Can't Get Along (Levi X Reader)

19. Lapse of Judgement

Reader POV

Sitting around HQ for two weeks being unable to participate in any of the training was boring and even more so when I was left alone during the expedition. I had wanted to spend a little time with Levi when he returned but he got called to Wall Sina with Erwin and Eren and a few others from Squad Hanji for a check in. They would be gone for a few days, possibly even a week if things didn't go according to plan and I was bummed out about it.

I leaned against a tree trunk near the training field and looked up at the sky, watching the clouds roll by slowly and trying to find different pictures in them. Some looked like different foods or people and some looked like trees and animals. It was quiet right now, all the other cadets and remaining squad leaders were inside the mess hall eating lunch. I just hadn't felt up to eating. I'd probably be starving by dinner time but right now I just wasn't hungry.

A few minutes later footsteps rustle the short grass around me and the tree and I brought my eyes down from the sky to turn and see who had come to stand beside me. "Mind if I sit with you?" Jean asked, seeming a little awkward but he visibly relaxed when I gave a slow nod. He sat down right beside me and leaned against the tree trunk with a heavy sigh as if something were on his mind. I didn't press him though, figuring that if he wanted to talk about it, he would speak up. I mean, it wasn't like him to be shy about things. The silence between us was surprisingly comfortable as we both turned our heads to watch the clouds.

"Hanji cleared you to start ODM gear training again before she left, right?" He suddenly asked and I glanced over at him then looked to the ground in front of me. "Yeah she did, I'm just not supposed to put my harness on by myself for at least another couple of days." He nodded and hummed in response and I raised an eyebrow at him with a hint of suspicion. "You want to go clear your head with some training, don't you? You just don't want to do it alone." I began and shot him a sly smirk when he glared at me. "Tell you what, you help me get the harness on so I don't hurt myself and I'll go train with you. Besides, I've been bored out of my mind the past week and a half. It'd be nice to actually do something for a change." "You've got a deal." He chuckled though it didn't hold much humor to it. I still smiled and we both pushed ourselves up from where we sat.

I led him to the dorm I now shared with Christa and Ymir. It was much nicer in here and Ymir and I surprisingly got along well enough to be in the same room at night with her not trying to kill me in my sleep. Christa was an angel to be around, always so sweet and gentle. Jean leaned against the wall outside the door as I went inside and collected my harness and gear case. I brought them out and followed Jean to his room so that he could grab his gear case and once we had everything, we made our way out to the expanse of woods that was used for this type of training with hidden titan dummies throughout. We set down all of our things and I shoved my jumbled mess of harness and straps into Jean's arms before kicking off my boots. "Get cracking, Jean."

He actually laughed a little and shook his head at me before trying to untangle my ball of straps. It took him a minute or two but eventually, he separated the top part from the leg straps and belt and stepped behind me, carefully getting my arms into the already adjusted harness. I stood nice and still for him, watching as he walked back around me to buckle the chest piece while doing his best to avoid touching my chest in any way. I laughed a little at this and he only glared at my amusement. "Shut up. I just don't want to get hit for touching you. By you... Or that short old man if he found out. I'm pretty sure he'd actually kill me." He was back to being playful by the end of that little argument and he even laughed shortly, moving onto getting my belt on and attached to the harness properly.

Then came the leg straps and I lifted up my right foot for him first, holding my arms out to my sides slightly to keep myself balanced as he slid my foot through the knee piece. He made sure the part that crossed in front of my shin and held under my foot was flat to avoid discomfort or malfunction from being twisted and then did the same with the strap on the left side once I put my right foot into my boot again.