Pain and Loss [Levi x Reader]

Chapter 5

AN: Here is the second part of the split up Chapter 4. Enjoy! Sorry it's taking so long for the reader to have a relationship with Levi, but... it just wouldn't feel right if the reader just suddenly fell in love with Levi. It'd be a "Hey I just met you, and you're a complete twat, but I love you!" So yeah. 

-----

“(f/n)! You’re back!” Charlotte shouted with a big grin as she ran up to you, “You were gone forever! How was it?”

“Eh…”

“No, don’t you dare ‘eh’ me. I want a proper response. How was it?”

“Anthony fell asleep instead of working. Captain Levi caught him snoozing off.”

“Ouch.”

“You should see his face, he’s got this big red mark in the center of his forehead.” You whispered, grinning softly. Charlotte giggled at the mere thought of it.

It was another morning of training. Previously, Dita Ness had been assigning horses to all the new cadets, as well as helping people and their horses get used to each other. Afternoons had been general hand combat practice. But the ‘light’ days were over. With the 40th expedition beyond the walls approaching, one could not be too prepared.

Standing in a line, you all awaited instructions. Todays training: cutting a titan’s neck. You were fairly well rounded, not necessarily excelling in one area. Nevertheless, using your 3DMG was your favourite thing to practice, and hand combat was your least favourite. Slicing titans? Eh. Yeah, you were good at it, mainly because you needed it to be able to survive, but you got no particular joy out of it.

Squad Leader Michael stepped out in front of the crowd. “Good morning everyone!” he said with a smile, “Hopefully the morning wasn’t too rough on you all.”

‘God he does not act like a soldier, never mind a squad leader,’ you thought.

“As you are all aware, today we will be practicing and testing your slicing skills. In groups of 5, you will zap through the course, killing as many titans as you can,” As he spoke, Squad Leader Michael walked up and down the row of cadets, “Remember, we are not only looking at how well you can take down titans individually, but also as a team. Does everyone understand?”

“Yes sir!”

*~*~*~*~*~*

Tightening the straps of your 3DMG, you looked ahead at the group that had just gone before you. There had only been a a few injuries and accidents so far, but people were still anxious while waiting for their turn. Cracking your knuckles, you walked up to the starting line. Looking right and left, you observed who was in your group. Charlotte stood right next to you, giving you a small grin. You laughed softly before taking a deep breath and a step back as you focused on your target.

“On your marks!” Michael called from the sidelines, “Get Set…. GO!”

And with that you were off. Zooming off, you made your way to the first wood-titan and sliced its neck.

The fresh breeze felt nice, so you closed your eyes momentarily to enjoy it. But this was no time to be relaxing. Your eyes snapped back open as you spun in the air, heading towards the next target.

“Shit!” you heard Charlotte say. Glancing over in her direction you saw – the cut she made was too shallow. You quickly went to her aid, taking down the wooden-titan she had not been able to.