Birdie (Levi x OC)

fifty-five

Captain Levi

Levi sat rigid with his squad and Hange, positioned on a ridge overlooking the water. Hange was looking intensely through a spyglass, the silence broken only by the sharp, whistling wind.

He pressed the blade a little harder into the chef's back. Niccolo, the man had said his name was.

"The rest are here," Hange whispered, her voice tight with concentration.

"Hopefully that brat is in position," Levi muttered under his breath, his thoughts going immediately to Eren. He didn't trust him but they had to rely on him in these scenarios. It made Levi's stomach sick.

The outposts had alerted them: large, armored ships had been swarming the ocean the day before. Immediately, Levi, his squad, Hange, and a select few other scouts had made their desperate, fast journey back to the sea. The outside world hadn't waited for them to leave their island; they had come to the "devils" first.

They had already intercepted the first of the scouting ships. The captured Marleyans were tied up; the ones who had put up too much of a fight were dead. The chef, Niccolo, they had spared. He was currently held against Levi's chest, his forearm clamped in Levi's iron grip, with the gleaming point of an ODM blade pressed lightly against his spine.

Levi narrowed his eyes on the ocean, the same perfect blue he and Birdie had walked through months ago. Now that blue was corrupted by the sight of large metal boats; ships so massive he'd never seen anything like them. His gaze intensified as the vessels grew larger, drawing in dangerously close.

"Any day now, Eren," he muttered again, still wary of the boy's constant, volatile mood swings.

His mind flitted, however briefly, to Birdie. He had insisted she travel deeper inland to her grandfather's quarters. He hadn't known if these ships meant an all-out invasion or simple, fearful observation. What mattered was she wasn't alone, a thought that brought him a momentary, fierce comfort, despite her inevitable, predictable resistance.

"But I have work here, Levi," she had glared, her eyes intense and gaze wild. She hated being sidelined.

"Work that can wait a couple of days while we deal with this mess," Levi had snapped back, maybe a little harsher than he'd intended.

He saw the brief flash of hurt cross her face, but he didn't give in; his order stood.

Sighing deeply, she ran a hand through that beautiful, long blonde hair that he loved. He let his gaze soften. He noticed the faint, stubborn crease forming between her eyebrows; the one that only appeared when she was truly ready to argue. "I'd focus better on actually disposing of these Marleyan bastards if I knew you were safe. Going deeper within the Walls is for the best."

He hated resorting to begging, but the narrowed expression on her face told him he had to. "Please, Birdie. Don't fight me on this. Listen to me for once in your goddamn life."

Her expression softened then. She reached out, gently hooking her finger into one of his utility straps on his ODM gear, a silent sign of surrender. "Fine," she whispered, still unhappy. "But you'll send a letter the moment you're back. I hate being just that much farther away from you when you're putting yourself at risk."

"Deal," he instantly replied, the word clipped but relieved. Levi took a step closer, understanding her worry. "Don't forget we have Armin and Eren's Titans. Worst case scenario, we just send Armin to blow them all up."

Birdie raised her eyebrows, unconvinced. "I hate being left behind. I fucking hate it."

"I know," he placed a kiss on her temple, breathing in the scent of the floral shampoo she used. He allowed himself one swift, tight embrace, inhaling the scent of her clean hair.