Don't Die - Levi x Reader {Book 1}

Chapter 17

Furlan sputtered and laughed, even going so far as to bend over and place his hands on his knees as he underwent his fit.

(Y/N) simply stared at him, waiting for him to calm down and face her. She was not amused by his blatant disbelief of her words. All of them needed to be more careful around Erwin or they would end up regretting it.

Eventually, Furlan looked up from his hunched stance, small, unrestrained laughs still escaping his lips.

"That bumbling buffoon? The scariest man inside the walls?" Furlan turned his head down and smacked his knee as his fit of laughter resumed.

"Oi! Sort yourself out and listen to what she has to say." A shred of anger and annoyance could still be heard in Levi's voice but he seemed to be controlling himself.

(Y/N) crossed her arms over her chest as Furlan reined in his laughter, obviously too scared of Levi to disobey him.

Furlan pounded his chest a few times and cleared his throat, trying to appear calm.

(Y/N) raised an eyebrow, silently asking if he was finally ready to let her speak.

"Um, please... proceed."

Isabel snickered behind him at his awkward situation but Furlan's hand quickly flew back to cover her mouth.

(Y/N) sighed but began to explain herself. "First things first, you're all going to be in very big trouble. You skipped training and that is a very serious offense in the Survey Corps."

Furlan rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to speak but one look from Levi was enough to force him back into his shell of compliance. Patiently, all of them waited for (Y/N) to continue.

"However, lucky for you, I happen to have a certain sway with the Commander and I believe that I can get you out of punishment if you follow my instructions, which are very simple."

(Y/N) scanned their faces, looking for any sign of protest. When she found none, she continued. "Stay out of my way and don't speak. Don't say a word to Erwin or to anyone else until I give you the okay to do so. This is not a matter of making Erwin believe some story about how you all got sick, even if that is what we tell him. Erwin will see right through that charade. This is a matter of me convincing Erwin to let you off easy."

Furlan and Isabel held flabbergasted expressions and Levi's features were covered in his usual, cool look.

Since no one added anything, (Y/N) went on.

"Again, keep your mouths shut. Avoid conversing with anyone unless it is absolutely necessary. Keep to yourselves and put your heads down at training. I will go to find Erwin and make my case."

(Y/N) released a long breath and kicked the dirt with her boot. She was really dreading her imminent conversation with Erwin. He really was scary when he wanted to be.

"Well then, let's go." Levi's voice broke the silence. "You two, go get your gear and grab mine. And put this away." Levi flung his book at Furlan and he caught it easily. The instructions flowed effortlessly out of his mouth and (Y/N) watched carefully as Isabel and Furlan stumbled back into the barracks.

As soon as their backs had disappeared into the building, Levi turned to (Y/N) and opened his mouth.

"Thank you."

(Y/N)'s eyes widened in surprise. She had never expected such brazen gratitude from Levi. She'd taken him for the type that found it hard to accept help.