One Million to One || Levi x Reader

epilogue: rebirth

Posting this early to keep the death threats out of my inbox. XOXO I love most of you <3

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Son of a bitch, his head hurts.

Levi tries to crack his eyes open but the bright light makes everything infinitely more painful. Instead, he flexes his fingers and toes, then tries to shift his arms and legs. Everything feels sore and stiff, but at least everything is moving.

Fuck. What happened? How'd he get here? The last thing he remembers is Isabel and Farlan and...

Slowly, Levi eases himself up to a seated position. His body hurts, but the pain is manageable. He glances around, taking in his surroundings.

A hospital bed. He's in a hospital bed. There's a thing attached to his finger that's hooked up to a monitor. How the hell did he end up in the hospital? What did he do? What happened?

There's a button to call for a nurse. Levi presses it.

He only has to wait about thirty seconds before someone is coming into his room. "Mr. Ackerman," she greets. "I'm glad you're awake. How are you feeling?"

He doesn't even know. "Confused," he goes with.

She smiles. "I bet. Here, some water," she says, passing him a bottle that was sitting on the nearby table. "Any pain anywhere? How's your head?"

"Just sore. Fine. What happened?"

She pauses for a moment, and Levi takes a gulp of the water. She nods, then says, "this may be hard to believe, so if this is all confusing, that's very understandable. There was a meteor strike."

Levi stares. The nurse stares right back.

"...There was a meteor strike," he deadpans. 

This has to be a joke. He's on some sort of prank show right now and they're filming him to get a reaction, he's sure of it. But the nurse seems incredibly serious as she continues, "it's been an absolute disaster. No one saw it coming. The shockwave from the impact went even outside of Paradis City limits, with the bulk of the impact hitting the city center."

All he does is stare. "You're joking."

She smiles bitterly. "I'm sorry, but I'm not. It happened three days ago. You're in Liberio Hospital on the far outskirts of Paradis City. When rescue teams found you, your heart had been stopped for a minute."

Levi's still convinced this is some kind of joke. The nurse must see so, because she moves to the small television in the corner of the room and turns it on.

"-footage from Paradis City skies," a reporter is saying, and Levi's lips part as he sees what's on the screen. It's a nightmare. Collapsed buildings, dark smoke billowing up into the sky, helicopters upon helicopters and rescue vehicles parked as close as they dare. "This historically unprecedented disaster will take likely months to clear up. First responders are still finding bodies amidst the chaos even now, seventy hours following the strike."

If this is a joke, it's an incredibly well-detailed one. "You've been out for three days. CT scans indicated potential brain injury," the nurse says, "which is why I asked how your head is."

"Fine" is all Levi can come up with. "Slight headache."

"Let me grab you some medication."

She rises. A thought occurs to him. "Uh- I was with some people. That's the last thing I remember."

The nurse nods knowingly. "I can look them up for you, if you'd like."

"Isabel Magnolia and Farlan Church."