Pain and Loss [Levi x Reader]

Chapter 11

"He said he expected more from you?" Charlotte laughed, "Dude, don't listen to what the grumpy shorty says."

You shrugged, mounting your horse, "Where did you vanish off to last night anyway?"

"No where really. Around camp."

"With Michael,"

She blushed, "Y-yeah."

"So we're not denying it now?"

Charlotte was quiet, looking away.

"So what were you and Michael doing around camp?"

"Just talking,"

"Really. 'Just talking'?"

"Yes really. We were just talking!"

"Whatever you say, whatever you say."

"What were you doing with Levi? Just talking too, right?"

"No, not really."

"Oh?" Charlotte looked at you, took a second to process what you said, then looked shocked, "Wait- What?"

"It wasn't really talking. It was more the occasional mumble of odd undecipherable noises."

"Goddamn it (f/n), I tho-" Charlotte trailed off as Levi trotted by, "Wait, is he with us now?"

You shrugged. You couldn't help but realise that he was short, even on his horse.

"After yesterday, they don't trust Hanji alone. So Squad Leader Levi is coming to keep an eye on her." Moblit said, having stopped next to you and Charlotte before carrying on to wherever he had to be.

"Hey, we might actually survive this expedition," you said with a grin, "Then you and Squad Leader Michael can go be a pair of love birds inside the walls. Maybe even in his room. I've heard Squad Leaders have pretty nice rooms."

"You asshole..." Charlotte mumbled as her face went vibrant red, looking away.

Everyone watched in silence as Commander Erwin walked up front and centre. The sun had barely risen over the horizon, and birds just begun to fly overhead. Erwin turned to look at the soldiers. He must have seen something in everyone's expressions, for he didn't waste time giving a speech. "I will meet you all back at the wall," he said, "Head out!"

Here we go again.

All you had to do was make it to the wall... it couldn't be that hard, right? Especially now, since you had Levi with you. Sorry, you had 'Humanity's Strongest' with you. You watched Charlotte wave Michael off – he was at one of the front laterals, not exactly the safest place to be positioned – you were grateful that you were positioned relatively near the centre (because Hanji could not be trusted in any of the laterals), so things tended to be relatively safe.

Eventually, everyone had gotten into formation and you were off, heading towards the wall.

"Shorty...." Hanji whined.

"What?"

"Can we go catch a titan? Pleeeaaseeee?"

"No."

"Aww come on, don't be so cold."

"No."

"Lets~"

"No."

"Go~"

"No."

"Catch~"

"No."

"A~"

"No."

"Titan~!"

"No."

"Fuck."

"They could totally be a couple," Charlotte whispered to you, looking at the argument going on ahead. You nodded, yet, by doing so,... somewhere deep in your chest... something... hurt.

With a bang, a trail of black smoke went up directly to your left – abnormal. Everyone quickly turned to look at Hanji and Levi for instructions. They, luckily, decided to stop arguing.

"We've got to stop the titan here, or-" Levi started saying before being interrupted by Hanji.

"The supplies," Hanji finished the sentence, looking at Levi. He nodded, looking in the direction of the smoke. Soon, the ground started to tremble at a steady beat. However, something was off...

"Oh shit," Charlotte mumbled your thoughts exactly.

"Two titans," you said, gritting your teeth. It wasn't long after that that the two titans appeared over the horizon – a 4 meter class and a 6 meter class. Both of them running strait towards you. Both, to your joy, abnormals.

"Cadet Miller," Levi said, looking at Charlotte, "Shoot the black flare, twice."

Charlotte nodded, doing as told. Everyone watched as Levi turned, heading directly towards the titan. Who would be brave enough to face the titans?

'I expect more from you tomorrow, Cadet (l/n).'

Fuck it. Praying to whatever god there was, you turned, following Levi.

"What are you doing Cadet?" Levi shouted at you.

"Helping you, you asshole!" you snapped back.

Levi looked... shocked. Or at least as shocked as his static face allowed him to be.

You watched him zip off to the closest titan – the 4 meter class – and bit your lip. Taking your deepest breath yet, you grabbed on to your blades and launched off. It had been a while since you had seen a titan up so close, the last time was at the fall of wall Maria. You zoomed under the titan's arm, floating above the titan for an instance. There were no trees for you to attach to, but now was not the time to worry about that. Grappling onto the titan's neck, you swooped down for the kill. You barely dodged the titan's grip before cleanly slicing its neck. Somehow, you managed to awkwardly land on the ground without breaking any bones. Your heart was pounding in your head. You had forgotten how it felt to kill a titan. Adrenaline was rushing through your body.

Had Levi seen you? Did you manage to meet Levi's expectations? He... wasn't looking., and you couldn't help but feel disappointed.

Mounting back on your horse, you headed back towards the group.

"Good job~" Charlotte smiled. You smiled back, but looked ahead. Levi had returned to his spot next to Hanji.

Short asshole.

At least you were still alive and the materials were safe. That's what mattered in the end... right?