My Love Untold

Finally Back

Levi was dragging behind me, going agonizingly slow as I tried to pull him along. I had been careful to grab his good arm, and I knew that his arm and side had taken the brunt of the damage, so his legs weren't injured. Part of me knew that he was dragging because he wanted me to simply tell him the surprise I had planned. However, the rest of me was very adamant about watching him find out for himself. I had woken up at dawn every day since he was injured, and there was no way I was going to summarize all my hard work in a sentence.

It felt odd to be outside with him after almost a week of him being stuck in the infirmary. Every time I had woken up over the past few days, it had taken me a moment to gather my bearings, constantly forgetting where I was and why. I could only imagine the frustration that Levi felt upon opening his eyes to see the torn wallpaper on the ceiling.

Arriving at his patio, I quickly retrieved the key, shushing Levi's shouts of indignation from finding out how I got into his house the day of the mission. I unlocked and opened his door dramatically holding out my arms in a voila motion. His eyes shifted from me to the door, hesitant to go inside. I stood my ground, not wanting to give in before he could see.

"Kill me now," he muttered to himself as he straightened up and walked in. I bit back a laugh and followed him in, closing the door behind me. He made his way to the living room, waiting for the jumping and shouting of people trying to surprise him...

...which never came.

Levi turned to face me, obviously confused as I turned the corner. I made a short gesture to the living room, telling him to look around. His eyes narrowed as he examined the room and every shiny surface. He froze for a split second, giving me an incredulous look before rushing into the kitchen. Giggling, I walked over to the couch and sat down.

"Did you really clean my house?" he exclaimed from the kitchen. I beamed, happy that my work was noticed.

"Yes, sir!" I shouted back, playfully. He turned the corner and faced me, appreciation lighting up his face.

"You didn't even leave the infirmary... Did you have Armin do it for you?" he asked. I shook my head, somewhat offended that he could think that I would pawn work off to someone else.

"Nope, Armin came with me to help," I said. At his confused expression, I clarified, "We woke up at dawn every morning. Did some light dusting, shined a few tables, then I was back by your bedside before you could even wake up."

"You woke up at dawn?" he said blankly, his expression shifting from incredulous to all-out shocked. I nodded, trying not to laugh. "Every day?" Another nod. He lunged towards the couch, grabbing me into a large playful hug. The laughter came bubbling out of my throat as his tackle brought us rolling off the couch. Thankfully I was below him, so I wasn't too worried about accidentally putting weight on his injured shoulder in my landing.

He gave me a look of pure appreciation and I smiled up at him, glad that cleaning his house had paid off. He wrapped his arms around me in a squeeze-the-breath-out-of-me hug and it took less than a second for me to return it, careful not to squeeze his side too hard. I was acutely aware of his arm underneath my lower back and I gave his back a quick pat to let him know I wanted to get up.

"Glad you liked the surprise," I laughed, brushing myself off as he pulled me to my feet. He chortled, giving the room another look.

"It's amazing," was all he said before falling on the couch. "Thank you." I smiled.

"You are very welcome." Putting my hands on my hips, I looked around at the work Armin and I had done.

Armin had been extremely helpful in the past few days. When I had initially told him of Levi's injury, his first reaction had been to ask me if I needed help with anything rather than immediately ask for an update on Levi's condition. At first, I thought it had been rude to ask about me, but the longer Levi had been in the infirmary, the more I understood why.

Having my best friend injured in the field had been awful for everyone involved. It was the reason Levi had been quiet and upset, the reason I had tried so hard to keep my mind off of it, and the reason that Petra and Levi split. One of the things that made the military so hopeful was our belief that we really could fix everything. Bring the world back to how it was before the Titans took over. Seeing someone I cared about lying at the foot of the beast had destroyed my hope for days. If they could take down our best soldier... what hope did the rest of us have?

I had gotten closer to Armin the longer Levi was stuck in the infirmary, whether it be cleaning the house with me or simply being there for me when Levi's injuries became too much for me. He had helped keep my mind off of Levi and helped me find peace when the darkness was overwhelming me. I hadn't expected Armin to agree to help with the cleaning when I had asked him. It was probably a sympathetic gesture, right?

"I'm going to change out of this... gown," Levi said, heading towards his bedroom. I nodded and took his spot on the couch, already making myself comfortable.

"Sounds good," I replied, giving him a thumbs up. There was silence for a minute and I turned my head, thinking he had already gone into his room but was surprised to see his back. "You okay?"

He slowly turned, his head down and his hands clenching balls of his infirmary gown in fists. "Would you mind helping me?" He mumbled, obviously irritated that he couldn't do it on his own.

"Of course not," I said, my tone laced with both amusement and pity for the poor man standing in the hallway. Unfortunately, he could tell that I was amused with his current situation and I saw him grind his teeth as he turned away.

He must have thought I was out of earshot, or maybe he just didn't care if I heard when he muttered, "Brat..." I laughed as I caught up to him, linking my arm through his.