The Vogel

6 - Damage

Reiner went back to the waiting room. Jean and Connie had woken up. Great, just great. He plopped down in the chair nearest him.

"What's wrong, loverboy?" Jean teased.

Reiner sighed. "My mother and Gabi's parents are incredibly angry. And they listened in on a private conversation with Armin."

"They'll get over it, won't they?" Connie asked, lounging in the chair and staring at the streetlights out the windows.

"Not sure," he sighed. "My mom's never been that mad."

"What are you going to do?" Jean asked, attitude dropped.

"Not sure," he repeated. "We all live together, and I'm the major source of income."

"Then they have to keep you around," Jean concluded.

"I don't think I'll be able to live with them with so much tension. And Gabi... They're just as mad at her," he explained, defeated.

"I feel bad for that girl," Connie muttered.

"Even though she..." Reiner trailed off.

"Yeah," Connie answered shortly.

Armin walked out and announced, "They took her off the ventilator. She hasn't woken up or responded, but it's a good sign. They said she might...have brain damage."

"What does that mean for her?" Connie asked.

"She might not be herself or able to function completely," Armin explained quietly.

"Oh..."

"Levi told us to go to the rental house for the night, get some sleep."

"Is he staying?" Jean asked.

"Yeah. I tried to convince him to go with us, but he was adamant."

Jean sighed and got up. Connie followed them out.

After a few minutes of thinking, he went into her room. Levi was clearly exhausted, but he was murmuring something to her.

"Where's the brat?" he asked.

"With her parents."

"Good. It's late."

"Are you going to stay all night?" Reiner asked, sitting beside the bed.

"Probably."

"Would you mind if I stayed? At least for a few hours?"

"If you're so inclined. Why was your family so angry?" he asked.

"You're all a 'race of devils' and what not."

"Who saved this city," Levi muttered.

"They'd like to blame all of you for all the issues Eldians face," he said with a shrug.

"I could hear you yelling through the window."

"What did you hear?" he asked and shifted in the chair.

"Don't be so antsy; I couldn't understand any of it."

He sighed with a relief. "So...Armin told me that she talked to you about her problems, and... Is she better now?"

"I believe so. There aren't any new scars, and she hasn't talked to me recently. But with the Yeagers watching her so close, she might've not been able to."

"But no new scars?"

"None," he confirmed. "That brat gave her something to focus on rather than our dismal situation. Sometimes having a single reason to live is enough to keep you out for a while."

"I know that feeling. Gabi's a lifesaver."

Levi seemed to understand immediately he wasn't talking about just Mea. "It gets easier, or so I'm told."

"It does. Having Mea alive, no matter what, that's good."

"You care about her a lot, don't you?"

He nodded, his eyes on her slowly rising and falling chest. He held her hand.

"You poor bastard," Levi said slowly with a smirk.

"What?"

"Love sucks. But maybe you'll get lucky."

"What?"

"Love: obvious. Look at you, lovesick little puppy. Sucks: pain. The pain of losing someone you love never leaves. Maybe you'll be lucky enough to not lose her."

"She can hear everything, can't she?"

"That's what they said. She's not stupid; she probably knew already."

"What?"

"Oh please. It was obvious enough when you lot joined the Scouts."

"She didn't seem to notice then."

"You didn't seem to notice then," Levi corrected.

"Notice what?"

"She had a school girl crush on you. Kids are fucking dumb. You still are. It's exhausting."

He stared at Mea's face, trying to think of a time when she showed any interest in him.

"You poor bastard." He yawned. "Will you stay here all night?"

"Yeah."

"Good. I'll be back here by eight. Don't be a perv or I'll cut your junk off."

"What?" he asked, the most shocked he'd been all night.

"You heard me." He left without another word, only a crippling glare.

"Hey, bird. I hope you're doing good, the way Levi thinks. I just need you to remember I'm selfish, so you have to outlive me. Otherwise, part of me hopes he's right about the other stuff. Whatever happens, I want to be with you. I hope you want that too."

He squeezed her hand. A tear slipped from his eye. Then another and another. He cried silently until...she groaned.

"Mea?"

She groaned again and moved her legs slightly.

"Everyone misses you, bird," he whispered, rubbing his thumb across her hand.

She didn't make another sound.

"Rest now. They'll all be back in the morning," he murmured.

After a while, he fell asleep in the chair beside her.