Bonds of Steel and Blood

CHAPTER 25 - Cracks in the Armor

When she woke up, Reinae's head felt like a horde of Titans was running through it. The mere thought of opening her eyes made her sick. Her brain struggled to function, scattering through glimpses of the previous night. That was when Rei's eyes shot open, which she immediately regretted but was too shocked to even wince at the throbbing pain in her temples.

The last thing she remembered was her losing consciousness in front of Levi, but it was everything said before that made Rei's stomach tighten in embarrassment and discomfort. He was the last person on earth she ever thought she would have a heart-to-heart with, especially after trying to ignore him for weeks.

The longer she thought about the previous night, the weirder she felt. Those stubborn emotions she had been trying to suppress were feeding off the way Levi looked at her with incomprehensible understanding. Her blacked-out mind remembered glimpses of how he held her and carried her to her room.

Luckily for her, she was good at handling hangovers, but the persistent confusion made it difficult for her not to throw up. Water taster like metal, but she forced herself to drink the glass that Levi assumably left on her table, took a much-needed shower, and made herself look presentable enough to leave the room. Her mind was scurrying about how she should act about the previous night. Pretending she didn't remember anything sounded the easiest. But knowing the constant tension between her and Levi made her squad suffer, she decided that perhaps it was an opportunity for them to act civil again, despite her whole being protesting against her as much as talking to him.

She walked to the training ground, since she slept over breakfast, making long eye contact with Jasper as she walked past his squad, which told her Aiden was still knocked out in his room but was okay.

          "You look like you've risen from the dead," Oluo remarked with horror on his face as she approached her squad.

          "I feel like it," Rei said to Oluo, narrowing her eyes from the sun.

          "Did you drink water and eat?"

Rei's eyes widened at Levi's absentmindedly posed question. Even his team looked at him with surprised expressions.

          "I don't need you passing out in the middle of practice," Levi explained, focusing on the map.

          "I'm fine," Rei replied, frowning.

          "Suit yourself," Levi said with his stoic voice. "We'll start preparing for a mission due in a week."

          "A mission?"

          "There's an area continuously attacked by Titans despite being evacuated after Wall Maria's fall. We need to investigate and dispose of them before they ruin all homes in that village so people can maybe return there one day."

Rei nodded, approaching the map to see the formation plan. She asked a few questions, listened when Levi answered, and then stretched her arms over her head, urging Eld to join her at sparring.

          "Did you two talk it out?" her blonde friend asked when they walked to an empty ring.

Reinae grimaced at memories from her conversation with their Captain that flooded back into her head and shrugged.

          "I'm just too tired to fight with him today," she said, and it wasn't far from the truth.

          "Well, it's about time you two start acting like adults," Eld said, earning a glare from Rei. "Seeing him in a better mood today was nice."

          "You're saying this like it's the only conclusion that I'm the one that affects his mood," Rei scoffed, jumping over the fence of the sparring ring.