Birdie (Levi x OC)

eighty-six

Levi was at my side the moment he finished twisting the blade. He didn't spare the body another look as he dropped to his knees in the blood and soot. I stared in a daze at Floch, at the way he was sprawled uselessly on the roof with Levi's blade still jutting from his back, and his severed hand lying a foot away like a discarded glove.

Nausea rolled in my stomach, a feeling that made my head spin. But the throbbing in my wrist had transitioned from a sharp scream into a heavy roar that drowned out the world.

I glanced down at it, biting my lip hard enough to draw blood as I saw the awkward angle it was hanging at. Levi didn't say a word, his face a pale mask of controlled fury, but his nostrils flared as he reached out. He took my arm in his hands, his touch impossibly light, and carefully turned it to get a better view of the break.

I breathed deeply through my nose, each inhale bringing a fresh wave of nausea and a pulse of pain that made the edges of my vision fray. My senses felt dull; even though I knew a massacre was happening just yards away, the only things that existed were Floch's cooling body at my feet and the consistent, agonizing heartbeat in my wrist.

"It's a clean break," Levi rasped, his eyes finally meeting mine. The murderous light was gone, replaced by a hollow, aching concern. "I need to set it, Birdie. Right now, before we move."

I swallowed thickly, my eyes fixated on my wrist. It had turned a bruised, sickening shade of deep purple and red. Without the adrenaline coursing through my veins, the pain was absolute, a pulsing fire that made my stomach clench and my head swim.

"I-I can't, Levi," I cried, the words breaking as they left my lips. "I can't do it anymore. I don't want to go through any more pain. Please...just leave it."

"You don't have to do anything," Levi said. I felt his fingers, calloused and steady, slowly grasp my palm. His touch was clinical yet impossibly soft as he began tracing the break, feeling the way the bone had shifted beneath the skin. "I just need to fix this, Birdie. That's all."

I knew exactly what he was doing. My eyes widened in terror as he hooked an arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him.

"N-no," I rasped, the tears flowing freely now, carving tracks through the soot on my cheeks. "Levi, wait—"

"Yes," he commanded. He moved with a slow, deliberate caution, his thumbs finding their mark at the base of my palm, pinning the joint in place.

I felt the heat of his skin against my wrist. I squeezed my eyes shut, my good hand reaching out to clutch the front of his shirt. I bunched the fabric in a white-knuckled grip.

"Deep breath, Birdie," he whispered against my forehead. "I'll go on three. Just three seconds of pain, and then we're moving. One..."

I drew in a shaking breath, bracing every muscle in my body for the count. I waited for the three. I waited for permission to scream.

"Two—"

Snap.

He moved on two.

The sound of the bone realigning made my stomach roll. A strangled, animalistic scream left my lips before I could even process the betrayal. I collapsed into Levi's chest, my strength vanishing. I buried my face in his bloodied shirt, the fabric muffling my broken sobs.

"Liar," I gasped into his neck. My voice was broken, trembling with the shock of the agony and the lie.

"I know," he whispered, his voice thick with raw emotion. I felt the weight of his own forehead drop against the top of my head, his guard finally slipping. His grip on my arm remained steady and protective, but his chest was heaving in a violent rhythm with mine. "I know, Birdie. But it's done."