Remembrance ; Levi

♡ Suffered and Suffering

"...I can't," with an apologetic smile, you tried to lighten up the atmosphere with a goofy grin. "Don't worry about me."

Dropping your hand on his head, Jin yelped in surprise.

'He's like a small kid...childish...'

"Jeez, there you go again, treating me like a kid." Jin laughed, all the worry on his face faded away.

Confidence beamed on your face. "Don't forget, I'm older than you." Jin reminded, as his figure's tenseness went away. "Oh! You must be hungry, right?"

'Either a child, or an old man...'

"What do you take me for- a glutton!?" Your ears burned bright red, as you were quite hungry.

'Don't grumble, stomach...don't, don't, don't...'

A teasing smile appeared on Jin's face. "You just didn't eat much at all. Did something happen that night?"

You thought back to the ring that had caught your eye just the night before. An uneasy expression must've appeared on your face, for Jin looked alarmed. "Did I snore loudly in my sleep or something?" 

You decided to play with him. "Yeah, oh god, it was so loud. Couldn't sleep a wink." You winced, as if to prove how noisy it was. 

Jin absolutely froze, looking terrified. "I did?" He asked, meekly. "Super loud." You commented, stealing a glance at him. 

"Super loud, huh..." He echoed, staring off as if he was just a corn husk; waiting to float away. "Like you wouldn't believe." You added, watching him sink down. 

After a few gloomy minutes of silence, you burst out with a grin. "Just kidding." Immediately, Jin smacked you gently on your arm. 

"Don't do that to me!" He complained, "stop teasing me, dammit." 

You hadn't felt this eased since the day he arrived. You tilted your head back to catch the sunlight in your face, and smiled at him. "Okay, fine." 

___H e a d q u a r t e r s___

Levi glanced up from where he was working tirelessly. He felt rooted to his desk, as he hadn't moved from that spot since the evening. 

He didn't allow his thoughts to drift towards (Y/N), since if he knew that once he started thinking about her, he wouldn't stop wondering. 

Instead, the Corporal took a deep breath, before returning to his work; ignoring the girl who sat silently in her wheelchair, staring out the window just a few feet from him. 

In her hand, she turned a thin, silver ring over and over, still mesmerized by whatever was outside that caught her eyes. 

When the Corporal called for her, she tucked the accessory away, and headed towards him- a weary expression on her face. 

___U t o p i a___

"Wait, what?" Jin laughed, as you told him the story of how you met Hana. "You seriously met her in the middle of a Titan fight?" 

Grinning in response, you acknowledged how strange it was. "I didn't expect to see her there at all! She just suddenly appeared." 

"Yeah, Hana was supposed to be traveling over for some medicine that I sent her to get." Jin shook his head, "I always wondered why she never came back." 

Smirking, you replied, "did you think she ran away or something?" 

Huffing in response, Jin turned away from you. "I just guessed that she found something more interesting to do. Being an errand girl isn't that fun, after all." 

"Isn't that the same as running away?" 

"...no?" 

As you both approached the house, you grinned happily at the nice conversation you were having. "How long are you planning on staying?" Jin asked. 

"Not long. Maybe just a few more days?" Linking your fingers together, you raised your hand to the air, stretching. 

Jin watched you, a gentle smile on his face. "So how is Levi, then?" 

Your smile slowly faded as you met his eyes. 

'Why would you torture yourself by asking that, you idiot?' 

"He's fine, I suppose, I want to try and get him to sleep a lot more." You mused, acting as if nothing was wrong. 

"Insomnia, huh?" 

"Yup!" 

"That must suck for him- getting so little sleep, that is." Jin swung his hand up into the air, carefree. The silver band shone in the setting sun; almost blinding you. 

"He manages..." You fell a step backwards to avoid the glare shining off from the piece of jewelry. Remembering the pain you had felt when you tried to think about, you thought it was best to ignore it overall. 

"Um, you know that pain that you receive every year?" 

"...what about it?" 

"That's actually my fault...kinda, sorta." 

"Your fault?"

"It's because I messed up the operation. I didn't check the bottle I held. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Jin's head dropped to the ground, where he looked; ashamed. 

"If only I had been more careful. I regret that day..." 

Your hand brushed past his arm, as you allowed him to peek at the gentle smile you wore on your face. "I hate you for it, too." 

Jin noticed you blinking a few dozen times at his face, and scowled again. "Stop that." 

 You sped up ahead and your hand rested on the door's weathered surface. You grinned at him, and said, "I don't blame you." 

'You're really suffering so much...'

Your heart eased; just a bit at the sight of his relieved smile. "Thank you."