Can't Get Along (Levi X Reader)

6. Expedition

Reader POV

Erwin called us back to HQ early because of Hanji's positive report on our progress and the remaining days passed quickly as we all prepared for the expedition. I was scared about this expedition. It was just this uneasy feeling I had in the pit of my stomach and I didn't like it one bit. My uneasy feelings usually turned out right in some way or another and I had to force myself not to think about it.

I took a deep breath as I mounted my horse and gathered my reins, gripping them tightly with nervousness as I waited for the outer gate of Karanes District to open up and our expedition to begin. The Commander led the way out of the gate and when it closed behind my squad at the back of the group, we spread out into formation. I kicked my horse up into a gallop to keep pace ahead of the cadets in my squad. The uneasy feeling in my stomach only grew stronger as a red flare shot up from the right flank only a few minutes into the expedition. A few more red flares relayed the message and the Commander shot a green flare more toward the left to adjust our course.

I whipped my head around from where I was scanning the landscape for titans when one of the cadets in my squad shot off a black flare. She was relaying the message from the squad to our left that a ten-meter had just completely bypassed. An abnormal. I opened my mouth to tell my squad to change direction to avoid it as it came barreling toward us but it was faster than my mind could get my mouth to move. I watched in horror as I called out the order to them a moment too late, watching one of them get stepped on and crushed into nothing but a red smear on the ground. The boy riding just behind her had heard me just in time to yank her horse to a halt and kick it to run around the giant heel to catch back up with me and the other girl who had shot the signal.

I held his terrified gaze for a moment with my own horrified one before forcing myself to look ahead again. "We need to keep up with the formation until we reach the forest of giant trees. Keep your eyes peeled for any other titans." I ordered my remaining two squad members and they both agreed, the three of us kicking our horses to push them faster as the Commander changed our course again.

Luckily, we all made it into the forest of giant trees after only minimal casualties. Everything went downhill quickly despite the minimal casualties outside the forest. I couldn't tell what happened but the Commander gave the signal to retreat when we were almost out of the forest and I pulled my horse to an abrupt stop as we turned around to go back. I was frozen there watching as a titan stepped out from the shadow of a tree and kicked the only girl left on my squad into a tree and picked up the boy, crushing him in its hand before biting him in half.

My eyes slowly looked from the titan's mouth as it ate the second half of the cadet over to where the girl's body lay crumpled against the trunk of a nearby tree, her neck bent unnaturally, no sign of any breathing. I snapped back to my senses when the titan noticed me and I frantically reached for my flare gun, trying to load it with a red smoke flare. I got it loaded and primed to fire just as the titan grabbed me in its hand and lifted me up. I struggled, accidentally firing the flare off into the trees instead of up into the air.

Levi POV

I pulled my horse to a stop to avoid being smacked in the face by a red flare from somewhere off to the left. If my memory served me correctly, (Name)'s squad was on that flank of the formation. I moved to switch to my ODM gear, sudden fear setting my heart racing. I shot up into a tree and barked an order at Armin to make sure they kept moving with the retreat. And with that, I was shooting off through the trees in the direction that flare had come from.

This couldn't be happening again. I couldn't lose another person I cared about. I was Humanity's strongest for fuck's sake, but I wasn't strong enough to save the people that mattered most to me. I pushed myself to go faster, burning up more of the gas I had in my full tanks. It wasn't the smartest idea but I was desperate to change the fate of at least one of the people I cared about. If I could just save one. Just this once.

I immediately flung myself at the titan as I saw it toss (Name) whole into its mouth. I had come from above so I had the perfect shot to kill it, twisting in the air as I launched toward the nape of its neck to get a spin on my attack and make it more effective. I landed on a nearby branch and watched the large body fall to the ground and begin to steam as it started to dissolve into nothing. Knowing I had killed it successfully, I shot down to its head and used a new set of blades to cut open it's clamped jaw, letting out a breath of relief when I saw her curled up and unconscious on its tongue. She was covered from head to toe in the slimy titan saliva but I ignored it, pulling her out and using my cape to wipe it away from her face so that she would be able to breathe.

As soon as I knew she was breathing okay and was only unconscious, I held her close to me as if she were a bride and shot back up into the trees to join up with my squad on the other side of the forest. They had just exited the forest when I did and I roughly landed on my horse's back from above, grabbing the reins with one hand and holding (Name) close to me with the other as we rode back toward Karanes.

I don't think I've ever felt so relieved in my life than at this moment holding (Name) against me as we rode back toward safety. She was breathing. She was in one piece. But most importantly, she was alive. That week alone with her in a small cabin in the woods had shown me that underneath that cold exterior and that shitty attitude problem, she was a lot like me and very easy to get along with and easy to get attached to. I couldn't say if I thought of her as a sister, a friend or something more. But I could definitely say for sure that I felt more at ease in this hellish world when she was with me. I could relax around her and talk to her. Our silences weren't awkward. They were comfortable and for the first time in a long time, I had someone that I could be close to without it being taken in the wrong way. Those nights when we sat by the fire close together, holding each other or petting each other's hair were comfortable and neither of us had taken it as some kind of romantic thing. At least, she hadn't appeared to think that of those moments... Either way, I was just glad that I had been able to save her and that there was a chance for more of those comfortable moments with her in the future...