The Perfect Fit--A Levi Ackerman x Reader Series

Chapter 10

Levi Ackerman x female reader

Warnings: cussing, suggestive jokes

The first two weeks of Levi's healing went okay, him finally being resigned to the fact that he needed to rest after breaking ribs. He threw himself into the mountains of paperwork that had piled up because, in his words, "I can't sit around scratching my ass while everyone else works." Meanwhile, you were busy suturing up all of the uniforms that got ruined from the last expedition. The confession you two shared nights ago stayed nestled in the back of your mind as you went through the motions of work. You felt like a weight had been lifted from your chest and your tongue was no longer heavy with feelings unspoken. Levi now knew how deeply you cared for him and, better yet, didn't run from his emotions as they were conveyed in his own manner.

By week 4, Levi had enough of not doing physical work. His sour mood permeated every room he moped into, cadets practically tripping over their feet to stay out of his way and spare themselves from the venom waiting to spill from his mouth. His patience was thinner than usual and he found himself snapping at everything and everyone. Even you weren't spared of his foulness.

"Look, Levi, I'm just trying to help," you had said one morning after he had struggled bending over to tie his shoe. You'd leaned down to tie the laces but he swatted you away, scowling.

"I'm not a damn baby. Leave me alone and get back to work."

You gave him an unimpressed look. "You're my captain but you're not gonna boss me around like that."

That irritated him further. "Listen, Sergeant. When I tell you to do something, you do it. Am I clear?"

You narrowed your eyes. "All due respect, Captain, but you taking your anger out on people for something they didn't do isn't nice. It sucks getting hurt, trust me, I know, but it's not permanent."

Levi didn't respond. You could tell he was seething and you weren't sure if it was from your blatant lack of respect for his authority or because you were right. Probably a mix of both.

"What do you know about what I'm going through? All you do is sit in here all day sewing. I have an important job that I have to get back to. People are relying on me."

Levi's finger was pointed toward you accusingly and you wished you had enough courage to snap it off his hand.

"I thought we were past the petty insults, Levi. You don't need to be a jerk to me because of your inner turmoil or whatever. You're right, I don't give my heart and life like the other Scouts do, and I'm sorry for that. I don't know what it's like to see comrades die and maybe feel like it's my fault. But my job is important in its own way, too, and I know you know that."

You could see that your words made an impact because Levi's expression changed from one of dismay to something that leaned more toward despair. You were right, of course—Levi had gone too far. He had been ridiculously upset at his own shortcomings when he went to the dining hall and saw all of the missing faces from the last expedition. Every time a soldier dies, he feels like a piece of himself dies with them. Sure, it was their duty to give it all for the sake of others, and he has no regrets about any of the choices he makes as a leader, but that sure as hell didn't make any of the losses hurt less. He internalized their deaths as his fuel to keep going. He needed to get back to training as quickly as possible so he could make sure there weren't as many casualties the next mission and his injury was preventing him from doing so. Levi also couldn't get the night from a few weeks ago out of his head. He knew it was the right thing to share with you how he felt about you, but he couldn't help but think you'd change your mind about caring for him after seeing him so vulnerable and useless. He reverted into his old ways of pushing everyone away, but he should've known that you weren't the type to give up easily, especially on people you cared about.