Levi x OC | Humanity's Greatest

10 - Welcome Back

I tried to take in my surroundings as I faded back into consciousness. I could feel an uncomfortable mattress beneath my body and I could detect a vague scent of antiseptic. I forced myself to open my eyes.
There was a boy sitting next to me, holding my hand. He was gorgeous. He had dark eyes with hints of hazel in them and black hair in a neat undercut that could have only looked good on him.

"Levi" I smiled.

Levi's head jolted up at the sound of my voice and he returned my smile. He looked both relieved and happy.

"Nice of you to finally join me" he grinned.

"How long have I been out?" I replied with a gentle frown.

"A couple of days"

"Days?!"

"Yeah" Levi grunted. "You were dehydrated, malnourished, exhausted..." he trailed off for a moment. "I can't believe you did this to yourself. You're such an idiot"

I rolled my eyes. "I'm alive am I not?" My expression faded into a soft smile. "And so are you. How's the leg?"

Levi grunted in pain as he moved his leg round so that I could see it from where I was lying. It was bandaged up, much more neatly than how I'd done it, and there was a wooden splint underneath the bandages. There was also a pair of wooden crutches leaning against the door to my room.

"How long until you'll be better?" I asked.

"They said 3 months" Levi replied. "So probably about a month and a half"

I laughed. And then I noticed that Levi had not let go of my hand for the duration of our chat. My face went red, and he noticed.

"What is it?" Levi looked at our interlocked fingers and then back up at me. "Oh.."

"No, I don't...I don't mind"

"Listen Grace..." Levi looked slightly embarrassed. "There's something I've been wanting to ask you"

"Yeah?"

He avoided eye contact with me as he mumbled out his next sentence. "So are we...like..together now?"

I chuckled slightly and Levi's face heated up, he looked annoyed. "What?!" He seethed.

"Nothing!" I laughed. "It's just that...didn't you say I looked like a horse once?"

"Tch" He rolled his eyes. "So is that a yes or a no? You can't keep me hanging here"

"Yeah whatever" I teased. "I guess I can put up with you for a while"

Levi planted a kiss on my lips which left a blush on my cheeks. He smirked when he saw the way I got flustered when he kissed me. I would have liked to be able to say he didn't have me wrapped around his finger, but he absolutely did. 

"Anyway" Levi said. "We need to go. The Commander said he wanted to talk to us both on the square when you'd woken up."

"The commander?!" I felt a bit nervous.

"Yeah. He probably just wants to ask us questions like..." Levi took a breath and furrowed his eyebrows, making his most grave, serious face and putting on his best Erwin impression. "How the hell did you survive'"

I laughed at Levi's joke as I swung my legs over the side of my bed and stood up. I wobbled a bit but thankfully I didn't fall over.

"Take it easy..." Levi warned. "Hey, pass me the crutches"

I giggled. "Yeah yeah old man"

He cursed at my joke and snatched the crutches out of my hand, using them to pull himself up to a standing position and hissing with pain as he did so. We walked out of my room together and made our way to the square where Commander Erwin was waiting.

When the both of us managed to lug our injured bodies over to the square, we were extremely surprised with what we saw.

The entire military camp was lined up outside, with the Commander and Hanji and some other seniors standing out front. They all stared at us as we approached and I felt very exposed.

"I feel like we've missed something" I whispered into Levi's ear.

"Grace! Grace and Levi!" I heard a bubbly voice and spotted an excited Female with glasses jogging towards us.

"Here comes shit glasses" Levi groaned.

"Hanji" I smiled. "It's good to see you again"

"Yes! You too my girl!" She grinned. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling alright I-"

"Good!" The excited female interrupted. "Because the Commander wants to speak with the both of you!"

"Right now?" Levi said. "What's with all the people?"

"Oh you'll find out soon. Come on!"

The both of us followed Hanji over to where Erwin was standing, overlooking the hundreds of soldiers that were watching us with anticipation. I couldn't help but wonder what the hell was going on. 

"Welcome back" Erwin smiled as we approached.

I saluted him on behalf of myself and Levi, who couldn't stand up properly.

"Thank you sir" I said.

"I know you've both been through a great ordeal recently, so I'll make this quick" the Commander replied before turning to the masses of soldiers before him.

"Soldiers!" Erwin called out. "As you know, we have recently just returned from an expedition beyond the walls! And as you know, one particular squad was named Missing In Action during the mission! The two soldiers that stand before you, were members of that squad!"

There were lots of gasps and whispers amongst the men and women of the Survey Corps.

"That's right!" Erwin shouted. "These two survived the horrors beyond the wall alone! They were left behind and they lived to tell the tale! They deserve your utmost respect!"

With that, the entirety of the crowd saluted us with their fists over their hearts. Goosebumps rippled my flesh and all of a sudden tears filled my vision. It was only just hitting me that I was alive.

We survived.

Erwin lowered his voice and turned back to Levi and I. Neither of us really understood what the hell was going on.

"In light of your recent outstanding performances, I have decided to promote you both" he smiled before turning to the soldiers once more.

"Soldiers! Corporal Levi and Corporal Grace!"