Save Me (Levi x OC)

Chapter 22

When nothing but silence answered me, I looked down at my lap in embarrassment, already regretting asking him about that. "I'm sorry, you don't have to tell me. I'll just go now, I'm bringing you too much stress," I rambled nervously, jumping up from my spot in the chair and hurriedly glancing around to make sure that I hadn't forgotten anything.

"No. Stay," Levi commanded, and I sat back down, staring at him expectantly. He now sat up, completely straight, but unlike before, he turned his face away from me. "There was a man in the underground city. He cared for me, he taught me everything I know, and then, one day, he just left. He raised me to become who I am now, and I don't even know his last name, or if he's still alive. He gave me so much, even though he barely had anything to spare, and I never got the chance to thank him." His voice was faint and far away, as if he was trying his best to keep the memory of that man from ever getting lost."

"Levi, I'm so sorry," I whispered softly, my eyes widening slightly. If that man taught Levi everything that he knows now, just how strong is he? Someone as strong as him couldn't possibly be dead. "I'm sure he's still somewhere out there, just waiting for you to find him."

Captain Levi finally turned to face me, and I couldn't help but notice a small tear traveling from his eye down his cheek and to his jaw. I instinctively leaned over, wiping it away with my thumb as I gently caressed his face with one hand, and offered Levi a sad smile. "But what if he isn't?" His voice quivered softly as he leaned into my hand. "What if he's gone, and I never even got to say goodbye?"

I had no clue how to answer him, so instead I stood from my chair and sat down on the bed beside him, and before I could actually take time to think things through, I wrapped my arms around him in a hug. I felt my heart beat faster, but I ignored it, hoping that he wouldn't be able to feel it against his chest. His cheek beside mine was hot and bright pink, and I felt my own face heat up, but I couldn't tell whether it was because of his body heat next to mine, or because I was hugging Levi himself.

After a moment or so passed, Levi's hands, which had been stretched out in surprise, hugged me back, squeezing me slightly as he buried his face in my shoulder. A quiet sob escaped him, but I didn't say anything about it - he was exposing himself to me, and I didn't want to scare him off. We stayed in the embrace for God knows how long, providing comfortable silence for one another, an occasional sniff from Levi disturbing the quiet. I'd been so selfishly caught up in my grief that I hadn't seen Levi's pain. I stroked his back gently with my left hand, my right reaching up to his head to softly play with his now-messy hair.

Eventually, Levi relaxed completely in my embrace, and once he'd gone completely quiet, I realized that he'd once again fallen asleep. Good. The medicine worked. He'll be completely better in half an hour, at most. I slowly loosened his grip around me and lowered him onto the bed so that he lay on his back once more, and just as before, I took the washcloth off of his forehead, touching it with the back of my hand to find that his temperature had almost returned back to normal.

I squeezed the water out of the cloth and into the basin, and then proceeded to wipe down all of Levi's exposed skin with the slightly damp fabric, starting with gently dabbing at his face, down to his neck, and then along both of his arms. Once I'd double checked that the captain was still sleeping, I lifted the basin off of the floor and crept back into Levi's office, quietly pushing the door open to get back to the cafeteria and pour the water down one of the drains. Then, with an empty basin, a slightly damp washcloth, and several pill bottles in my pocket, I returned to the med bay, placing all of the supplies in the designated location and hanging the washcloth up so that it could dry.

With that out of the way, I returned back to Levi's bedroom, unwilling to leave his side until he was better, and I sat down gently into the chair. The captain was still passed out, his eyes occasionally twitching in his sleep as if his dream was particularly interesting. I watched him in fascination as his lips stretched into a smile as he slept, and he slowly rolled onto his side, unknowingly facing me. In his sleep, he looked so peaceful and calm that I almost forgot that the very same man was known to terrify young cadets and slaughter dozens of titans within minutes.

A lock of hair fell into his eyes, and automatically reached down to push it back behind his ear. If angels exist, he must be one. With the stray hairs out of the way, I leaned back to admire the captain, wondering how someone so small and delicate as him had become humanity's strongest soldier. I couldn't help but think of how hard it had been for him to tell me so much about his life before I'd known him, but I still wondered how much more there was to his story that he'd chosen not to speak of.

Nevertheless, I was more than happy with how much he told me - it showed just how far my relationship with Levi had come, and that he finally chose to trust me. Even thinking about it made me blush slightly and I covered my face with my hands as a smile stretched over my face. I managed to bring myself back under control, and chose to lean back slightly into the chair, admiring the sleeping captain before me. Before I knew it, my eyes grew heavy, and I, too, dozed off.

I woke up after what I thought to be about an hour and looked around, confirming two things. One - the captain was still asleep, and from the looks of it, his fever had completely passed, and two - it was now thirteen minutes until seven o'clock, meaning the dinner bell would soon ring. I slowly stood up from the chair, stretching myself out to prevent the stiffness from staying in my bones. Once I'd finished with that, I gently placed my hand on the captain's forehead, only to find that his fever finally disappeared.

Even though I'd tried to be as careful as possible to not wake him up, Levi opened his eyes, following my every movement. I tried to pull my hand away from his forehead, but he reached up with his own hand and grabbed mine, placing it on his cheek. Even though I was a few centimeters taller than him, his hand was much larger than mine, and it seemed to engulf mine completely. We stared at each other from several moments like that - with my hand on his cheek, and his hand covering mine - until I finally looked away, pulling my hand with me, and I could've sworn that my actions disappointed Levi.

"It's almost seven," I stammered, still feeling the ghost of his hand on mine. "The dinner bell will ring soon. Are you well enough to stand up?"

Levi only nodded, and I stepped back as he first dragged himself into an upright position and then proceeded to place both of his feet onto the ground beside the bed. With a little effort, he pushed himself off of the bed, his legs a little shaky from not being used all day, but he still managed to walk to the other side of the room. He looked up from there, a tiny smirk adorning his face.

"Am I allowed to thank you now?"