Birdie (Levi x OC)

eighty-one

Captain Levi

Captain Levi woke with a start, his breath coming in full, desperate gasps that burned.

He noticed three things immediately.

One was that his face fucking hurt. It was a localized, throbbing agony that felt as if someone had hammered a hot iron nail into his skull.

Secondly, his body was so cold he was losing feeling in his fingers. He flexed his hands, only to realize with a sickening jolt that it wasn't just the cold causing that sensation on his right side.

And lastly, he saw the face of his beautiful wife, illuminated only by the pale moonlight filtering through the trees. She was hovering over him, taking up his entire field of view. Her expression was one of absolute terror masked by a thin veil of focus. Her hair was sopping wet; heavy droplets of water falling from the tendrils of blonde waves that surrounded her face. Her brows were furrowed, and those golden-hazel eyes were wide, dancing with a frantic worry as she assessed him. Beneath the grime and the rain, he noted the dark, elaborate bruise decorating one side of her face; a detail he inventoried for a later discussion.

"You're awake," she gasped, her voice trembling. "Oh, God. I didn't think you'd wake so soon. I haven't even managed to clean up your face."

Levi squeezed his eyes closed for a moment, forcing his mind to categorize his thoughts through the concussive fog. He had been with Zeke. He had been holding him captive. His comrades were dead.

He had fucked up.

He had foolishly strapped the Beast to a thunder spear, thinking it was a leash. He had assumed there was no possibility Zeke would sacrifice his own life to kill him. He had been wrong. Now, his vision was a dark blur on the right, and two fingers were gone from his primary hand.

Then, there was the river; the cold, alarming sensation of the current dragging him into the dark. And then, the echoey, watery voice screaming at him to wake up. A soft yet loud voice.

Birdie's voice.

Levi, if you don't wake up right now, we're both going to die. I can't do this alone.

He had woken up long enough to get them out of the water. He remembered grasping her hand, ensuring her pulse was steady before the darkness had claimed him again. Now, they were tucked into the underbrush of the forest, the smell of damp earth and pine needles replacing the scent of blood.

"Levi," Birdie tapped his unmarked cheek gently, her touch a desperate tether. "Are you with me? Are you okay?"

"Shhhh," he rasped, his hand finding her wrist. He didn't pull her away; he simply moved her hand to rest over his heart. "Quiet."

He felt her choke back a sob as she collapsed onto his chest, burying her face into his filthy, blood-stained shirt. His breath hitched at the impact but he didn't care. He took his damaged hand and placed it gently on the back of her head, cradling her softly as she wept.

He was terrified beyond belief that she was even here; that she was in this forest at all, hurt and cold because of him. But, damnit, he was happy to finally hold her in his arms again.

"How badly are you hurt?" he asked, his voice a jagged rasp, a remnant of the explosion. "Tell me honestly."

"Levi," she said, pulling back just enough to look at him. "I am in far better shape than you, so don't even bother asking. We need to find some supplies. I've got to stitch up your face."

He felt her hand tenderly trace the air just above the deep gashes and jagged cuts that littered the right side of his face. He couldn't see out of that eye; it was a void of heat and pain.