Levi x OC | Humanity's Greatest

8 - Expedition Part 3

With a great deal of effort, I managed to carry Levi over to the ruins that would provide us with shelter overnight. He was much heavier than he looked. 

Levi sat upright on the stone floor, his back against the wall, and I put what remained of my jacket underneath his leg to support it.

"I'm gonna go outside and try to call my horse back here. She's got supplies on her" I said to the injured boy.

"Tch" he replied. "Good luck with that"

I walked outside, the cold prickling my skin. I put my fingers in my mouth and whistled as loudly as I could. After my first whistle, I tried again, and again and again and again until finally...

I heard galloping.

My horse had finally come back, and I'd never been so grateful for something in my life.

"Good girl" I smiled as I stroked the horse's mane in appreciation. "Thank you for coming back. You probably just saved our lives."

I unhooked a bag from my horse's saddle and then tied her reins to a nearby tree so that she couldn't run off again before heading back inside.

When I got back into the ruined house, I held the supplies up to Levi and pulled an accomplished face as if to say 'I told you so'.

"You didn't think she'd come back" I smirked. "I'm a horse whisperer"

"No" Levi grunted. "It's just because you look like a horse"

I rolled my eyes before searching through the supply bag I'd retrieved from my horse. There was a few cans of food, one bottle of water, bandages and some extra gas for my 3DMG.

"You hungry?" I asked Levi.

"Not really" he replied, avoiding eye contact with me.

"You're a liar" I smiled softly before opening a can of food and handing it to Levi.

"You need to eat too" the boy stated.

"I had a big breakfast" I lied.

"You're a liar too" this time it was Levi's turn to smile. "Eat something, brat"

Levi and I talked for hours, trying to pass the time, trying to take our minds off how much we were risking just by being out here. We talked about Levi's underground hometown, my parents, why we decided to join the Survey Corps. The more I spoke to Levi, the more I was interested in him. He was like an elaborate puzzle that no one had ever managed to solve, and it drew me in. I wanted to know more. 

Eventually, we both lay down on the cold floor and tried to get some sleep. But after about an hour of trying, I found myself feeling extremely cold. It wasn't long before I was shivering uncontrollably.

"Hey, brat" Levi spoke up, scaring me a bit.

"Levi?" I whispered, slightly shocked. "I thought you were asleep?"

"You're keeping me awake with your damn shivering" I could hear the scowl in his voice.

I was about to get mad at him but then I remembered he was injured and I felt bad for wanting to do so. I gritted my teeth and tried to be nice.

 "Sorry, I'll shut up"

I heard a quiet sigh coming from Levi. "Come here" he said softly.

"What?"

"Didn't you hear me, moron? I said come over here"

I shuffled over to Levi, and when I was close enough he put his arm around me, pulling me into his warmth, holding me. Our bodies were dangerously close to each other, I could feel the corporal's chest rising and falling, I could hear his heart beating steadily. Levi's arm didn't move an inch, it just stayed around my waist, his fingers grazing against my skin. I was glad he couldn't see me, because I was sure my face was bright red.

"Just make sure you don't kick me in your sleep or I'll punch you" Levi grunted.

"O-okay"

*The Next Morning*

"Levi, wake up" I shook the injured boy gently until he started to stir.

Eventually, he opened his eyes and frowned at me.

"What do you want?" He scowled.

"We need to leave soon, we've gotta head back to the wall"

Levi groaned as he pulled himself up into a sitting position. We both drank some water before heading outside. The sun was rising, which meant the titans were too. I wished that we could have made a start during the night whilst the titans were inactive, but I knew that we wouldn't have made it without a few hours rest, not with the state Levi was in. 

"Can you get yourself onto my horse?" I asked.

"Yeah" Levi hauled himself up so that he was almost lying across the saddle. It was only from here that I noticed a layer of sweat was building up all over his body. His condition was getting worse.

"Wall Maria is South of here..." I mumbled, trying to gather my thoughts. "How many miles do you think it is to the wall?

"I'm not sure" Levi groaned. "Quite a few, considering we can't see it from here"

I nodded and wrapped my horses reins around my wrist. We set off, Levi on horseback, and me walking beside him.

"I'm guessing the wall is about 15 miles away, so if everything goes to plan we might be back by tonight" I said.

"Yeah" Levi replied sarcastically. "That is assuming we're actually going the right way, assuming we won't run out of food and assuming we won't run into any titans"

"Shut up" I scowled.

Sure enough, after about an hour of walking, I felt the ground rumble beneath my feet. I longed for it to just be my imagination, but when I looked behind me I saw a figure in the distance, walking towards us, getting closer.

"Titan" I whispered.

Levi looked behind him and his eyes widened. "Grace" he warned. "We should get out of here before it-"

"It's already seen us, why do you think it's heading over here?"

"Grace please, let's go" he was almost pleading with me now. 

"I can handle one Titan" I snapped. "We were the top two recruits remember?"

"We're supposed to work as a team" Levi replied softly, his face plastered with worry.

I smiled softly. "We are working as a team. This is me saving your life"

And without another word I ran in the opposite direction, towards the Titan, so that it didn't have enough time to get close to the injured Levi.

When I was close enough for the Titan to spot me, I used my 3DMG to boost me into the air, but when I was airborne the Titan stuck its hand out and knocked me, causing me to lose my balance and go spinning through the wind.

"Shit" I cursed as I tried to regain my center of gravity.

When I could see clearly again and wasn't dizzy, I aimed my 3DMG at the nape and took my chance, unsheathing my blades and slicing as hard as I could. The Titan fell.

I wasted no time in running back to Levi and grabbing the reins of my horse again, walking a little faster this time, desperate to return to the safety of Wall Maria.