Hellfire • L.A.

An Exception (For You)

Hanje has her eyes trained intensely on my nose as she inspects it closer. A light touch from her finger has me wincing in pain and a tiny whimper leaves the back of my throat.

"Sorry." She frowns and backs up. "Good news, it's not broken!"

I nod carefully trying not to move too quickly. My head is in such massive pain that it makes even the slightest of movement hurt. "How long do you think it will take before it's all healed up?"

"Well," she sighs and crosses her legs, "I'd give it a day for the swelling on your face to go down. Might take longer for that schnoz though."

Silence falls between us as I fix my focus on the door. On the other side of it, Levi and Erwin are standing there waiting for Hanje to leave so they can talk to me privately. I'm still not sure what happened. Everything is fuzzy to me, and everything hurts. I just remember the fear and the even worse feeling of only wanting to be near Levi.

"Lux, if you're in too much pain to go through an interrogation right now you need to let them know. I know Levi will stick around regardless of what you say, but Erwin will respect how you feel. The last he would do is push you to do something when you're physically incapable of doing it."

She begins to pack up her medical supplies and I sigh, leaning back into the cushiony comforter of the bed and tuck myself under the covers.

"Maybe her highness will allow me to stay another night in this luxurious bed. She wouldn't kick out a wounded soldier, would she?" I attempt to smirk, but my busted lip screams at me.

Hanje simply chuckles and shakes her head. "Ah, Lux. You are my favorite soldier." She stands and begins to make her leave. "So, shall I tell Erwin the questioning will have to be postponed, doc's orders?"

"That would be much appreciated."

She winks and walks out the door. I let myself fall further into the bed and close my eyes, listening intently to the conversation that's barely audible on the other side of the door. Erwin sighs heavily at something, and I can make out Levi making a snarky remark to Hanje. When the door creaks open I try my best to act innocent like I wasn't eavesdropping.

"I won't even ask if you're in pain because one look at those heavy bandages around your nose tell me it hurts like a bitch." Levi closes the door behind him.

I wiggle my body up just slightly to see him. He's standing leaning up against the door with his arms crossed. That pensive look he always uses as a mask looks even more worse for wear as he looks at me.

Feeling bold, I call out to him. "Are you going to come over here and hold my hand or are you just going to stand there?"

His eyebrows jump in surprise, but still he walks to my side of the bed. "Did that fucker hit the side of your brain in charge of personalities or what?"

I don't laugh. Instead I grab his hand that he's holding out for me and tug him closer. He stumbles, and lands on top of my torso with an 'oof'. "We need to talk."

Levi looks at me from the corner of his eye. "Alright then. Should I get comfortable like this, or..."

"What kind of relationship is this, Levi?" My voice cracks.

He sighs and moves off of the bed. I notice he strays to take his shoes off, and when he's done he climbs on top of the sheets and covers. When he's next to me he grabs the other corner of the comforter.

"May I?"

I nod sheepishly and he begins to make himself comfortable. He sighs once he's finally settled in, and turns his face to look at me.