Forever Mine.

Chapter 14

Audrey was now standing in the cold, dark hallway of the castle wondering what to do with herself right now. It was the first time she had been alone all night and she didn't know what to do with herself. Normally she would sleep any hard days of work off, but sleep was the last thing she wanted to do.

The shower had always been her comfort place, even with others around. There was always privacy in there any no one cared about what you did. So when Audrey had a stressful, shitty day, she would go to the showers.

It was getting creepy in the hallway because of the hour, and she could be caught. Pushing herself off the wall with her hands, she started towards the bathrooms, where no living soul should be at this hour.

Levi hadn't moved from the spot he was sitting at on his bed. His past few nights of no sleep was slowly etching its way into his body. The ungodly amounts of tea he was drinking to stay awake were making him feel sick. Levi didn't like eating very much, he wasn't hungey very often anyway.

His eyes kept fluttering shut, snapping them back open to keep himself awake. His body was shutting down, and quick. He hated sleeping, so much so it came to the point where he was slacking on the job. That's when Erwin and Hange had to take away his tea privileges and took away his paperwork.

Hange and Erwin were concered for him because they knew he had seen shit in the Underground. And they knew he still hasn't recovered from watching his whole squad get taken out by the "Female Titian". Hell, no one had. Levi was always too hard on himself, taking every death, every broken bone, every scratch, out on himself. He told himself oit was his fault, therefore, he had to "punish" himself which led to further problems.

It was idiotic and he knew it, Erwin knew it and Hange knew it. But that didn't stop him from being an idiot. That was all he was after all. He knew that, especially after the past 24 hours. He let his eyes off the woman HE brought to the ball, she got taken advantage of by HIS uncle, and further more, HE opened his eyes and saw her naked, bruised, batted body.

His cheek felt wet, first the left, then the right. He stifled a sob. He was a weak man, crying alone in his room. Weak was all Levi Ackerman was.

The second shower of the night made her skin prune quicker, making the screaming in her head come back. She used to go into the bathtub in her old home when her father was pissed. Somehow, the metal that coated around her quieted the screams and breaking glass.

It put her into a better place, one where her family was happy. There were times when she stayed there all night and was safe, but there were times when he found her. And when he found her it wouldn't stop. Mommy wouldn't come and save her, she was bleeding again. So her father dragged her out and into the closet they went. She was 8 when it first happened.

She was being ripped and torn and she didn't even know what was going on, at some point in the end, she always passed out, sometimes waking up with dried blood pooling between her legs.

Ace was crying again. That seemed to be all she did now. The bathrooms were quiet, empty. There wasn't a living soul in the building she could confide in right now. Not a living soul that would want to hear it anyway.

Did she care though? She couldn't be alone right now, she didn't want to be alone right now. She wanted to claw her skin off. The shower was off in a second, and her clothes were on in a minute. Before she knew what was going on she was running through the halls to go back where she came from.

Levi's door was in view now, light still shining through the crack under the door. Before thinking, she flew it open. She stood in the doorway, questioning whether or not this was a good idea, but her life couldn't get much worse, could it?

The door clicked shut, Levi was still sobbing. He couldn't stop it now. His weak ass was sobbing and he couldn't do shit about it. Which is why when his bedroom door opened, he shot up, gripping the person standing there by the throat.

She was clawing. Ace just needed to see someone, anyone. And she knew he was still awake. But if she had known that he was crying, she would have left, maybe. But if she knew this would happen, she never would have came, maybe. Maybe?

He dropped to the floor, along with Ace, she clutched her throat, heaving at the air rushing back into her lungs. Along with an unexpected, unfamiliar rush of warmth in the pool of her abdomen. "I- I didn't" He started speaking through sobs.

The warmth of Ace's hand resting on his cheek was not expected, but not unwelcome. Levi's hands reached up, desperate to feel human touch, a feeling he once told himself to rid himself of. His head landed in the crook of Ace's neck, his hands lay on the small of her back.

His hair felt softer than she thought it would as she stroked his undercut. The moment they were in felt like a fever dream, but it was one that Ace wasn't sure if she wanted to wake up from. Levi's sobs calmed, and her mind calmed. Right here, holding the Worlds Strongest Man, is where she felt calm for the first time since she was 8.

AN: I am in love with this book. I also finally finish AOT, so I can finally wright this book knowing how the story ended. :):):):)