Birdie (Levi x OC)

eighty-seven

Captain Levi

Birdie slumped against him, and he caught her with ease, tucking her against his chest. He stood there for a moment, staring wide-eyed at the ground, reeling at what he'd just done.

He let out a shaken breath and looked down at her. Her lashes were thick and long against her cheeks, her face flushed from the oppressive steam, and her broken wrist was still cradled gently to her chest.

He felt a sudden, violent urge to cry.

He didn't, though. He kept the grief at bay, even as the tears pricked the back of his eyes. He held her tight, feeling the warmth of her body and indulging in just a few more seconds of her presence.

This is for the best, he told himself, though his heart screamed otherwise.

He walked toward the ship, casting a glance at his squad. They were all in various states of collapse, crying over the loss of Hange. Jean approached Levi, his face streaked with tears and soot.

"What are you doing?" Jean croaked, looking at Birdie's limp form.

"Protecting her the only way I know how right now," Levi rasped, his voice sounding like it had been dragged over gravel.

He carried her onto the boat. The Hizuru mechanics were already working frantically to get the engines started. Annie, Yelena, Falco, and Gabi were sitting on the deck, all of them looking completely defeated. He detested the idea of leaving her in their care but what other choice did he have?

He snapped his gaze to Yelena. She was watching him with a questioning look, but something like resignation was buried deep in her eyes. He then landed on Annie, the girl who had slaughtered his squad all those years ago. Now, he was trusting her with the only thing he had left.

"I'm going to put her in the cabin," he said, his voice tight. He looked down at Annie, who sat with her head on her knees. "Can you please check on her when she wakes?"

Annie looked up at him with an apathetic stare, but before she could speak, Falco intervened.

"We will, Captain Levi," Falco said quietly, his eyes brimming with empathy. "Gabi and I will make sure she's okay."

Levi nodded at the two children, thankful for the small gift of their aid, before walking toward the cabin.

"Hurry it up, Captain!" he heard Onyankopon shout from the distance.

Levi grimaced, carefully laying Birdie down on the small cot. He stared at her for a moment, however brief. She looked peaceful. Sweet. The only good thing left on this godforsaken earth.

He leaned his forehead against hers, kissing her gently on the corner of her mouth, his eyes closing tight.

"I'm a selfish bastard," he murmured against her skin, his voice breaking. "I'm leaving you in a world that's ending...just so I don't have to watch you die."

He didn't want to leave her. He wanted to stay in this cramped, quiet room until the world stopped shaking. But he had a job to do.

He prayed to whoever was listening that he'd get to see her again. He gave her one last look, gently grazing the back of his hand along her cheek, before turning and walking off the ship toward the roaring engines of the plane.

~

I wasn't quick to wake up. It wasn't a sudden gasp of air, but rather a slow, liquid ritual of my eyes fluttering open to the creak of wood and the low hum of an engine.

The pain in my wrist returned immediately, a sharp, throbbing reminder of my reality. But for a brief, beautiful moment, I had forgotten all about Hange. The gentle lull of the ship almost gave me a sense of peace, the kind of peace you only find in the center of a storm.