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

Chapter 26

(Y/N) stretched her arms toward the night sky as a yawn escaped her lips. She'd had an eventful day.

After speaking with Kate in the kitchens, she'd made her way to Erwin's office for their nightly tea time. Their conversation had been fairly plain, but pleasant nonetheless. He'd asked her about her first day on the Special Operations Squad and she hadn't hesitated to tell him the truth. For the most part, they were what she'd expected, except for Chris.

Erwin had been happy to hear that she'd found some sort of companion and that she wasn't completely against the idea of continuing her new assignment. But, to (Y/N)'s surprise, when she'd brought up the red flag she'd sensed from Isabel earlier, Erwin had waved it off. He hadn't seemed the slightest bit surprised and (Y/N) had been left with a bitter taste in her mouth as she tried to imagine the foul play that was going behind her back between Levi and Erwin.

After chatting for a while longer, (Y/N) had left Erwin to do his paperwork and had returned the tea cups to the kitchen.

Erwin hadn't mentioned Levi or the recruits in any way. Perhaps he was trying to give her a place where she didn't have to think of them at all. When she wasn't immediately distracted, they were the only thing that occupied her thoughts and (Y/N) was beginning to feel as if she were going a bit insane.

In fact, as she strolled down the dirt path toward the barracks, (Y/N) felt an overwhelming urge to alter her course and head straight for Levi's room. She didn't have anything specific that she needed to say to him and she didn't have any real reason to disrupt him in general. But still... the pull in her chest and the ache in her heart told her that her feet were moving in the wrong direction and that she needed to have him in her sights immediately.

But she couldn't. Even with their small lapse in judgement at dinner, they still had boundaries.

Ugh. (Y/N) was getting sick of the word 'boundaries' at a rapid pace. All day long she had to repeat it inside her own mind just to keep herself under control. At all times she had an insatiable urge to be at Levi's side. She wanted to hold his hand, brush the hair from his eyes, straighten his collar. All of which were things that definitely crossed their stupid 'boundaries'. She was beginning to regret having agreed to their rules in the first place.

But... every time she returned to her cold and empty room, she remembered why she had. (Y/N) knew that losing Levi now, even though nothing had really happened between them, would devastate her. If she lost him, she wasn't sure she would be able to recover. Even Erwin wouldn't be able to save her if yet another precious person was ripped from her life.

(Y/N) hesitated as she arrived in front of the door to her room. She was desperately exhausted and yet she knew that the nightmare would still plague her sleep. Plus, the majority of her day had been spent apart from Levi, who seemed to be the only reprieve she had from her nightly visions.

Sighing, she finally turned the knob and stepped into her room. It was just as cold and dark as ever.

Flicking on the lights, (Y/N) went about the business of getting ready for bed as quickly as possible. She still hadn't done her laundry, and so she ended up grabbing the same casual outfit that she'd slept in the night before.

(Y/N) quickly made her way to the showers, being as quiet as possible as she navigated the familiar hallways. After cleaning herself of the day's dirt and grime, she dressed and scurried to the laundry room to wash her dirty uniform. She may not have the time or energy to do a full load, but she did need a clean outfit for the next day.

After a few minutes of scrubbing and rinsing, (Y/N) was satisfied with the job she'd done and returned to her room, where she hung the uniform up to dry. With any luck, it wouldn't be too damp when she put it on in the morning.