Birdie (Levi x OC)

forty-eight

I waited a few minutes in stunned silence as the door clicked shut behind Levi. A gun? Who the hell is shooting a gun? I pressed my face into the pillow, dragging in deep, shuddering breaths, trying to obey his command to stay put. I was so tired of staying put.

"Fuck this," I hissed, pushing myself up. I slipped on the loose skirt and blouse that had been discarded on the floor and ripped my crutches from where they leaned against the wall. I made my way toward the door, my movement stiff. It was evening now, the sun having set not long ago, leaving headquarters feeling silent and eerie.

I looked left and then right, ensuring the hallway was clear before I opened the door and limped outside, following the muffled sound of a few voices.

Hange, Levi, and a few members of Levi's squad were gathered around a body on the ground near the main gate. Levi's shotgun was still secured across his back, meaning the immediate threat had passed.

My crutches creaked with each deliberate step, the noise cutting through the low murmur of voices. Levi and Hange immediately turned my way. Levi narrowed his gaze at my approaching figure but said nothing.

I was gonna hear from him later.

I stopped short, joining the edge of the circle, and looked down at the ground.

There was a discarded shotgun laying beside the man. My eyes widened as my gaze was drawn to the man's head.

I saw the impossible stillness of death and the horrific, bloody damage the blast had brought. My stomach lurched, and I looked sharply away, steadying myself against a wave of profound nausea and revulsion.

"Fucker killed himself right in front of headquarters," Hange crouched down, her voice flat as she checked the man's pockets. She didn't come up empty-handed as she pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper, a single drop of blood already tainting the white parchment.

Hange unfolded the note with clinical care, scanning the hurried script. Her expression hardened into a grim mask of shock, and she held the parchment out to Levi, not wanting to touch it again.

Levi took the note from Hange's hand, his gaze hardening as he scanned the paper.

"Damn it," he muttered, sighing heavily. "He was a father of one of the recruits who died in Shiganshina."

I winced as he spoke the words.

"This isn't good, Levi," Hange looked up at him from her crouched position. "This looks terrible for us. We just need to bury this. We can't afford this kind of message right now."

"It is terrible, Hange," I whispered, attempting to kneel beside her. The sudden motion sent a spike of pain through my hip, and I winced, but managed to steady myself. Levi's hand immediately went to my back, ready to catch me, but I ignored him, leaning closer to examine the dead man.

"His grief was so heavy he resorted to this," I whispered, gently brushing a piece of debris off the man's sleeve.

Hange placed a supportive hand on my shoulder.

"Jean," Levi ordered, his voice sharp and direct, pulling the young man away from staring down at the brutality. "Go get the MPs. They're going to have to clean this up."

"Levi," Hange gritted her teeth, rising stiffly to her feet. "This makes us look monstrous. We're already fighting against the memory of Erwin's final charge, and the cost of it... We cannot let the public see this."

"Hange," I said, my voice hardening with conviction. "We can't hide this."

She pinched the bridge of her nose.