyes are on me the entirety of the time I open my bag and reach my hand in. With another sigh, I pull out the thing that made the noise. The little pall of fur meows again when I cradle it the best I can in my hands.

The kitten looks around slowly, its black fur slightly puffed, light blue eyes scanning the surroundings.

"A cat." Levi stares at the kitten in my arms. His face is devoid of any emotion besides under confusion.

"Yeah," I whisper my reply. I keep looking at my Captain before me. I see him taking a deep breath and then covering his face with his hands. But just before, I glimpsed a spark of amusement and definitely irritation.

"You do realize that you're not allowed to bring animals as pets here, right?" he asks through his hands. He slides them down his face slightly so that his eyes are visible to me, but nose and mouth are covered. I can see his eyes moving back to the kitten in my arms.

"Yes. But I couldn't just leave it there. There were some street kids throwing rocks at it and trying to step on it and—I couldn't leave it," I explain, holding the kitten a bit closer to my body. The moment I saw these kids picking at this poor kitten, I knew I had to protect it.

"(Y/n), it's a cat. It's not a doll that you get rid of when you tire of it," Levi says, dropping his hands. He sounds like a parent of a child who dragged some stray home. My brows furrow, though.

"I know. I'm not some stupid kid," I retort, looking down at the cat. It still curiously checks out its surroundings. "When I chased the kids away, it was frightened, hissing and puffing itself up to look scarier and—maybe I have the need to protect broken things, but I couldn't leave the cat,"