symbiosis » levi ackerman

chapter seventeen ; dismissal.

Fallan

The journey back to the base was dismal. It was only a short ride, but the thick silence that hung heavy in the air made the minutes feel like years. No one in the front lines could comprehend what had happened, and the rest of the Scouts were just as clueless. There were minimal injuries - Gunther suffered a twisted ankle and a member of Mike's squad had a few scrapes and bruises, but for the first time in a long time, we lost no one on the expedition. Usually, they lasted all day, and we'd venture home with many casualties and a few lost soldiers, but not today.
Levi insisted that I rode back on one of the carts, and to be truthful I was grateful for that. Every time I breathed, I felt sharp pains in my chest, and my thigh was throbbing. As I had lain on my back, staring up at the sky, I struggled to wrap my head around the events of the past few hours. There were none, for miles, and then suddenly we were ambushed. Almost like they had known we were coming and attacked. And that scream - it was almost a battle cry. It certainly wasn't a Titan's, unless there was an undiscovered variant with more developed vocal chords. But then again, these Titans had no real brain. Just a bundle of nerves that connected to a spinal cord. A strategised attack like that required brain power - these things only had basic primal instincts. I'd have to write it all up later, and I was debating on asking Erwin to commence another expedition in a few months to capture a Titan or two. I needed to see if anything had evolved within these monsters. Mainly, I was shocked at my own survival. I knew I hadn't imagined it, the Titan was right above me when I'd lost consciousness, so how was I still here? No one had any idea how long I'd been out, but the battle had gone on for around 20 minutes. 20 minutes I'd lain defenceless on the ground for any Titan to snatch up and gobble down. It just didn't make any sense.

We'd arrived back at the base, where I was ordered straight to the infirmary. After various checks, it was confirmed that I'd fractured a rib, and was ordered on bed rest.
Of course, I didn't do much resting.
As soon as I entered my living quarters, I jumped in the shower and washed the blood and grime of the day away. My thigh had been patched up; I was told it was going to leave a nasty scar, but the violent throbbing had dulled to a slight ebb of pain. I threw on the first items of clothing I could see and sat at my desk, running a hand through my damp hair. I needed to write this up, I needed to find an explanation for this strange behaviour. I racked my brain for an answer, but it was empty. I wasn't sure how long I'd sat there with my head in my hands, but my rather hopeless train of thoughts was interrupted by my door swinging open. I really do need to start locking that.
"What part of bed rest didn't quite compute?" Levi's familiar drawl rang out. I didn't bother raising my head to reply.
"It just doesn't make any sense Levi. None of it makes any sense." I groaned, my voice slightly muffled by my own hands.
"Stop overanalysing it."
"I'm a scientist Levi. The entire point of my being is to overanalyse." I looked to him with narrow eyes.
"We encounter abnormal Titans all the time Reid."
I sighed, racking a hand through my hair again.
"Yes. Isolated cases. Usually it's just one or two, but this. This is something different entirely. It was an entire swarm of them, and that scream - it was like an order. This could be something big Levi. For years we've just assumed that they roam around aimlessly, but what if it's not like that? What if they're an army of some sorts?"
I was speaking rapidly now, babbling on as I scribbled down haphazard notes on random pieces of paper.
"And that Titan- I know I wasn't imagining it. Why did it completely ignore me? I was there, on the floor, ready for the taking!"
"As I said, it was most likely an abnormal. There's a million different explanations, you don't need to explore all of them. Maybe it wasn't hungry." Levi joked, and I narrowed my eyes at him.
"What if it wasn't the Titans?" I asked slowly, and he raised an eyebrow, "What if it was me? It makes no sense. There were 16 Titans there, any one of them could've snatched me up. But they didn't." 
"You don't need to make yourself a tragic hero all the time." He chided, "They were probably just distracted, or they thought you were already dead. Either way, it doesn't matter now. You need to rest."
I shook my head at him.
"We need to speak to Erwin about this. I need physical access to the Titans again, just one or two subjects to see how they respond to orders, or how they react to me. I need to see if they show any signs of recognition or-"
I was silenced by a finger under my chin, lifting my head upwards. Levi was staring down at me intently.
"Hush. None of that matters now." He spoke sternly, not removing the light hand from my chin.
"How can you expect me to rest at a time like this? This could be a break through Levi. If I figure this out-"
I was interrupted yet again by his thumb over my lips.
"I said be quiet."
As we stared at each other, I realised how inappropriate this was, but I certainly wasn't going to stop it.
"You've stopped calling me Captain." Levi breathed, his tone becoming almost strained. He moved his thumb to brush against my lip, pulling it down slightly. I didn't dare break eye contact. The butterflies in my stomach were becoming increasingly active.
"You asked for it." I replied, and he smirked down at me. He dropped his hand from my face and stepped backwards, and I cleared my throat awkwardly. Did I miss the feeling of his skin on mine? I shook my head and scooted backwards in my chair, wincing as the pain in my thigh throbbed.
"Bed. Now." Levi grumbled, grabbing onto the crook of my arm and heaving me upwards. My cheeks reddened at the crudeness of his words. In any other context, I probably would've enjoyed hearing those two words, but resting while my mind was so alive with information didn't appeal.
"Don't say that too loudly, or they really will start getting the wrong idea." I hummed, allowing myself to be dragged by the raven haired male towards my bedroom.
"I don't care. Your living quarters are filthy, by the way."
I opened my mouth in shock.
"Excuse me. My room is clean!" I said in an offended tone, then gazed around my room. The bed wasn't made, and clothes were strewn around.
"Relatively." I corrected, and lowered myself down onto my bed. "Care to join?" I teased, to which he rolled his eyes at.
"Rest. I'll see you at dinner."
Levi turned on his heel and left, leaving me alone. I almost began to wish he hadn't declined my offer.